Why We Are Petitioning
We, the Iranian students of the University of Messina and other Sicilian campuses served by ERSU, have entered a genuine forza maggiore. The Iran–Israel war has abruptly shut down normal consular-bureaucratic channels and inflicted measurable psychological harm.¹ Flights in and out of Iran have been cancelled or rerouted, embassies have curtailed services, and families at home face daily danger.² Our capacity to meet ordinary scholarship, housing, and residence-permit obligations is therefore compromised through no fault of our own.

If the current rules stand unchanged, many of us will—within weeks—lose income support, accommodation, and even our permesso di soggiorno per studio. That outcome would violate the spirit of Article 34 of the Italian Constitution and undermine Sicily’s long-standing commitment to international academic exchange.

 
What We Ask of ERSU and Regional Authorities
1- A 60-day automatic extension on every ERSU deadline that requires documents issued in, or legalised through, Iran.
2- A temporary freeze on merit-credit thresholds for Academic Year 2024-25 so that war-related stress does not cost us our scholarships.
3- Acceptance of self-declarations (autocertificazioni) for income and academic records, with post-conflict verification.
4- A one-semester extension of scholarship eligibility to recover unavoidable delays.
5- Remote examination and thesis-defence options on demand, re-using procedures already validated during the COVID-19 emergency.
6- Rapid-access multilingual counselling (English, Persian, Italian) and an emergency hardship grant drawn from ERSU’s existing contributo straordinario fund.
7- A protocol with the Questura for an automatic 12-month extension of residence permits, mirroring Interior Ministry Circular 400/A/2022 for Ukrainian students.
8- No eviction from ERSU housing for unmet credit targets until the conflict no longer impedes normal study conditions.
9- These measures are modest, temporary, and entirely compatible with Italian law; they follow precedents already afforded to other war-affected cohorts.

 
Why Your Signature Matters
ERSU and the Regione Siciliana will act when they see that this crisis touches a visible, united community. By signing, you tell decision-makers that safeguarding human potential is worth a short-term administrative adjustment. You also affirm Sicily’s reputation as a region that protects the constitutional right to study when it is most under threat.

 
Call to Action
- Add your name below.
- Share the petition with classmates, professors, and staff who value an inclusive academic community.
- Encourage student associations and departmental councils to endorse these requests formally.
- Together we can ensure that war abroad does not extinguish education at home.

 
¹ See “Invisible Baggage: The Mental Health Crisis Among International Students,” PLOS Speaking of Medicine, 11 Apr 2025. speakingofmedicine.plos.org
² “Flights diverted or cancelled as airspace closes after Israeli strikes on Iran,” Euronews, 13 Jun 2025. euronews.com
³ “Israel launches widespread airstrikes on Iran,” The Guardian live coverage, 13 Jun 2025. theguardian.com
⁴ “Torn between two worlds: Iranian diaspora faces war-time anguish,” The Guardian Australia, 16 Jun 2025. theguardian.com