< img src= "https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a2fee0575609394862e924a959cf3d23a229bfa9/0_0_607_486/master/607.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=db6bc7ee36454d2e8bbac6723c67998a" alt= "" > In early March, with little caution, the UK revealed a ban on student visas for 4 nations: Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Cameroon.It came as ravaging news to Afra Elmahdi( visualized ), a remarkable trainee from Sudan. Having actually survived civil war and been banished to the United Arab Emirates, she wanted to further her medical profession in the UK. But after being used a place at the University of Oxford– and as she was waiting to find out whether she ‘d be used a prestigious scholarship– she saw the announcement. She informs Helen Pidd of” the sensation that the ground had been pulled from my under of my feet “which” there was nothing I might do to stop it”. Helen also speaks with Shahira Sadat, a software application engineer in Taliban-run Afghanistan, who has had her hopes of studying at University College London dashed.The Guardian’s home affairs editor, Rajeev Syal, explains the reasoning, and the politics, behind the Office choice.< img alt=" Afra Elmahdi from Sudan" src=" https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a2fee0575609394862e924a959cf3d23a229bfa9/0_0_607_486/master/607.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none" width=" 445" height=" 356.2932454695222"/ > Photo: Supplied image