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As Palestinians Take the HighRoad…There is a story and a long road that every student in Palestinegoes through to reach university.This challenge is…

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Lama Mansour13th February 2012

There is a story and a long road that every student in Palestine goes throughto reach university.

This challenge is not only academic. Of course, students have to work hard inhigh school in order to be accepted and then double their efforts in theuniversity as all students in the world must do, but this is only one part of thechallenge.

In Palestine, the situation is different because of the Israeli occupation.

First, merely getting to school every morning can be a major challenge forPalestinian students, especially if they come from areas far from university.

Movement between cities and villages in Palestine is not a free and guaranteedright. Any traveler may be stopped by Israeli mobile checkpoints for ID andvehicle inspections. This alone can wreak havoc for students who have fixedclass and exam schedules. Not knowing what time they will make it to theirclasses is a daily concern that they are forced to deal with. During the secondIntifada, students had to stop at checkpoints for long periods of time and had todeal with delays daily. Although the situation has calmed down now, there isalways a chance that a checkpoint could be reestablished at any time. Keepingthis in mind, students still leave for university very early to avoid surprises. Myuniversity is 25 minutes away my home, but I still leave at least an hour before

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my first class to make sure I get there on time.

Even worse, making it to the university is not guaranteed as those checkpointsmight block off the roads for hours or even days. When there is a completelyclosure, the only option for students is to go back home. However, sometimesreturning home is not even an option as Israeli soldiers at checkpoints regularlytake students’ IDs, keep them waiting for an indefinite time, and then in mostcases release them hours later without any explanation for the detention.

As a result, missed classes and exams and repetition of semesters because ofinvoluntary absences are a part of Palestinian university students’ lives.

“How hard was it for you to get to school today?” is often the first question thatis asked as we meet for a morning coffee. On the days that Israel imposesparticularly extreme levels of security, stories of our journey to school take upthe lion’s share of conversation all day long.

The rest of our conversations move away from transportation but not fromIsrael’s effect on our lives. As all university students, we talk about jobopportunities, and dream about the successful careers we wish to lead.However, we are always aware that our in many ways our future is not in ourown hands.

Although the rest of the world is also suffering from unemployment, in theoccupied Palestinian territories the problem is a direct result of the occupation.Many farmers have lost their sources of income due to ongoing Israeliconfiscation of Palestinian land, while many others who worked in Israel havelost their jobs or are threatened with losing them because they are PalestinianID holders. Even initiatives to boost the Palestinian economy through newindustrial enterprises are tightly constrained as Israel effectively controls allPalestinian internal transportation routes, zoning permits, land and seaborders, and access to natural resources.

Graduates find that they cannot live up to their maximum potential, developtheir skills or fulfill their ambitions working inside the Palestinian Territoriesbecause of the lack of employment opportunities. Often their only option is toleave their homes and families and work abroad for better opportunities. Yeteven this unfortunate choice is only available to those lucky enough to get awork visa and pass strict Israeli and foreign security measures. As a result, thewould-be community leaders, top graduates and advanced degree holders, onwhom people are pinning their hopes to develop Palestine, are instead foundserving abroad where they can do little for their homeland.

Similarly, the development of Palestinian universities is constrained by the“brain drain” of top Palestinian academics as well as financial deficits. Graduatedegree programs are limited, with very small number of faculties to choosefrom, and even these departments often do not live up to students’ professionaland academic needs.

With this daily stressful journey back and forth between home and universityand dim prospects for professional opportunities after graduation, themotivation to go to university is decreasing as students know that thecertificates that they aspire to hold may mean nothing at the end. And yet, weremain determined.

English philosopher Herbert Spencer once said, “The great aim of education isnot knowledge but action.” As Palestinian students, we put this principle intopractice by the mere act of stepping out of our house every day.

One thought on “As Palestinians Take the High Road…”

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