From Refugee to Educator: How UNRWA Changed My Life
by Ihmayed Ali
Born a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, Ihmayed Ali faced tough times, yet through resilience and the support of UNRWA, he built a future for himself and his family. Today, he is a member of the UNRWA USA Refugee Advisory Council (UURAC) and a guest contributor to the Voices of UNRWA blog. Through his writing, he shares how UNRWA’s educational programs shaped his career and fueled his passion for giving back.
My name is Ihmayed Ali. I am a proud Palestinian, father, author, and Biomedical Engineer. Though my life is in a good place now, my family and I have overcome many challenges—experiences that most people never face, yet are all too common for Palestine refugees.
During the 1948 Nakba, my parents were dispossessed from their homes, forcing them to settle in Wavel refugee camp in Lebanon. My family of 13 lived in one room that used to be a chicken coop, without electricity, water, or even a bathroom. How did we do it? I don’t know. All I remember is that there was a one-meter-high partition in the middle—one side for my parents and the other side for the children.
Conditions were dire in the camp, and many young men were politically pressured to join militias to become fighters. Instead of this dark fate, UNRWA provided me with the opportunity to gain an education and earn multiple degrees, which allowed me to be where I am today.
At the young age of 16, I left Wavel camp and moved to the UNRWA Siblin Training Centre in Southern Lebanon, where young Palestine refugees receive free vocational training in a range of fields.
When I got ready to leave, my mother hugged me and said, "Go, son, and do your best to make us proud. May God bless you." We both had tears in our eyes. I said goodbye to all my siblings and traveled alone for the first time.
I was scared and shaking all the way to Siblin. I will never forget when I got to Beirut. I was lost in that big city. I had no courage to ask anyone for help. I wandered around in circles for hours until I finally asked a little boy, who helped me find my way.
Those early struggles taught me resilience and the importance of finding support in unexpected places. I was determined to build a better future and eventually earned a certification in electronics from the Siblin Centre and later, a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Damascus in Syria.
I became eager to give back and help other refugees succeed and learn. I wanted as many young Palestinians as possible to have the same opportunities—if not better—than those UNRWA provided me.
In 1982, I accepted another UNRWA opportunity to work as a Senior Instructor at the Training Centre in Damascus. I developed plans to admit more underprivileged students, creating more job opportunities for Palestinian refugees in Syria. This helped lift their families out of poverty and prevent further loss.
My career path took me to UNRWA's headquarters in Amman, Jordan, where I trained instructors across the five areas of UNRWA operations—Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
In 1993, my life came full circle when I returned to Siblin to serve as the Principal at the UNRWA Training College for seven years. Thanks to the generous donations from the people of the United States, I was able to develop computer labs and establish short-term courses that gave hope to hundreds of students.
UNRWA also enabled each of my family members to receive advanced degrees. Through the financial support of the UN Agency, I have brothers and sisters who are teachers, engineers, pharmacists, and doctors. Their success can be attributed to their enormous passion and drive, but also to the vital support they received from UNRWA.
Because my people have been largely ignored by the international community, I felt a deep responsibility to tell their story through my own and to highlight the immense role of UNRWA in supporting these displaced people, both in the Middle East and around the world. I earned a Master’s degree in Education and wrote a book, Abandoned Palestine Refugee in English and Images of Palestine Refugee in Arabic.
Today, I work as a Biomedical Engineer at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada. Without UNRWA’s educational programs and humanitarian services, my extended family and I would not have been able to provide a better life for our children and grandchildren. UNRWA continues to help thousands of refugee families like mine out of dire situations.
As I write this, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are receiving emergency life-saving care from UNRWA facilities. These services and aid are at risk by Israeli legislation that would ban all UNRWA operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Educational opportunities open dozens of doors for recipients and their families, and I am proof of this. But UNRWA’s ban threatens both the educational programs I benefited from and the emergency life-saving aid that only UNRWA can provide.
UNRWA’s mandate is under attack like never before. It is crucial that we all raise our voices to advocate for what is right.
Join Ihmayed and advocate for the US government to restore UNRWA funding and ensure refugees get the aid they deserve.
You can also support refugees by making a donation to UNRWA USA to fund the critical aid our government isn’t providing.