Despite a collective outcry from human rights groups, the humanitarian situation in Palestine remains on shaky ground.

Manar Sami Shraideh

And without adequate outside support, some Palestinians, like Manar Sami Shraideh, have begun to seek help for the problems that plague the country in the face of Israeli checkpoints and blockades.
The 24-year-old resident of Ramallah in Palestine’s West Bank, a former class valedictorian with a degree in Civil Engineering from Birzeit University near her hometown, arrived in Dearborn on April 20 for an eight-week crash course in the practices of water and waste water management systems as an intern with Lakeshore Engineering Services, Inc. of Detroit.

The company is a mostly federal contractor providing construction services in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan among others, mostly for the Army, Navy, and Air Force while also cleaning and repairing sewer and drinking water systems in Detroit.

Shraideh said her country is begging for a new water supply infrastructure and a new system for modern rain-water collection.

Colt Odeh, the Vice President of Detroit Water & Waste Water Department Projects at Lakeshore, is Shraideh’s supervisor. Odeh is a first-generation Palestinian whose Arabic skills have helped ease her transition. He talked about the water situation in Palestine.

“There are two sources of water in the West Bank, surface and ground water,” he said. “The ground water is shared but the surface water is owned by the Israelis.”

Manar Sami Shraideh, R, an intern from Ramallah, at Lakeshore Engineering Services, Inc. of Detroit, looks over plans in the field.

The water is treated and distributed by Israelis, but Shraideh said it’s difficult to tell when the water is safe to drink, and it often must be carefully rationed by Palestinian citizens because of the uncertainty of when it will be delivered.
There isn’t a whole lot of free time on the schedule for Shraideh, who currently stays at a hotel in Dearborn, but she enjoys shopping at Fairlane Mall stores like Marshall’s and the food of Andiamo’s Restaurant when she gets a chance to relax.

“The food here is very good, but it has a lot of fat,” she said, adding that she enjoys fast food as well. “I have gained 2 kilos since I have been here. But the people here are very friendly.”

Shraideh works from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday from her Lakeshore office, which features a breathtaking 5th-floor view of the Detroit skyline, while also taking English as a second language course at Henry Ford Community College. On Fridays, she attends the University of Michigan-Dearborn for lessons on strategic planning and management skills.

Staying motivated is not a problem for Shraideh, who lives with visions of tanks, military planes, and mothers grieving over sons killed in fighting with Israel in the back of her head.

“Words cannot express the impact of the war on me and other young women in my country Palestine,” she said. “While dreaming of the future is taken for granted in the United States, the future for us is foggy and our dreams may or may not come true.”

The internship program, which was organized by Lakeshore Executive Vice President Kevin Parikh with UM-Dearborn, teams eighteen women from the Middle East and North Africa with Detroit-based firms in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, giving many a chance to finally explore their dreams. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

“(Shraideh) is a bright young lady,” said Parikh, who chose her from a pool of about 10 applicants. “She’s smart, eager, and very anxious to learn.”

Shraideh’s supervisor Colt Odeh, L, is also Palestinian and has helped ease the move to America for Shraideh, whose internship began April 20.

Those qualities are key considering the hands-on learning opportunities she’s been given.
Decked out in a hard hat and thick protective gear, Shraideh has explored sewers to watch how crews repair pipes leading to the Detroit River and also worked on projects including the use of high water pressure to clear out debris and the insertion of long tube-like pipe linings from trucks through manholes to ensure that water flows more smoothly.

“I know that this technology will be of great benefit,” said Odeh. “It’s much cheaper than ripping open the streets to fix water mains for example.”

After Shraideh’s internship ends on June 4, the next step will be to spread the knowledge to her students back home. She teaches classes in structural engineering, surveying and waste water management, and the hope is that her learning will become contagious to the point where some of the country’s water systems can be made more efficient in the near future.

It won’t be easy for Shraideh to leave, however. She’s greatly enjoyed her time in America and hopes to return to continue postgraduate studies.

“I like Dearborn, it’s quiet, it’s safe, and everyone is nice,” she said. “But the one thing here that is not good is that there’s no public transportation.”

Maybe some day the ambitious Shraideh will have a chance to tackle that problem, but not until she takes care of some unfinished business at home.