PALESTINIAN SCIENTISTS PARALLELS * : SADNESS PRECIS

AN IMPOSSIBLE environment for research. Palestinian scientists persevere in their work despite many and every and all inconceivable obstacles.

In 1948, Dr. Osaid Alser's family moved to Gaza from Hamama, a village on land that is now a part of Israel. A general surgery resident and researcher in Texas, Dr. Alser completed medical school in Gaza in 2016, studied at Oxford University for some time, and then moved to Harvard University in 2019 to conduct research on emergency trauma surgery.

Studying in Europe and the United States is different from studying in Gaza, he said. Unlimited access to electricity, water and internet is a given, and travel is, for the most part, unrestricted. '' That was shocking to me,'' he said.

Big research groups are rare in Gaza, he said, because limits on resources hinder the ability to do science.

Experiments require certain equipment, and sharing successful results requires knowing how to write and submit a paper, as well as having the chance to present that work to other scientists.

Studying abroad offers more opportunities. To do so, Dr. Alser had to apply for permits with governments in Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Gaza. The process can take months, he said, and many people give up.

'' You see so much loss of hope in Gaza,'' he said.

It took him three tries to gain admission to Oxford. He applied for nearly 20 scholarships and won one. With Harvard, he just kept applying. That persistence, Dr. Alser said, is something he learned from living in Gaza.

Dr. Alser was in Texas on Oct. 7. But his family was back home in Gaza, living near AL Shifa Hospital. Last year, Israel raided Al-Shifa, saying that the complex was being used as a secret Hamas command center.

Without stable electricity in Gaza, Dr. Alser was unable to reach his mother or brothers for hours.

'' I was really scared, '' Dr. Alser said. '' I really felt that I'm going to lose my family.''

Dr. Alser's immediate family members have since moved south, and their homes in Gaza have been destroyed, he said. He has continued his medical training in Texas.

'' It's definitely hard, but sometimes I have to work to distract myself,'' Dr. Alser said. '' Listening to what's going on, it's just very, very heartbreaking.''

This Sadness Precis Publishing continues. The World Students Society thanks Katrina Miller.