For many, getting a university degree is a luxury they can ill afford. Such was the case for Mahmoud Al Burai. Living in Palestine, about to graduate secondary school in 2001, he was the top of his class. In normal circumstances, scoring an average of 99.7 per cent would make the world his oyster, but in the Gaza Strip it did not mean much.
Yet, Mahmoud was determined to seek more for his life than what the Gaza Strip had to offer.
"Maybe I'd be dead by now if I hadn't left Palestine. I was hopeless and without a future. My only choice was to do or die," Mahmoud told Campus Notes on his graduation day at the American University in Dubai (AUD), last week. "There are 1.6 million people living in the Gaza Strip and I would have just been another victim of my circumstances," he added.
A valedictorian of his MBA international finance class and Director of the real estate development sector for the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera), Mahmoud has defied the odds.
However, it would have never been possible without the support of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
‘Get me out of here'
Graduating with more than 500 of his peers last week at AUD's thirteenth graduation ceremony, Mahmoud recalled the day his life changed forever.
"After secondary school I felt all hope was lost and I asked Yasser Arafat [then leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation] for help," he said. "He gave orders to his people to help me, but I got nothing, so I sent a letter to the Red Crescent in the UAE telling my story," Mahmoud added.
He said he sent the letter off, expecting no reply, but it was worth a try. Little did he know how worthwhile it was.
"A few weeks later I received a call from a Director at Abu Dhabi TV who said he could help me asking where and what I wanted to study — I said ‘anywhere, just get me out of here'," he said.
The phone call
Mahmoud sent off his certification and official documents to the director and a short while later received a telephone call from Elias Bou Saab, Executive Vice-President of AUD. "He said he'd heard my story and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad had granted me a scholarship covering my tuition fees and all my other costs," he said. "I couldn't believe it! It couldn't be true, I never imagined that one phone call would change my life in just two days," Mahmoud added.
He travelled to the UAE two days after receiving the phone call from Bou Saab and knew no English. "I failed the TOEFL exam when I took it because I had no clue about English," he said.
Five years later, Mahmoud graduated as valedictorian of his Bachelor's class with a degree in engineering from AUD and now works closely with Shaikh Mohammad, having been granted UAE citizenship.
Valedictorian speech
"The first AUD graduation ceremony I attended I saw Bill Clinton deliver a speech and from that day I was determined to give the valedictorian speech for my graduating class," Mahmoud said.
"I wrote the speech before I was even close to graduation and it was my story," he added.
