There is a story and a long road that every student in Palestine goes through to reach university. This challenge is not only academic. Of course, students have to work hard in high school in order to be accepted and then double their efforts in the university as all students in the world must do, but this is only one part of the challenge.

Last year the University of Manchester Students’ Union mandated The Mancunion to feature the stories of students at Al-Najah University, which our students’ union is twinned with. Al-Najah is based in Nablus, in the West Bank. The aim of this is to show the everyday experiences of students in the Palestinian territories. Here is an account given by student Sa’ed Abu Ayash.