They did not have permits to travel to other cities of the West Bank where there are universities open to Palestinians. Shadi and Rajae, both third-year students in the Institute of Hotel Management, explained that only Bethlehem University offered this kind of program to Palestinians. Their classmate, Nabil, added that they are no longer able to do the required internships in Jerusalem because of the problem with travel permits. Ihab, a third-year biochemistry major, dreams of earning a Ph.D. and doing research. As a Palestinian, however, his chances of being accepted into graduate school in Israel are next to zero.
Study abroad requires contacts, scholarship aid and, of course, travel permits.
Christina, who learned to speak fluent English and French while studying with the Sisters of St. Joseph, is an English major with hopes of becoming a translator. In our culture it is acceptable that a girl stay at home even after finishing university, but a man must find employment if he hopes to marry. My brother and his friends are now in their 30's but have not yet married because of the employment situation. I don't want to finish university and then sit in my father's house waiting to be married off. These comments of the students reflected what I had been told by a young Palestinian tending his family's flower shop in East Jerusalem.