Palestinian student previously denied entry is allowed in

Ismail B Ajjawi, 17, the Palestinian student who was denied entry into the United States to take up classes at Harvard University after scrutiny of his friends’ social media posts has now been allowed into the country in time to begin his course on 3 September.

Ajjawi’s family issued a statement giving thanks for the thousands of messages of support they had received and the assistance given to ensure his arrival, particularly from AMIDEAST, the organisation funding his studies at Harvard.

On 23 August Ajjawi was turned away by border officials who told him his visa would be cancelled, and he was deported back to Lebanon where he lives, according to the Harvard publication Harvard Crimson.

Ajjawi alleged that his phone and laptop were searched and he was questioned for hours by an official about posts made by his friends on social media and about his religious practices.

In a written statement to the Harvard Crimson Ajjawi said: “After the five hours ended, she called me into a room and she started screaming at me. She said that she found people posting political points of view that oppose the US on my friend list.”

Student groups protest

The decision of the US Customs and Border Protection authorities that Ajjawi was “inadmissable” was strongly opposed by Harvard student groups, who co-signed a petition calling for Ajjawi to be admitted to the country.

Harvard University administrators and AMIDEAST, which supports international cultural and academic exchanges, worked with the student’s family and the federal authorities to resolve the issue.

The Harvard Crimson also reported that in an email to Harvard affiliates on 3 September, Harvard University President Lawrence S Bacow raised his concern that since May new policies of the Trump administration have made it more difficult for some international students to attend the university.

He said: “Various international students and scholars eager to establish lives here on our campus find themselves the subject of scrutiny and suspicion in the name of national security, and they are reconsidering the value of joining our community in the face of disruptions and delays.”

Talented and determined

Ajjawi graduated this spring from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Deir Yassin High School in El Buss refugee camp, south of Tyre, Lebanon. According to UNRWA, he achieved the highest score in the life science stream of the Official Lebanese Baccalaureate exams in the south region and eighth highest in all of Lebanon.

“Ismail Ajjawi is obviously an extremely talented and determined student and young man,” said Dr Caroline Pontefract, the UNRWA director of education, “who, despite all odds, has gained a place in one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Ismail wants to study physical and chemical biology towards a career in medicine which he had always dreamed of.

“As such, he is a beacon of hope for hundreds of thousands of UNRWA students and representative of what UNRWA strives to achieve through its education programme: to realise the potential of every student and ensure that they acquire the values and principles that underpin the programme and UNRWA as a UN agency.”

Limited scholarships

Ajjawi is one of more than half a million Palestinian refugee children attending UNRWA schools in different countries.

The student, in a statement on UNRWA’s website, said his school suffers from being surrounded by dense housing in the El Buss refugee camp. “In this atmosphere it is really difficult for students to concentrate on their studies. There are limited scholarships [after high school] and each year the amount is reduced. A large proportion of students are unable to study.

“I advise all my classmates to study hard and maintain their studies, so that they can achieve their dreams as I have been able to achieve mine.”