The life of a Palestinian Researcher - Part 1: The Thirst for Knowledge
Meet 4 Palestinian scientists who try to make it work in the West Bank, through war, inequality and social barriers.
Hello, my good human. I am Lefteris and in this newsletter, I try to give a platform to academics who don’t get as many chances to showcase their work as I believe they should. I try to understand their lives, their work and what affects their everyday routine. If that sounds like something you'd be interested feel free to subscribe.
When I sent the first email to a person living in the West Bank to ask for an interview, I wasn’t really expecting anyone to reply. They have more pressing concerns. However, when I discovered that Palestine ranked 89th globally in scientific journal publications indexed on Scopus in 2023, I was intrigued. Not only that, Ι started checking the social media of academics, ResearchGate, and I saw that there are still publications coming out of the universities in Palestine nonstop. So my curiosity got the better of me, and I started emailing people who live and work in universities in Palestine and specifically in the West Bank. I would have loved to talk with academics who live and work in Universities in Gaza, however, all 12 universities in Gaza have been the target of Israeli attacks. People there definitely have better things to do than talk to me. This simple task of sending emails connected me with four intelligent and compassionate individuals, who shared their experiences of conducting valuable research for their country, while sometimes living in fear for their safety. But we also talked about their hopes for the future, the way they view the world, and their favourite kind of food, and music. I even got some invitations to visit them in the future. I really hope I get to.
I spent a significant portion of my life in academia because I believe that it is where new and necessary solutions are being developed. And it’s true, broadly speaking. Of course, there are areas of research that will be part of solutions many decades later, but I think that universities are the best places for discovering the best solutions to real-life problems. This is especially true for countries and areas of the world that are developing.
I, of course, don’t have a lot of experience doing research in a developing country but I worked in Greece at a time when the only reason someone would hear about the country would be associated with the word “Grexit”. Economic uncertainty and social and political unrest were part of our routine for years. Funnily enough at some point, this paper came to our attention that had this in the acknowledgement:
These sentences rang so true at the time that we didn’t even laugh. We grinned and felt that there is someone out there that is experiencing exactly what we are. During a time of social unrest in Greece, strikes, police violence, and suicides were common. The daily reality was so intense that it made it difficult to focus on work. There were clearly days we were like ghosts in the labs just going through the motions. And yet we weren't in fear for our lives or our basic necessities. So when I got the chance to talk to people who didn't let their fears stop them from seeking knowledge, I jumped on it.
The first person I talked to was Omar. That’s not his real name. He wanted to stay anonymous just because he was afraid that someone in a position of power might read something they didn’t like. So just to be on the safe side he asked me to leave his name out of the article. Omar is an avid fan of science. He likes reading a lot and he idolizes the scientific giants of the past and present. While he was reading and researching about these giants he came across many names. Einstein (of course) being one, but also names like Edward Witten, Andrew Wiles, Robin Hartshorne and more. He began to wonder what it would be like to work with these people. How do they think? What is a day in their life like? (Much like I am wondering for him.) He decided that he would love to do a PhD at a big university and started thinking about what he needed to do to impress a person like the scientists he idolised.
“How can you stand out for a guy like him? What are they looking for in a student?”
He got the opportunity to work with a professor from MIT as part of The Palestinian Student Research Project at Birzeit University. I assumed that professors from large universities would oversee large teams and might not provide much individual supervision. Especially when the student lives and works on the other side of the world. Nevertheless, Omar and his supervisor managed to have weekly meetings. Additionally, he had a local professor, with whom he would discuss ideas quite often. I was imagining mathematicians spending hours and hours on top of papers trying to come up with proofs. But that’s not how they really work. They would exchange ideas, the professor would suggest further reading or work on specific examples. Omar described it as a “not so hardcore” research project that however would benefit everyone involved and allowed him to learn more both in terms of math and also in terms of problem-solving and research methodology.
Omar’s project deals with “Logarithmic Algebraic Geometry”. I won’t go into too much detail to explain it. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. However, I understand that research in this field can have practical applications in robotics, biochemistry and even cryptography. Just as a basic introduction algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics that studies geometric shapes using the tools of algebra. However, it can run into issues when dealing with certain shapes, like those with sharp corners or pointy ends.
Logarithmic algebraic geometry is a special toolbox that helps us overcome these limitations. It's like adding a magnifying glass to regular algebraic geometry, allowing us to see the details around those tricky corners and points.
Here's a (very) simplified analogy:
Imagine you're drawing shapes on a piece of paper with a regular pen. It works well for most shapes, but if you try to draw a perfect spike or a sharp corner, the pen can't quite capture the detail.
Logarithmic algebraic geometry is like using a special pen with a super fine tip. It allows you to zoom in and draw those sharp features much more accurately. It accomplishes this by adding a new layer of information, similar to how logarithms help us work with very small or very large numbers in regular algebra.
While Omar was trying his best to explain his work to me, we also explored a little bit more about the problem-solving and research methodology aspects of the work. What I learned through this discussion is that in most cases in mathematics, there is a standardized notation researchers use to analyze concepts and do operations. When you go to very niche areas of math (which for the sake of your eyes and my sanity we won’t do) each mathematician has slight variations in how they note different things on equations. Again to put it very crudely, imagine counting fruits in your fridge. You might say you have 5 oranges and 3 apples, while someone else might describe them as 5 orange round things and 3 red round things. To a third person who tries to decrypt our conversation, it’s a little bit of extra work until they understand what the hell we’re talking about. So mathematicians sometimes can look at the same paper for 2-3 days to just decrypt what the other mathematicians are saying before they even start understanding what the hell is going on.
Omar found this process very rewarding. He actually surprised himself with how much he could learn through this research process. In the beginning, he would see a textbook and he thought someone would start at page 1 and slowly work themselves up to page 100 or 1000. But in reality, when you do research you might just jump to page 250 and read 3-4 pages and that would be enough to understand a small thing. This approach influenced him a lot about the way he understands stuff. While reading other people’s work you find tools you could use or adapt to solve your problems.
This experience was shared by Ali as well, who was the second person I interviewed. “I want to interact with how the world works,” he told me when I asked him why he wanted to do research. He is not sure if he wants to continue and have an academic career but he told me his parents are pushing for it. They believe it’s a safer career. He was part of the same program as the previous person I interviewed with the difference being that Ali is younger and he hasn’t had a break in his studies.
The first couple of months of research were very difficult for Ali. “I wasn’t sure what I was doing”. He had to read a lot of fundamental concepts and many things to catch up on. After that though, he found the research journey very enriching. Part of the problem was that some mathematics concepts were not introduced early enough at the Palestinian University. However,he found himself growing as a mathematician by going through this process.
“You don’t need to understand everything, you can still learn” - Ali
As with any job, Ali realized that he didn’t need to know everything before beginning his research. You understand some things and then you can pick up things and learn along the way. In research, you often don’t end up where you initially planned. Maybe you end up somewhere entirely different, but you still get to learn and evolve along the way. The work he did was in Category theory and he’s hoping that the work he did for this research might help him secure a scholarship in the future.
He wants to go to Europe or the US for his PhD. Of course, he will need a good scholarship to manage that. I have come to understand that people who live in places like the West Bank have to work harder than their peers if they want to be recognized and succeed. It’s not something I agree with but that’s what they experience. Despite their desire to see their friends and community thrive, they know that competition exists and thus, they strive to overachieve and do their best. This approach prepares them for when opportunities arise, such as scholarships or other means to leave their country. This makes an impression on me for two reasons:
These people mature much faster. They have to. The environment they live in doesn’t allow them to experience carelessness for a very long time.
They exhibit all the qualities a “liberal democracy” asks from people. I’ve heard many people say that “if you work hard, believe in yourself and try to be better than anyone else you will succeed in life no matter who you are”. However, that’s not the case with people who live in the West Bank (or many other places in the world for that matter). The place you live in, and your background play a role in the outcomes.
Which brings me to Bayan. She has lived in Burqn since she was 5 years old and has done all of her education there. The majority of Burqin's residents are Muslims, and 20 Christian families live in the town. The Byzantine-era Burqin Church or St. George's Church is one of the oldest churches in the world. She did her bachelor's studies at the Arab American University in Jenin, close to her hometown. She decided to do her master’s thesis when she finished at An-Najah National University in Nablus.
Her research revolves around water purification from toxic heavy metals. Contaminated water with heavy metal ions is responsible for several health issues in humans, like liver failure, kidney damage, gastric and skin cancer, mental disorders and harmful effects on the reproductive system.[source]
Specifically, she worked on water that came from her hometown. This makes her research not only highly important but also very personal. She also worked on removing persistent pesticides from the water that are used a lot in Palestine by the farmers like difenoconazole and tetraconazole.
For this work, they synthesize nanopolymers and use them to filter out water by adsorption. The adsorption process is defined as the adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid to a surface by creating a film of the adsorbate on the surface of the adsorbent. Her work also requires a lot of study in optimizing the adsorption conditions, and also theoretically understanding the adsorption process. Basically not only removing chemicals like difenoconazole but also understanding why the film they used is as effective as it is in the job. This not only offers a better understanding of the phenomenon but also helps scientists better design other filters and applications for the polymers and the chemicals.
When I asked why she chose to study chemistry she mentioned that she didn’t have that excitement with it like other scientists have with their majors from when they were little children. She believes that all specializations work hand in hand to complete a picture.
“I studied chemistry because I love cooking” - Bayan.
She was encouraged by the fact that there was a PhD program in Palestine. I learned that culturally, it isn’t the easiest thing for Arab parents to have their daughters live alone and travel abroad at a young age. They feel it won’t be safe for her. Honestly, it’s not very different from where I come from so it comes as no big surprise for me. But she knew that she wanted to complete a full circle of studies no matter what discipline she chose. She knew that she wanted to follow the bachelor’s with a master’s and then do a PhD.
She chose to work on water due to its value and limited resources in her country, mostly controlled by the occupying forces. Additionally, the region has polluted water with heavy metals. She aims to find practical solutions for sustainable water management in the area.
Duha was the last person I had the luck to speak to. Her life is also fascinating and very socially active with the organisation she helped found, The Researchist. We will speak at a later stage about their activities. Duha is a junior physician and medical journalist who graduated from An-Najah National University in 2022. She is an accomplished young physician who received recognition as one of the world's 21 outstanding young physicians under 40 at the Young Physician Leaders Program 2022 in Berlin, Germany. She is passionate about science, education, and collaboration and has travelled extensively, meeting people from all over the world. Her energy is really infectious.
Of course, her experience with face-to-face interaction with people and patients is something that I have almost nothing to compare it to. Their work is very interesting and fascinating, since because of the checkpoints that exist in the West Bank, they face problems when they have a medical emergency. For example, how is the ambulance going to arrive fast to a woman who is in delivery or during any medical emergency? They’re trying to use Artificial Intelligence in their emergency services to predict and help people who live in marginalized communities or in Area C.
Another study she’s been involved with is a comparison study with patients who have osteoarthritis and comparing their healing process between some that took Hyaluronic Acid and other medications for knee osteoarthritis. She mentions that many of the studies they do are comparison studies. She would love to do randomized control trials (the gold standards for this type of research) but the setting they’re working in isn’t well built to do this type of research.
We started talking a little bit about her experience with the world and how easy has it been for a person like her to try and have a voice in the international scientific community. She mentioned some things that I can’t mention, but suffice it to say that it hasn’t been easy. Duha has written an opinion piece for the Lancet about her experience when taking an international award in Germany with someone asked her: “How come you are educated, Dr Duha?”
“They think that because I live in the West Bank and wear a hijab, I live in a tent”. - Duha
She finds it fascinating that people are surprised when they see Palestinians being able to speak English, publish papers, and run NGOs. She told me a heartwarming story about an American she met in an airport who initially wasn’t sure if he was allowed to even be close to her. Because the media he had consumed gave him the idea that he was not allowed to stand near her. They had a nice discussion about Islam, Palestine, and the Middle East. He came to the same conclusion that I came. There are people in the Palestinian education system who are very well-educated, very smart and are worth the opportunities we all get. “I deal with it with a smile”. That’s what she said when asked about how she feels when she’s faced with the negative stereotypes the world has about Muslims.
This is the first of three parts of this article. I wanted to introduce the people I met, and their work and show you their passion. They live in an area of the world we hear often about, but very rarely for a positive reason. And even though they live in an area where we hear constantly about war and famine, they manage to be quite successful and not have their hopes and dreams overshadowed by what’s happening. But how do these passionate researchers overcome the daily obstacles of checkpoints, limited resources, and political restrictions? Find out in part two, where we explore the challenges faced by researchers in the West Bank.
Thank you very much Lefteris to open my eyes on this topic. Being a researcher, meaning building the future, in such a deleterious present, shows a lesson.