46 ms·

My experience as a Gazan girl getting into Silicon Valley companies

1723 points by daliaawad 6y ago

Hiii everyone, this is my first time posting here! I have read Hacker News sometimes but only thought about sharing my own post after seeing Manara's post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25849054)last month. I asked them if I can share this here and they said it was a good idea. :) I’m a 19-year-old Gazan female who participated in Manara last year and got internships at Google and Repl.it. I’m so excited I will spend this summer at Google in Europe! I got lots of questions about my experience when people heard about it on Facebook so I wrote this blog post (https://daliaawad28.medium.com/my-experience-as-a-gazan-girl-getting-into-silicon-valley-companies-488062d769a1) to let other young engineers in Palestine and the Middle East know how they can get into amazing companies like this too. If you are an engineer or student like me, read it and apply to Manara, they will help you so much!! Btw I have a few friends who just finished the Manara program and are looking for internships now so if you have opportunities make sure to talk to Manara (http://www.manara.tech). Ask them about Rula and Hend! :)))

rvz 6y ago
Well done!
- daliaawad 6y ago
  Thank you!
daliaawad 6y ago
Hiii everyone, this is my first time posting here! I have read Hacker News sometimes but only thought about sharing my own post after seeing Manara's post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25849054 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25849054) last month. I asked them if I can share this here and they said it was a good idea. :) I’m a 19-year-old Gazan female who participated in Manara last year and got internships at Google and Repl.it. I’m so excited I will spend this summer at Google in Europe! I got lots of questions about my experience when people heard about it on Facebook so I wrote this blog post to let other young engineers in Palestine and the Middle East know how they can get into amazing companies like this too.
- philangist 6y ago
  Congrats! This post is awesome and really put a huge smile on my face. It reminded me of how enthusiastic I was about programming at your age and there aren't a lot of better places to start your career than at Google. Best of luck.
- fedelcar 6y ago
  Congratulations!
- nosefrog 6y ago
  Congrats!!!!
- kaladin_1 6y ago
  Congratulations! Your enthusiasm is actually charming. I'm sure it has put smile on many faces. It brings this nostalgic feeling of how many actually started. Have a blast in your career!
- AdmiralAsshat 6y ago
  Congrats, Dalia! I hope we'll continue to see posts from you in the future, documenting your progress.
  - daliaawad 6y ago
    Thank you so much! Sure I can come back and share more updates! :)
- Zababa 6y ago
  Congratulations! Your story is really inspiring.
- adnanc 6y ago
  Mabrook Really happy to read about your journey, incredibly inspirational.
- brabel 6y ago
  Which country(ies) in Europe you're going to? Hope COVID-19 doesn't spoil your travel opportunities!
amasad 6y ago
Congrats, Dalia! I understand why chose Google over us -- the chance to travel is hard to pass on -- but maybe we'll get you next year ;)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- daliaawad 6y ago
  Thank you so much Amjad! I really love Repl.it and I think I am a startup person in my heart. If you have a fall or spring internship opportunity don’t forget about me!
  - ublaze 6y ago
    I'm curious what visa you'd be using to work at Repl.it (if you were going to move to the USA). I'm wondering if our startup should be using Manara.
    - ilianam 6y ago
      Moving to the United States is almost impossible for junior engineers from the Middle East. They can relocate to Europe quite easily though. Dalia is going to relocate to Germany or Poland. They can come to the USA for an internship quite easily on a J-1 visa, but they won't be able to stay easily once you want to hire them full-time. Have you considered remote work or opening an office in Europe? Feel free to contact us at www.manara.tech/hire-engineers and we can set up a call.
      - puszczyk 6y ago
        Do you think Poland is a good place to relocate to for person from the Middle East? I'm Polish and the country never struck me as particularly tolerant for foreign cultures, although I have some anecdotal evidence of Indian people who relocated here and they do quite well from what I understand. I don't have any first hand account, but there is a sizable group of doctors and civil engineers from the Middle East / North Africa who I believe migrated here during the communist period (as our government back then had good relationships with some of their governments, they've often arrived on students exchanges and stayed). Note, I don't want to discourage anyone, I hope Dalia and people in the similar situation have a great career in front of here. I'm curios about the outside perspective and why you've indicated Poland as a potential destination to relocate to the EU.
dionian 6y ago
Congrats, well-deserved. I hope you encourage other Palestinians and Arabs to follow suit!
- daliaawad 6y ago
  Yaasss of course! This is why I wrote this post and am sharing on social media too. :) lots of people are contacting me now on facebook asking how to do it. www.manara.tech will help them. that’s how I got into these companies. their mission is to help palestinian and middle east engineers fulfill their dreams and work at international startups & companies! Now that I got in, I am going to go back and mentor the next Manara cohorts to help more people do it
justblaze23 6y ago
Congratulations! Extremely well deserved, wish you the best going forward :)
xyst 6y ago
am I the only one that doesn't care about working for a FAANG? The only intrigue from these companies is that they offer golden handcuffs. I occasionally go through the interview cycle at these companies just to get offers I could use to leverage other companies. there's probably a limited number of projects that interest me at these companies and knowing my luck I would get assigned to some maintenance project doing "plumbing" (internal use only libs for example) or assigned to cleanup shitty code from a nearly dying project. if you are graduating college and get into these companies, don't drink the koolaid. keep your eyes open and don't waste your potential on these companies. Save up your $$$, and build something that people will use.
- bpodgursky 6y ago
  FAANG companies are good options for foreign engineers because they have a very organized application -> visa -> green card pipeline. If you're interviewing at a small startup, it's very hit or miss whether their legal team will be willing and competent enough to get you into the country safely. I'd actually recommend small startups for most people, given growth opportunities, but if your primary concern is to get into the US on a permanent basis, it's much safer to apply to a large boring enterprise with a good legal team.
  - lovecg 6y ago
    I don’t know why you’re getting the downvotes, this is the reality of the situation. People who already live in the US are in a privileged position and cannot emphasize with this point of view.
    - bpodgursky 6y ago
      I've given up using downvotes on HN as a meaningful measure of information quality. Reflexive users will downvote on keywords. Whatever.
      - rendall 6y ago
        Same.
anonymousDan 6y ago
Well done!
coziestSoup 6y ago
This brought a smile to my face :) > Repl.it is my best friend as a developer. I use it every day. I didn’t realize I could work there! This reminded me of when I first came to the US from India and started realizing that all the software I used (Windows, Gmail etc) and videogames I played were made by ordinary people like me.
- ilianam 6y ago
  Love this! I'm Manara's co-founder and CEO. One of the things we hear from people like Dalia is how much they LOVE getting mock interviews & mentorship from people who work at Google, Netflix, Amazon, Wayfair, Spotify, Twitter, etc. Over and over again they say, "I thought you had to be a genius to work there, but after meeting these people, I feel like I could do it too."
pookeh 6y ago
Congratulations! Looking forward to hearing more positive news from you in the future.
adamredwoods 6y ago
> I became passionate about programming in high school. My teacher selected me for a robotics competition. We built a line follower robot using Arduino. To me this is important to know how to get younger people interested in programming. The application approach seems better than the "cool, trendy online class" approach. I also think Dalia is an exception and not the norm. I also want to know about those that didn't succeed and what obstacles they faced, and as an instructor what can we do differently?
- GloriousKoji 6y ago
  Just give a damn and focus on passionate students who are actually interested in something rather than the superficial students doing it to look good for a college application. Sorry if I use this bit to rant but I'm still mad at a teacher from high school decades later. As a child I was mad at the injustice done to me. Thinking back as an adult I'm mad at all the potential she probably squandered in others. She taught the electronics classes and was put in charge of the cube satellite project. It was an extracurricular activity where students work with volunteers to design and build a small cube satellite that would launch into space. It wasn't announced to the school and I only caught word of it from a friend. I rushed to get an application filled out and turned in but the teacher said that I missed the cut off by one day (a date arbitrarily set by her). I was devastated. A few weeks later I was told by a volunteer I could still join in and help, so I did. I put in some serious work and at some point I find out I missed a big meeting. I asked the teacher about it and she refused to believe I was a participant and would not add me to the mailing list. All my passion and love for wanted to building something and send it into space was converted into vengeful teenage angst and by that young logic I wanted to see her name plastered all over the failure. The best way to accomplish that was to stop showing up and helping. Times goes by and right after all the college applications are submitted I find out that most of the students immediately stopped working on it. Went from something like 100 students down to 3. The satellite was never finished and didn't get launched into space. I'm probably the exception with the after story: taught myself some rudimentary things from a RadioShack book, got into college and graduated with a BS in EE. Now a days I see all these cool youtube videos and how easily it is for kids to discover things but have may not necessarily have the resources or guidance to get going.
Melting_Harps 6y ago
> I’m a 19-year-old Gazan female who participated in Manara last year and got internships at Google and Repl.it. I’m so excited I will spend this summer at Google in Europe! I got lots of questions about my experience when people heard about it on Facebook so I wrote this blog post to let other young engineers in Palestine and the Middle East know how they can get into amazing companies like this too. That's awesome that you got in, but I have to be 'that guy' and ask what role do you think Google plays in the survielence based economy in keeping Gaza in it's horrible plight? Israeli surveillance companies are often the most adept at violating and breaking through encryption, and I often think Gaza is the lab they use to test out their wares: but what if any role does Google have in helping the people of Gaza like yourself in re-establishing itself and removing the embargo that has led to those atrocious living conditions of so many hapless people? I literately cried for hours when I watched the Banksy documentary in Gaza for the Christmas play and the celebration the children (your aged at the time) put on, to have such resolve in the face of despotic tyranny is nothing short of heroic, and I hope your role at google can evolve in order to place a much larger magnifying glass on the crimes against humanity and make them accountable for creating the largest internment camp in the World (2nd to Xianjing now) that Israel is undertaking and justifying with things that happened to a generation of people who no longer exists for the most part, and I'm sure would be appalled at seeing given what they experienced. Edit: Will you guys give the downvoting a rest for once, FFS I'm asking a sincere question instead of just parroting 'congrats' like the rest of you.
- vmception 6y ago
  Obsessively focusing on oppression just because you recognize the name of an area does make you “that guy” and this is not the thread for it. The reality is that people have a day to day life and right now we are talking about that.
  - Melting_Harps 6y ago
    > The reality is that people have a day to day life and right now we are talking about that. Asking what role Google has as one of the most atrocious in privacy violators, is something that is relevant to the day to day of Gaza. The fact that you so quickly dismiss their plight the way you do is why this can never be more than a walled garden, and why I honestly think she should see what working in Silicon Valley minded corps is like before she goes any deeper: you want your narrative to be the only one, even while building tools that keep people in that position in their very business model. Sidenote: I donated to send food via Flotilla that got raided by Isreali forces in 2010, so don't tell me what I think of the situation much less belittle my experiences in such a condescending way.
wombatmobile 6y ago
Thank you for sharing your experiences, here Dalia. I have not heard a first person account like yours from Gaza before. The news we see from Gaza in Australia is almost exclusively bleak - a never ending tale of injustices, deprivation, losses, and endurance. Your story is a wonderful counterpoint that lifts my feelings. Congratulations for being recognised as a capable engineer by two organisations that you hold in high regard. In addition to your engineering aptitude, it sounds like you know how to direct yourself and to connect with your poise in professional circumstances that some other talented engineers might find trying. These capabilities are rare and valued, because they distinguish you as someone who can join a group and move it forward. Please keep posting here at HN from time to time. I wish you happiness and satisfaction, and look forward to hearing how you get on with whatever you choose to work at and discover.
- daliaawad 6y ago
  Yes I know! Gaza is so much more than that. There are a lot of smart motivated people. Did you know that one of the people who worked on the Mars Helicopter - NASA that just landed on Mars is from Gaza? https://www.linkedin.com/in/elbasyouni/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/elbasyouni/ I want you to know that I’m not the only one. I worked hard but so did lots of other people and some of them are even smarter than me. 4 people from Manara in Palestine got into Google this year and I think there will be more (I was in Manara’s 4th cohort and the 5th cohort is just applying to jobs now. I think at least 6 people are interviewing at Google from both West Bank and Gaza). I’ll keep you updated and if you want I can tell them to share their stories here too :)
- niaher 6y ago
  I worked in Gaza for close to 3 years and led a team of 6 software engineers. We worked on a pretty complicated business app (UN project). We were a very quality-focused team and did some pretty cool and advanced stuff. What I can say from my time in Gaza is that there are many very driven, talented software engineers there. Some of the best engineers I ever worked with were Palestinians (and I don't say this lightly).
  - devoutsalsa 6y ago
idclip 6y ago
Ahlen jaretna, respect and admiration.
throw8932894 6y ago
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- dang 6y ago
  Please don't take HN threads into nationalistic flamewar. We're trying for something else here, and the pressures driving all related discussions in that direction are pretty significant. It takes effort not to succumb to the defaults. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - throw8932894 6y ago
    Fair enough.
thrwaccq 6y ago
Really nice ! I have seen code written by folks who have participated in Gaza Sky Geeks program. I was really impressed. Almost every one I interacted with virtually were very good at html / css / js.
- leggomuhgreggo 6y ago
  Seconded!
masfrost 6y ago
I interviewed Dalia and a few other people referred to us by Manara at Repl.it. It was such a pleasure meeting kids that are so smart and have an insane drive. We have a really high bar for hiring at Repl.it, Dalia and the other youngsters from Palestine performed better than at least half the experienced engineers I've interviewed in the past. We extended an offer to one Dalia's classmates and he started yesterday as an intern with high potential for full-time, as our internships usually are since we invest a lot in them. It was such a pleasure meeting you Dalia, wish you all the best. Hope to work with you in the future (maybe when we can offer US visas). P.S. We're still hiring
- vinger 6y ago
  I'm sure Dalia is great. "other youngsters from Palestine performed better than at least half the experienced engineers I've interviewed in the past." This comment caught me a little off guard. You are saying that these young people with no experience perform better than half of the experienced engineers you interview. My question is what is wrong with your hiring process? It sounds broken.. What part of the process are the experienced developers failing in? What are you asking for in candidates that these experienced developers lack but can be found in this group of inexperienced engineers? Curious about salary, would you say Dalia friends makes the same as an experienced developer?
  - zukhan 6y ago
    I've interviewed hundreds of "experienced" engineers who could not code for the life of them. Not sure why you assumed the process is broken without first asking about it.
    - throwaway894345 6y ago
      I agree with this (maybe not the "you sound bitter" part), but it still seems like there's something interesting going on. Why are Palestinian youngsters outperforming experienced engineers from elsewhere? Presumably we would expect Palestinian youngsters to perform on par with youngsters elsewhere unless they had access to additional relevant education or experiences, right? Maybe there's some selection process that filters out all of the under qualified Palestinian youngsters before they enter repl.it's pipeline?
blobbers 6y ago
This is awesome! In my graduating class (at a top engineering/cs school) the smartest person with the most consistent high grades was a palestinian immigrant (who would always whisper the correct pronunciations when the professors were butchering the pronunciation of a TA's names). I don't think I fully understood the life he had come from, but this is a reminder that we should stop saddling the youth with the battles of their parents. Glad to hear you're getting some freedom.
yawnxyz 6y ago
wow you're more accomplished than I am at 35 haha... really impressive. You'll go so far!
jedberg 6y ago
Today I learned about Manara. I'd never heard of it before, but I look forward to using it the next time I need to hire someone! Sounds like an awesome platform.
- daliaawad 6y ago
  Yes you should! The Manara community is amaaazing. They are super smart motivated people who already have computer science or engineering degrees. Manara teach us how to interview at companies… both technical and soft skills… I have a bunch of friends in their 5th cohort who are looking for opportunities right now. By the way the CTO of Manara is from Gaza too. She often tells me I remind her of her a few years ago. :))) She lives in Silicon Valley now and started Manara because she knew how many smart people there are in Palestine.
dorongrinstein 6y ago
I'm an Israeli/American founder of a software company. I'm very happy to hear your story. I hope you inspire many other Gazans. I'd hire Palestinians remotely too.I recall my first airplane trip. Very exciting times for you. I wish you lots of success and happiness in your journey. You've chosen a fantastic path that will God-willing reward you and your family. May there be peace between our people soon!
- sgt 6y ago
  How feasible is it for Palestinian developers to get work in Israel? As far as I understand, all Palestinians speak fluent hebrew.
  - david12345 6y ago
    I wouldn't really say that...the newer generation knows much less Hebrew than the older ones that used to work in Israel, and in Gaza probably even more so than the West Bank. But all the hitech work is in English so it is not really a problem in this sense. I know Mellanox has some: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-israeli-firm-mellanox-aims-to-bring-palestinian-staff-to-nvidia-after-takeover-1.8446926 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-israel... But the bigger issue is the willingness to hire Palestinians(and legal issues as well), and afterwards to work with them as well, as there is animosity on both sides, especially with people who currently live in Israel/Palestine as opposed to ones that live in Europe.
georgehdd 6y ago
Mabruk Dalia!
ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
I can't begin to say how nice it is, seeing something like this. So often, we see complaints (often, accurate, but still complaints) about how bad things are. For myself, I try not to whine too much (with debatable results). TBH, when I read the title, I was expecting this to be one of those posts that exposes the industry and the process as some kind of abusive fraud. I was really happy to see it be pure joy and positive affirmation. I have more than a few qualms about the way things are, but it's still an awesome field to be in. I am glad to see you do well, and get acclimated to the engineering culture at these corporations. I suspect that you will have many opportunities, and wish you, and your classmates, well.
mFixman 6y ago
It's hard to overstate how great FAANG internships are for giving a leg up in life to third world university students. Like Dalia, I thought it would be almost impossible to get a good job on a developed country if you didn't do well in the birth lottery until Google figured out I was good at programming and gave me a nice internship project. I bombed that first internship, but with the extra experience and the knowledge that I had more open doors than I thought allowed me to get a nice job in the UK after the second one.
- ilianam 6y ago
  How did you bomb that first internship? I wonder if there's a useful lesson to share here with Dalia and our broader community.
  - mFixman 6y ago
    I got the internship after only one year of college, and I had nowhere near the amount of experience necessary to solve the particularly complex project I was in: I was a very good programmer but a very bad engineer. When I got accepted for my second internship years later I decided to get a real job 3 months prior to learn how to work in teams in the industry. I think this gave me the correct context to do well later. If I were to give an advice to other third worlders with FAANG internships: work like you've never worked before and like you'll never work afterwards. This will change your life if you do it right.
120bits 6y ago
This is inspirational and your hard work paid off! Congrats Dalia!
smusamashah 6y ago
I am from Pakistan and my view of Gaza and Palestine is very narrow because all we see on TV is Israel mass murdering everyone in Palestine. What is the tech scene in Gaza? Any software houses, companies and startups there? If there are, what are they mostly about?
- mvzvm 6y ago
  "my view of Gaza and Palestine is very narrow because all we see on TV is Israel mass murdering everyone in Palestine" This is a very mature realization, and a great example of how media can distort reality. It is far more complex and nuanced than that. I suggest you check out sources from beyond Pakistan and try to learn more about what is going on.
  - smusamashah 6y ago
    I wish I had skipped the first part and just asked the question. Silly me.
- pid_0 6y ago
  > because all we see on TV is Israel mass murdering everyone in Palestine Well of course you see that as thats the agenda of the media, and your media. The reality is gaza launches rockets on a weekly basis at civilians and before the wall, would walk onto public buses and blow themselves up. Please, educate yourself.
  - abdulmuhaimin 6y ago
    the irony....
  - andrepd 6y ago
    How can the point be right in front of your face and you still miss it...
inglor 6y ago
As an Israeli who was involved in Gaza Sky Geeks but didn’t get to follow up with mentees I just wanted to share that your story is inspiring and encouraging and congratulations on your hard earned job. It’s shameful we have so many bright Gazans but stupid politics prevents the natural technical collaboration that could arise. I work with many Arab developers (in a big company) here and the divide between Gaza/West Bank/Israeli Arabs is so frustrating and upsetting to me. Best of luck and keep inspiring!
- Udik 6y ago
  > but stupid politics I wouldn't call 800k Israelis living on Palestinian land "stupid politics". That's a bit dismissive of the issue, don't you think?
  - dang 6y ago
    "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - Udik 6y ago
      I didn't mean to criticise, I actually appreciate the spirit of the comment I replied to. But I do think- and wanted to point out- that waving it off as "stupid politics" is maybe a form of self-deception, when you live in a country that hugely profits from the situation.
      - accounted 6y ago
        It really is. Like "haha, we just took over your country, destroyed your homes, killed your families, and called your land ours, gee those politics are ridiculous!"
        dang 6y ago
twodave 6y ago
Congratulations and thanks for writing this. It is easy as an American male to overlook how much harder others might have to work to achieve what I think of as very approachable goals. You've not only put in all the work but also had to rely on the good graces of these programs to support you! That work ethic you've cultivated is what you now must rely on to succeed and by far your most valuable asset. You will still face difficulties because of your gender and ethnicity. It's horrible and wrong, and I hope it changes. But your tenacity and drive will show everybody your real value in the end, and I think you'll do well! I believe you are and can continue to be part of the change.
- sitevas35 6y ago
  > You will still face difficulties because of your gender and ethnicity. She is going to Europe, not USA. Unless she picks a really bad place (but most Google HQs there are in a good place), she won't have any such issues. Europe doesn't talk as much about gender and race, but they actually do things as well, while in the USA everyone kinda pats their back for "walking out for Black Lifes Matter" and calls it a day.
  - headmelted 6y ago
    Errr I’d want to see hard evidence this is the case before I’d take it as a given. There’s no part of me that finds it easy to believe that a female, minority worker in tech is going to get the same opportunities as a white male anywhere in Europe. I’d think the more sinister patting of one’s own back is assuming that “at least we’re not like that here” without hard evidence to back up that assumption.
    - Xevi 6y ago
      The (billion dollar) company I work for in Europe has a policy that they hire twice as many women as men. Women also get twice as long contracts and better career paths. They are also trying to hire a lot more people of color. Statistically you have an extremely higher chance of getting hired as a black female than a white male.
domano 6y ago
I gave a few workshops on golang development in Jordan and what i noticed is that women were much more common in the comp sci department. They also were way more interested in the topic- is the situation in gaza similiar? This was really refreshing to see
- mbroncano 6y ago
  In my experience, pretty much everywhere else out of the US you will find plenty of women in STEM. Admittedly not 50% but it’s certainly much more common.
  - Daho0n 6y ago
    Wow, it really irks me that truthful comments that add something to the discussion gets down votes as soon as it is stating anything that could maybe be construed as negative against the US.
  - domano 6y ago
    I am from germany so this is at least not just a US thing. Isn't it well known that there are way more male IT people in all western countries?
  - jillesvangurp 6y ago
    In my experience that's not the case in quite many countries. Most of western Europe is the same as the US though it varies from country to country; e.g. the nordics are a bit better on this front then e.g. Germany or my home country the Netherlands. I suspect most of South America has similar demographics. As far as I know Asia is generally better on this front I suspect it has a lot to do with women being more interested in things that give them economic opportunities. This is something driven by women themselves. IMHO women are actually also part of the problem in the west. There seems to be a dynamic where women self select out of career paths long before they would even be in a position to be subjected to the type of workplace abuse that is often blamed for this. Don't get me wrong, that abuse needs to be fought and challenged and rooted out. But it's not going to be enough. You see similar dynamics across many developing nations where women empower themselves by taking on anything that earns money. Many of these countries are otherwise pretty conservative/unremarkable when it comes to women rights and arguably a lot worse than most of the west. But that doesn't seem to stop women being successful doing all sorts of things for which many high-school girls would pull up their noses.
comfyinnernet 6y ago
>At Google there were interviews exactly like what Manara prepared us for: data structures & algorithms problem-solving. I'm surprised this hasn't become the main point of discussion here yet. Edit: I mean Google's interview technique, and how people prepare for it
- elanning 6y ago
  I think it does its job perfectly; gives them candidates who are willing to put up with 10 hour study sessions for weeks OR people who are naturally brilliant (and don't break under pressure while being watched). It filters out a lot of insanely good candidates by doing so, but who cares when you have 100,000+ job applications?
  - Aeolun 6y ago
    Do those qualities actually correlate with what you want in an engineer?
sudosteph 6y ago
First of all - big props to Dalia. She clearly worked her behind off to earn those offers. Second - this definitely, to me, proves that Manara has a good business model. I actually don't think the fact that the Manara students are from MENA is all that important though. However, I do think that their extremely hands-on, and intensive "bootcamp for FAANG interviewing" model is clearly an advantage for early career technical candidates. Thinking back to my college days (in the US, mid 2010s) - we were not given any sort of class that focused on professional interviewing. The college career center was also very general, and not knowledgeable about the specifics of passing the coding interviews. The best advice I got was a recommendation from a guest lecturer to read "cracking the coding interview" (which to be fair, was better than nothing). As a result, the people from my school who did the best right out of the gate, were largely people who already knew people already in a FAANG roles and who could rely on that person for a referral, interview advice and practice feedback. Our school was not in SV (or anywhere close), so realistically, that was not an option for most of us. Additionally, I always applied for internships at FAANG companies while I was still a student - but never even got called in to interview - so it wasn't like I could practice that way either. I ended up doing fine for myself by accumulating a good base of practical experience from local non-FAANG companies before graduating, but I really believe my peers, and aspirational novice engineers of all backgrounds would have benefited greatly from having a hands-on course like Dalia described. I especially would love to see efforts like that extending out to under-served communities here in the US as well (native american reservations, appalachians, rust belt cities).
- ilianam 6y ago
  Thanks so much for sharing this perspective! I'm Manara's Co-Founder and CEO. I wish that we could tackle all these communities at once because you're right - there's undiscovered talent in many underserved communities and everyone (them, employers, society) would benefit from bridging the small gap they're facing to world-class employment. We chose to focus on MENA for a few reasons. First, it's the region that we know best and can therefore be competitive in. Second, it truly is a large, exceptional pool of diverse STEM talent - it will soon be as many STEM grads as Eastern Europe (and more than half of them are women!) Third, we can scale our impact by building a brand for this talent pool & referral networks. Similar to what happened in Eastern Europe. Finally, our focus helps to attract precisely the resource we need to fulfill our mission: highly talented engineers from top tech companies around the world. Some are alumni, most are currently volunteers who care about MENA. They volunteer to do mock interviews, mentor the participants, etc. We could never do this without them. My co-founder Laila (who is from Gaza, and like Dalia, made it to Silicon Valley... but back in 2016) and I are both passionate about untapping human potential. While we can't tackle all underserved communities at once, we are actively sharing lessons learned with organizations doing similar things in other regions. :)
andreygrehov 6y ago
Congrats! TLDR: Hard work pays off.
IOT_Apprentice 6y ago
This was a heartwarming story to read. Congratulations on your journey so far, wishing you much success in the future.
laura2013 6y ago
wow, this story is incredible. Dalia, thank you for being so honest about your experience. I have no doubt that your dedication and cheerful approach to the field will take you far. Not gonna lie, the end made me tear up a bit. I hope you an incredible summer with your friends.
- daliaawad 6y ago
  Oh, I am glad you liked my blog! Thank you for your sweet words. I hope someday I meet all of my friends from the West bank and maybe share a photo together :)
klik99 6y ago
I was so worried opening this link, but really made me happy to see such a great support system and preparation - without that applying can feel like you vs the world. Congrats!
Synaesthesia 6y ago
Crazy that she can never enter the West Bank or Israel
- Clewza313 6y ago
  The blog said she went to Jordan overland, which means she has entered both. You're right though that it's extremely difficult for most Gazans to do so, and many will live and die without ever leaving that cramped little strip of land.
  - andrepd 6y ago
    Don't forget the fact that Israel blocks imports and exports, meaning the country has extreme difficulties getting e.g. construction materials, nevermind getting an industry going. Unemployment is everywhere, misery, disaffected youth (as is understandable)... is it any surprise resentment and hatred proliferate?
williesleg 6y ago
Nice! But why bring gender, age and ethnicity into the picture if we're all supposed to be equals? Or do you just like stirring the pot?
yannickt 6y ago
I salute you.
popobawa 6y ago
amazing achievement, this article made me smile and i am confident you will achieve a lot in the future. Keep up the good work
khendron 6y ago
Great article, and congratulations! One thing stood out for me though > On January 1, 2021, I received an email from Repl.it letting me know that I had been selected. To me this is a huge red flag. To receive a work related email on what is probably the most widely recognized holiday in the world is the sign of a company with terrible work-life balance. I hope I'm wrong, but I have ignored such a flag in the past and got bitten.
- cyrux004 6y ago
  timezones. probably sent on Dec 31 . our company doesnt have holiday for new years eve
  - slumpt_ 6y ago
    oof
  - cema 6y ago
    Or it could be automated.
- kyawzazaw 6y ago
  it could be automated or timezoned. a positive message could make the person day great the privilege has to show up.
SamElliotEsq 6y ago
That's the most long-winded way of saying "I'll fuck your ass" I've ever seen in a good while. Never underestimate the pussy, I know you boy-boys do. Respect the pussy, dudes.
jojobas 6y ago
How about we talk about an elephant in the room: the parents. Encouraging, or even allowing, a girl to venture outside the Strip is entirely unusual. I'd suspect her general interest in computers is not an accident either. You'll find more Gazan parents wishing their children to blow themselves up at a bus stop than go live a western life elsewhere.
marshmallow_12 6y ago
congrats
steve_taylor 6y ago
This is Hacker News, not shaadi.com.
mlthoughts2018 6y ago
Great to see the excitement and success story for this hardworking person. Depressing to see leetcode and data structures interview prep heralded as a positive thing and treated as a neutral, accepted, “nothing wrong with this” aspect of the path to getting a job.
bjourne 6y ago
Best of luck to you! Palestinians are nothing but resilient. Bootstrapping yourself to an internship at Google in a territory where the unemployment rate exceeds 50% takes an amazing amount of grit. Israel's siege of Gaza is truly criminal.
- yesnomaybeno 6y ago
  Israel is a apartheid regime that needs to be dismantled and replaced with a country that is fair to all its citizens, rather than an ethnostate based on racist ideas of Jewish supremacy.
  - imbnwa 6y ago
    You should see how they they treat African Jews from the upper Nile who're definitively proven to be genetically Jewish but who face all sorts of discrimination when it comes to work and inter-marrying with, you know, their fellow Jews
radicalriddler 6y ago
Wow, sometimes I get so caught up in my dislike of social media (especially facebook), that I forget how useful it is for certain underprivileged demographics. Good on you Dalia for grabbing the opportunities with both hands :)
ygmelnikova 6y ago
The message is clear kids. Get skilled and head west. Leave these hell holes to the losers.
nickthemagicman 6y ago
With Manara and Latam incubators on the rise hopefully the demand will drop for tech people in North American companies and they will finally be able to pay reasonable salaries to tech people.
- nomdep 6y ago
  Not sure if I understand you. "Reasonable" == "lower"?
  - nickthemagicman 6y ago
    Yeah lower. Way lower. Maybe it will finally bring some sanity to American worker salaries. Companies can use that saved money for better things. Like executive bonuses and investing in new opportunities.
_joel 6y ago
Echoing the sentiment, it's good to see hard work and dedication get rewarded, despite such adversity. It's safe to say you'll go far and considering what you've had to deal with, a P1 outage (which is a rite of passage) will be a breeze :) All the best for the future
whiddershins 6y ago
I feel like there are a large number of comments here stating how many obstacles the author is likely to face going forward because of race and gender. I wonder whether people have really examined the utility of repeating this claim. The huge obstacle in the author’s story was country of birth. OTOH race and gender can have pluses and minuses. There is casual and subconscious bias on one side, but on the other side we have explicit corporate hiring policies that seek to counteract this. It is possible that the net balance is in favor of the author because of this. Members of underrepresented groups could benefit greatly from knowing how many programs are in place to encourage, nurture, and welcome them into this industry. This could make it seem more achievable and encourage people to try. Members of underrepresented groups do not benefit from being told how hard it will be in tech, and I think it isn’t in even in evidence when all factors are included. Saying ‘you are going to face tons of discrimination’ is a form of keeping people out. It may seem like it is empathy, but it can just have the effect of discouraging people. If we want more diversity in tech, we should be saying things like ‘This is great! And you will find many people will be very welcoming. Please join us.’
- Aeolun 6y ago
  > The huge obstacle in the author’s story was country of birth. At least much more so than gender or race will be going forward :)
einpoklum 6y ago
> I’m so excited I will spend this summer at Google in Europe! ... amazing companies like [Google] You should be aware, that Google is actively supporting the continued siege of Gaza and occupation of Palestine, in at least the following ways: 1. Financial support for US politicians (and political groups I suppose) which themselves support and execute the US policy of supporting Israel's direct occupation and siege. The US finances Israel and equips it with much of the technology it uses in these activities, and Google avtively supports this political status-quo. 2. Ditto, but as it regards support of the military junta ruling Egypt, which is repressing the Egyptian population but also enforcing the siege of Gaza from the South. 3. Suppression of political websites which are radically critical of US imperialism in general and its Israeli client's policies in particular. See report in the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-google-interferes-with-its-search-algorithms-and-changes-your-results-11573823753 https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-google-interferes-with-its-... , and also some items here on HackerNews: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Google+WSWS https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Google+WSWS 4. Promotion of pro-Zionist news outlets - the mainstream outlets in the US, such as CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox news; all of these have a pro-Israeli bias in their cover, and none of these meaningfully covers the situation in Gaza, nor calls for the lifting of the siege, nor supports the right of return of the refugees in Gaza, nor gives voice to such positions, while official Israeli and many pro-Israeli voices are often heard when Israel and Palestine are covered. Also, Google engages is mass surveillance of Internet users at the behest of the US government, as has been revealed confirmed by the revelations of Edward Snowden. It is also involved in supplying AI capabilities to US military initiatives. etc. Thus, while it is of course not at all my business to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, I urge you to consider the implications of working for Google, as this choice is at the very least problematic.
- kaczordon 6y ago
  I urge you to consider the implications of working for Google, as this choice is at the very least problematic. Not everything has to be political, maybe she's just happy she's going be learning a lot from a tech company that has brought a lot of good stuff into the world both technical and otherwise.
  - 6y ago
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
sendtown_expwy 6y ago
This is a wonderful post -- reminds me of how important the hiring processes in the tech community are, and how exciting and amazing it can be for the joy of programming to spread to more places in the world!
Brajeshwar 6y ago
This is one of the sweetest stories I have read in a while. Congratulations, and best of luck ahead. Love your innocence -- “I’ve never been on an airplane before.” Btw, how do you setup your username to be a sub-domain on Medium? `https://daliaawad28.medium.com https://daliaawad28.medium.com`
mlindner 6y ago
What's a "Gazan"?
- spiralganglion 6y ago
  Someone from Gaza
dk775 6y ago
May Allah bless you daliaawad, and I hope you do not use your blessed skills on ads, get your knowledge and work in service to the people when the right time comes or if they do end up largely using your wonderful skills for ads
neduma 6y ago
Congrats Dalia! Awesome and Very cool. Keep it up.
spoonjim 6y ago
Being really good at coding is the professional equivalent of being really sexy. People will do what it takes to get you.
known 6y ago
Dalia, I suggest you get MBA (part time) which would boost your career in future https://personalmba.com/ https://personalmba.com/
goldenkey 6y ago
So you left your homeland behind? Perhaps you should work on improving Gaza instead of abandoning it for the shiny blood diamonds known as FAANG.
- b3kart 6y ago
  What a harmful viewpoint. A single lifetime is nothing in the context of a country's history, but it's all a person has. Might as well go somewhere you'll be able to realize your full potential. If only to gain the skills and influence to actually to change something in your home country.
  - goldenkey 6y ago
    What an unthoughtful viewpoint. You are correct: all we have is life. Humble bragging about selling one's soul for clout is rather uninspired. We both know that with a computer and internet connection, one can gain the skills and influence to do nearly anything, from anywhere. Full potential is hardly realized only by joining FAANG. If anything, it can cause irreversible harm and arrest a guileless mind. The callow campus life at FAANGs is ripely built to conceal the geopolitical and capitalistic affront. The workers tacitly support this affront through their mental givings, active labor, and passive complicities of employment.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
another-dave 6y ago
congrats Dalia! Amazing achievement & you've a great writing style. Would be interested to hear more of your journey throughout your placement & beyond! Great inspirational story for a grey Thursday morning! :) Will also keep an eye on Manara Tech — missed that when it was on HN previously.
catwind7 6y ago
fantastic :)
jruthers 6y ago
Thank you for posting. This made me really happy.
jruthers 6y ago
Thank you for posting. This made me really happy. May this be the start of a wonderful career in software.
elhudy 6y ago
Your story is awe-inspiring! > We will meet for the first time in Europe this summer! The other 3 classmates (Muath, Mohammed, and Hamza) live in the West Bank. I live in Gaza. It’s not far away but I can’t go to the West Bank and they can’t come here. I can’t wait to take a selfie in front of the Google office together and share it with everyone at Manara. :-) This is so surreal to me that it sounds like something from a book or an odd dream. Super happy for you!
nrjklk 6y ago
Amazing story! Thanks for sharing
adultSwim 6y ago
Thank you for sharing your journey. A few of the comments left make me sad.
dejongh 6y ago
Hi Dalia. Great article. Very nice of you to pass on concrete career advice to people in your region. I hope you have a fantastic experience at Google.

1723 points by daliaawad 6y ago

rvz 6y ago

Well done!

daliaawad 6y ago
Thank you!

daliaawad 6y ago

Hiii everyone, this is my first time posting here! I have read Hacker News sometimes but only thought about sharing my own post after seeing Manara's post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25849054 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25849054) last month. I asked them if I can share this here and they said it was a good idea. :) I’m a 19-year-old Gazan female who participated in Manara last year and got internships at Google and Repl.it. I’m so excited I will spend this summer at Google in Europe! I got lots of questions about my experience when people heard about it on Facebook so I wrote this blog post to let other young engineers in Palestine and the Middle East know how they can get into amazing companies like this too.

philangist 6y ago
Congrats! This post is awesome and really put a huge smile on my face. It reminded me of how enthusiastic I was about programming at your age and there aren't a lot of better places to start your career than at Google. Best of luck.
fedelcar 6y ago
Congratulations!
nosefrog 6y ago
Congrats!!!!
kaladin_1 6y ago
Congratulations! Your enthusiasm is actually charming. I'm sure it has put smile on many faces. It brings this nostalgic feeling of how many actually started. Have a blast in your career!
AdmiralAsshat 6y ago
Congrats, Dalia! I hope we'll continue to see posts from you in the future, documenting your progress.
- daliaawad 6y ago
  Thank you so much! Sure I can come back and share more updates! :)
Zababa 6y ago
Congratulations! Your story is really inspiring.
adnanc 6y ago
Mabrook Really happy to read about your journey, incredibly inspirational.
brabel 6y ago
Which country(ies) in Europe you're going to? Hope COVID-19 doesn't spoil your travel opportunities!

amasad 6y ago

Congrats, Dalia! I understand why chose Google over us -- the chance to travel is hard to pass on -- but maybe we'll get you next year ;)

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
daliaawad 6y ago
Thank you so much Amjad! I really love Repl.it and I think I am a startup person in my heart. If you have a fall or spring internship opportunity don’t forget about me!
- ublaze 6y ago
  I'm curious what visa you'd be using to work at Repl.it (if you were going to move to the USA). I'm wondering if our startup should be using Manara.
  - ilianam 6y ago
    Moving to the United States is almost impossible for junior engineers from the Middle East. They can relocate to Europe quite easily though. Dalia is going to relocate to Germany or Poland. They can come to the USA for an internship quite easily on a J-1 visa, but they won't be able to stay easily once you want to hire them full-time. Have you considered remote work or opening an office in Europe? Feel free to contact us at www.manara.tech/hire-engineers and we can set up a call.
    - puszczyk 6y ago
      Do you think Poland is a good place to relocate to for person from the Middle East? I'm Polish and the country never struck me as particularly tolerant for foreign cultures, although I have some anecdotal evidence of Indian people who relocated here and they do quite well from what I understand. I don't have any first hand account, but there is a sizable group of doctors and civil engineers from the Middle East / North Africa who I believe migrated here during the communist period (as our government back then had good relationships with some of their governments, they've often arrived on students exchanges and stayed). Note, I don't want to discourage anyone, I hope Dalia and people in the similar situation have a great career in front of here. I'm curios about the outside perspective and why you've indicated Poland as a potential destination to relocate to the EU.

dionian 6y ago

Congrats, well-deserved. I hope you encourage other Palestinians and Arabs to follow suit!

daliaawad 6y ago
Yaasss of course! This is why I wrote this post and am sharing on social media too. :) lots of people are contacting me now on facebook asking how to do it. www.manara.tech will help them. that’s how I got into these companies. their mission is to help palestinian and middle east engineers fulfill their dreams and work at international startups & companies! Now that I got in, I am going to go back and mentor the next Manara cohorts to help more people do it

justblaze23 6y ago

Congratulations! Extremely well deserved, wish you the best going forward :)

xyst 6y ago

am I the only one that doesn't care about working for a FAANG? The only intrigue from these companies is that they offer golden handcuffs. I occasionally go through the interview cycle at these companies just to get offers I could use to leverage other companies. there's probably a limited number of projects that interest me at these companies and knowing my luck I would get assigned to some maintenance project doing "plumbing" (internal use only libs for example) or assigned to cleanup shitty code from a nearly dying project. if you are graduating college and get into these companies, don't drink the koolaid. keep your eyes open and don't waste your potential on these companies. Save up your $$$, and build something that people will use.

bpodgursky 6y ago
FAANG companies are good options for foreign engineers because they have a very organized application -> visa -> green card pipeline. If you're interviewing at a small startup, it's very hit or miss whether their legal team will be willing and competent enough to get you into the country safely. I'd actually recommend small startups for most people, given growth opportunities, but if your primary concern is to get into the US on a permanent basis, it's much safer to apply to a large boring enterprise with a good legal team.
- lovecg 6y ago
  I don’t know why you’re getting the downvotes, this is the reality of the situation. People who already live in the US are in a privileged position and cannot emphasize with this point of view.
  - bpodgursky 6y ago
    I've given up using downvotes on HN as a meaningful measure of information quality. Reflexive users will downvote on keywords. Whatever.
    - rendall 6y ago
      Same.

anonymousDan 6y ago

Well done!

coziestSoup 6y ago

This brought a smile to my face :) > Repl.it is my best friend as a developer. I use it every day. I didn’t realize I could work there! This reminded me of when I first came to the US from India and started realizing that all the software I used (Windows, Gmail etc) and videogames I played were made by ordinary people like me.

ilianam 6y ago
Love this! I'm Manara's co-founder and CEO. One of the things we hear from people like Dalia is how much they LOVE getting mock interviews & mentorship from people who work at Google, Netflix, Amazon, Wayfair, Spotify, Twitter, etc. Over and over again they say, "I thought you had to be a genius to work there, but after meeting these people, I feel like I could do it too."

pookeh 6y ago

Congratulations! Looking forward to hearing more positive news from you in the future.

adamredwoods 6y ago

> I became passionate about programming in high school. My teacher selected me for a robotics competition. We built a line follower robot using Arduino. To me this is important to know how to get younger people interested in programming. The application approach seems better than the "cool, trendy online class" approach. I also think Dalia is an exception and not the norm. I also want to know about those that didn't succeed and what obstacles they faced, and as an instructor what can we do differently?

GloriousKoji 6y ago
Just give a damn and focus on passionate students who are actually interested in something rather than the superficial students doing it to look good for a college application. Sorry if I use this bit to rant but I'm still mad at a teacher from high school decades later. As a child I was mad at the injustice done to me. Thinking back as an adult I'm mad at all the potential she probably squandered in others. She taught the electronics classes and was put in charge of the cube satellite project. It was an extracurricular activity where students work with volunteers to design and build a small cube satellite that would launch into space. It wasn't announced to the school and I only caught word of it from a friend. I rushed to get an application filled out and turned in but the teacher said that I missed the cut off by one day (a date arbitrarily set by her). I was devastated. A few weeks later I was told by a volunteer I could still join in and help, so I did. I put in some serious work and at some point I find out I missed a big meeting. I asked the teacher about it and she refused to believe I was a participant and would not add me to the mailing list. All my passion and love for wanted to building something and send it into space was converted into vengeful teenage angst and by that young logic I wanted to see her name plastered all over the failure. The best way to accomplish that was to stop showing up and helping. Times goes by and right after all the college applications are submitted I find out that most of the students immediately stopped working on it. Went from something like 100 students down to 3. The satellite was never finished and didn't get launched into space. I'm probably the exception with the after story: taught myself some rudimentary things from a RadioShack book, got into college and graduated with a BS in EE. Now a days I see all these cool youtube videos and how easily it is for kids to discover things but have may not necessarily have the resources or guidance to get going.

Melting_Harps 6y ago

> I’m a 19-year-old Gazan female who participated in Manara last year and got internships at Google and Repl.it. I’m so excited I will spend this summer at Google in Europe! I got lots of questions about my experience when people heard about it on Facebook so I wrote this blog post to let other young engineers in Palestine and the Middle East know how they can get into amazing companies like this too. That's awesome that you got in, but I have to be 'that guy' and ask what role do you think Google plays in the survielence based economy in keeping Gaza in it's horrible plight? Israeli surveillance companies are often the most adept at violating and breaking through encryption, and I often think Gaza is the lab they use to test out their wares: but what if any role does Google have in helping the people of Gaza like yourself in re-establishing itself and removing the embargo that has led to those atrocious living conditions of so many hapless people? I literately cried for hours when I watched the Banksy documentary in Gaza for the Christmas play and the celebration the children (your aged at the time) put on, to have such resolve in the face of despotic tyranny is nothing short of heroic, and I hope your role at google can evolve in order to place a much larger magnifying glass on the crimes against humanity and make them accountable for creating the largest internment camp in the World (2nd to Xianjing now) that Israel is undertaking and justifying with things that happened to a generation of people who no longer exists for the most part, and I'm sure would be appalled at seeing given what they experienced. Edit: Will you guys give the downvoting a rest for once, FFS I'm asking a sincere question instead of just parroting 'congrats' like the rest of you.

vmception 6y ago
Obsessively focusing on oppression just because you recognize the name of an area does make you “that guy” and this is not the thread for it. The reality is that people have a day to day life and right now we are talking about that.
- Melting_Harps 6y ago
  > The reality is that people have a day to day life and right now we are talking about that. Asking what role Google has as one of the most atrocious in privacy violators, is something that is relevant to the day to day of Gaza. The fact that you so quickly dismiss their plight the way you do is why this can never be more than a walled garden, and why I honestly think she should see what working in Silicon Valley minded corps is like before she goes any deeper: you want your narrative to be the only one, even while building tools that keep people in that position in their very business model. Sidenote: I donated to send food via Flotilla that got raided by Isreali forces in 2010, so don't tell me what I think of the situation much less belittle my experiences in such a condescending way.

wombatmobile 6y ago

Thank you for sharing your experiences, here Dalia. I have not heard a first person account like yours from Gaza before. The news we see from Gaza in Australia is almost exclusively bleak - a never ending tale of injustices, deprivation, losses, and endurance. Your story is a wonderful counterpoint that lifts my feelings. Congratulations for being recognised as a capable engineer by two organisations that you hold in high regard. In addition to your engineering aptitude, it sounds like you know how to direct yourself and to connect with your poise in professional circumstances that some other talented engineers might find trying. These capabilities are rare and valued, because they distinguish you as someone who can join a group and move it forward. Please keep posting here at HN from time to time. I wish you happiness and satisfaction, and look forward to hearing how you get on with whatever you choose to work at and discover.

daliaawad 6y ago
Yes I know! Gaza is so much more than that. There are a lot of smart motivated people. Did you know that one of the people who worked on the Mars Helicopter - NASA that just landed on Mars is from Gaza? https://www.linkedin.com/in/elbasyouni/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/elbasyouni/ I want you to know that I’m not the only one. I worked hard but so did lots of other people and some of them are even smarter than me. 4 people from Manara in Palestine got into Google this year and I think there will be more (I was in Manara’s 4th cohort and the 5th cohort is just applying to jobs now. I think at least 6 people are interviewing at Google from both West Bank and Gaza). I’ll keep you updated and if you want I can tell them to share their stories here too :)
niaher 6y ago
I worked in Gaza for close to 3 years and led a team of 6 software engineers. We worked on a pretty complicated business app (UN project). We were a very quality-focused team and did some pretty cool and advanced stuff. What I can say from my time in Gaza is that there are many very driven, talented software engineers there. Some of the best engineers I ever worked with were Palestinians (and I don't say this lightly).
- devoutsalsa 6y ago

idclip 6y ago

Ahlen jaretna, respect and admiration.

throw8932894 6y ago

dang 6y ago
Please don't take HN threads into nationalistic flamewar. We're trying for something else here, and the pressures driving all related discussions in that direction are pretty significant. It takes effort not to succumb to the defaults. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- throw8932894 6y ago
  Fair enough.

thrwaccq 6y ago

Really nice ! I have seen code written by folks who have participated in Gaza Sky Geeks program. I was really impressed. Almost every one I interacted with virtually were very good at html / css / js.

leggomuhgreggo 6y ago
Seconded!

masfrost 6y ago

I interviewed Dalia and a few other people referred to us by Manara at Repl.it. It was such a pleasure meeting kids that are so smart and have an insane drive. We have a really high bar for hiring at Repl.it, Dalia and the other youngsters from Palestine performed better than at least half the experienced engineers I've interviewed in the past. We extended an offer to one Dalia's classmates and he started yesterday as an intern with high potential for full-time, as our internships usually are since we invest a lot in them. It was such a pleasure meeting you Dalia, wish you all the best. Hope to work with you in the future (maybe when we can offer US visas). P.S. We're still hiring

vinger 6y ago
I'm sure Dalia is great. "other youngsters from Palestine performed better than at least half the experienced engineers I've interviewed in the past." This comment caught me a little off guard. You are saying that these young people with no experience perform better than half of the experienced engineers you interview. My question is what is wrong with your hiring process? It sounds broken.. What part of the process are the experienced developers failing in? What are you asking for in candidates that these experienced developers lack but can be found in this group of inexperienced engineers? Curious about salary, would you say Dalia friends makes the same as an experienced developer?
- zukhan 6y ago
  I've interviewed hundreds of "experienced" engineers who could not code for the life of them. Not sure why you assumed the process is broken without first asking about it.
  - throwaway894345 6y ago
    I agree with this (maybe not the "you sound bitter" part), but it still seems like there's something interesting going on. Why are Palestinian youngsters outperforming experienced engineers from elsewhere? Presumably we would expect Palestinian youngsters to perform on par with youngsters elsewhere unless they had access to additional relevant education or experiences, right? Maybe there's some selection process that filters out all of the under qualified Palestinian youngsters before they enter repl.it's pipeline?

blobbers 6y ago

This is awesome! In my graduating class (at a top engineering/cs school) the smartest person with the most consistent high grades was a palestinian immigrant (who would always whisper the correct pronunciations when the professors were butchering the pronunciation of a TA's names). I don't think I fully understood the life he had come from, but this is a reminder that we should stop saddling the youth with the battles of their parents. Glad to hear you're getting some freedom.

yawnxyz 6y ago

wow you're more accomplished than I am at 35 haha... really impressive. You'll go so far!

jedberg 6y ago

Today I learned about Manara. I'd never heard of it before, but I look forward to using it the next time I need to hire someone! Sounds like an awesome platform.

daliaawad 6y ago
Yes you should! The Manara community is amaaazing. They are super smart motivated people who already have computer science or engineering degrees. Manara teach us how to interview at companies… both technical and soft skills… I have a bunch of friends in their 5th cohort who are looking for opportunities right now. By the way the CTO of Manara is from Gaza too. She often tells me I remind her of her a few years ago. :))) She lives in Silicon Valley now and started Manara because she knew how many smart people there are in Palestine.

dorongrinstein 6y ago

I'm an Israeli/American founder of a software company. I'm very happy to hear your story. I hope you inspire many other Gazans. I'd hire Palestinians remotely too.I recall my first airplane trip. Very exciting times for you. I wish you lots of success and happiness in your journey. You've chosen a fantastic path that will God-willing reward you and your family. May there be peace between our people soon!

sgt 6y ago
How feasible is it for Palestinian developers to get work in Israel? As far as I understand, all Palestinians speak fluent hebrew.
- david12345 6y ago
  I wouldn't really say that...the newer generation knows much less Hebrew than the older ones that used to work in Israel, and in Gaza probably even more so than the West Bank. But all the hitech work is in English so it is not really a problem in this sense. I know Mellanox has some: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-israeli-firm-mellanox-aims-to-bring-palestinian-staff-to-nvidia-after-takeover-1.8446926 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-israel... But the bigger issue is the willingness to hire Palestinians(and legal issues as well), and afterwards to work with them as well, as there is animosity on both sides, especially with people who currently live in Israel/Palestine as opposed to ones that live in Europe.

georgehdd 6y ago

Mabruk Dalia!

ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago

I can't begin to say how nice it is, seeing something like this. So often, we see complaints (often, accurate, but still complaints) about how bad things are. For myself, I try not to whine too much (with debatable results). TBH, when I read the title, I was expecting this to be one of those posts that exposes the industry and the process as some kind of abusive fraud. I was really happy to see it be pure joy and positive affirmation. I have more than a few qualms about the way things are, but it's still an awesome field to be in. I am glad to see you do well, and get acclimated to the engineering culture at these corporations. I suspect that you will have many opportunities, and wish you, and your classmates, well.

mFixman 6y ago

It's hard to overstate how great FAANG internships are for giving a leg up in life to third world university students. Like Dalia, I thought it would be almost impossible to get a good job on a developed country if you didn't do well in the birth lottery until Google figured out I was good at programming and gave me a nice internship project. I bombed that first internship, but with the extra experience and the knowledge that I had more open doors than I thought allowed me to get a nice job in the UK after the second one.

ilianam 6y ago
How did you bomb that first internship? I wonder if there's a useful lesson to share here with Dalia and our broader community.
- mFixman 6y ago
  I got the internship after only one year of college, and I had nowhere near the amount of experience necessary to solve the particularly complex project I was in: I was a very good programmer but a very bad engineer. When I got accepted for my second internship years later I decided to get a real job 3 months prior to learn how to work in teams in the industry. I think this gave me the correct context to do well later. If I were to give an advice to other third worlders with FAANG internships: work like you've never worked before and like you'll never work afterwards. This will change your life if you do it right.

120bits 6y ago

This is inspirational and your hard work paid off! Congrats Dalia!

smusamashah 6y ago

I am from Pakistan and my view of Gaza and Palestine is very narrow because all we see on TV is Israel mass murdering everyone in Palestine. What is the tech scene in Gaza? Any software houses, companies and startups there? If there are, what are they mostly about?

mvzvm 6y ago
"my view of Gaza and Palestine is very narrow because all we see on TV is Israel mass murdering everyone in Palestine" This is a very mature realization, and a great example of how media can distort reality. It is far more complex and nuanced than that. I suggest you check out sources from beyond Pakistan and try to learn more about what is going on.
- smusamashah 6y ago
  I wish I had skipped the first part and just asked the question. Silly me.
pid_0 6y ago
> because all we see on TV is Israel mass murdering everyone in Palestine Well of course you see that as thats the agenda of the media, and your media. The reality is gaza launches rockets on a weekly basis at civilians and before the wall, would walk onto public buses and blow themselves up. Please, educate yourself.
- abdulmuhaimin 6y ago
  the irony....
- andrepd 6y ago
  How can the point be right in front of your face and you still miss it...

inglor 6y ago

As an Israeli who was involved in Gaza Sky Geeks but didn’t get to follow up with mentees I just wanted to share that your story is inspiring and encouraging and congratulations on your hard earned job. It’s shameful we have so many bright Gazans but stupid politics prevents the natural technical collaboration that could arise. I work with many Arab developers (in a big company) here and the divide between Gaza/West Bank/Israeli Arabs is so frustrating and upsetting to me. Best of luck and keep inspiring!

Udik 6y ago
> but stupid politics I wouldn't call 800k Israelis living on Palestinian land "stupid politics". That's a bit dismissive of the issue, don't you think?
- dang 6y ago
  "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - Udik 6y ago
    I didn't mean to criticise, I actually appreciate the spirit of the comment I replied to. But I do think- and wanted to point out- that waving it off as "stupid politics" is maybe a form of self-deception, when you live in a country that hugely profits from the situation.
    - accounted 6y ago
      It really is. Like "haha, we just took over your country, destroyed your homes, killed your families, and called your land ours, gee those politics are ridiculous!"
      - dang 6y ago

twodave 6y ago

Congratulations and thanks for writing this. It is easy as an American male to overlook how much harder others might have to work to achieve what I think of as very approachable goals. You've not only put in all the work but also had to rely on the good graces of these programs to support you! That work ethic you've cultivated is what you now must rely on to succeed and by far your most valuable asset. You will still face difficulties because of your gender and ethnicity. It's horrible and wrong, and I hope it changes. But your tenacity and drive will show everybody your real value in the end, and I think you'll do well! I believe you are and can continue to be part of the change.

sitevas35 6y ago
> You will still face difficulties because of your gender and ethnicity. She is going to Europe, not USA. Unless she picks a really bad place (but most Google HQs there are in a good place), she won't have any such issues. Europe doesn't talk as much about gender and race, but they actually do things as well, while in the USA everyone kinda pats their back for "walking out for Black Lifes Matter" and calls it a day.
- headmelted 6y ago
  Errr I’d want to see hard evidence this is the case before I’d take it as a given. There’s no part of me that finds it easy to believe that a female, minority worker in tech is going to get the same opportunities as a white male anywhere in Europe. I’d think the more sinister patting of one’s own back is assuming that “at least we’re not like that here” without hard evidence to back up that assumption.
  - Xevi 6y ago
    The (billion dollar) company I work for in Europe has a policy that they hire twice as many women as men. Women also get twice as long contracts and better career paths. They are also trying to hire a lot more people of color. Statistically you have an extremely higher chance of getting hired as a black female than a white male.

domano 6y ago

I gave a few workshops on golang development in Jordan and what i noticed is that women were much more common in the comp sci department. They also were way more interested in the topic- is the situation in gaza similiar? This was really refreshing to see

mbroncano 6y ago
In my experience, pretty much everywhere else out of the US you will find plenty of women in STEM. Admittedly not 50% but it’s certainly much more common.
- Daho0n 6y ago
  Wow, it really irks me that truthful comments that add something to the discussion gets down votes as soon as it is stating anything that could maybe be construed as negative against the US.
- domano 6y ago
  I am from germany so this is at least not just a US thing. Isn't it well known that there are way more male IT people in all western countries?
- jillesvangurp 6y ago
  In my experience that's not the case in quite many countries. Most of western Europe is the same as the US though it varies from country to country; e.g. the nordics are a bit better on this front then e.g. Germany or my home country the Netherlands. I suspect most of South America has similar demographics. As far as I know Asia is generally better on this front I suspect it has a lot to do with women being more interested in things that give them economic opportunities. This is something driven by women themselves. IMHO women are actually also part of the problem in the west. There seems to be a dynamic where women self select out of career paths long before they would even be in a position to be subjected to the type of workplace abuse that is often blamed for this. Don't get me wrong, that abuse needs to be fought and challenged and rooted out. But it's not going to be enough. You see similar dynamics across many developing nations where women empower themselves by taking on anything that earns money. Many of these countries are otherwise pretty conservative/unremarkable when it comes to women rights and arguably a lot worse than most of the west. But that doesn't seem to stop women being successful doing all sorts of things for which many high-school girls would pull up their noses.

comfyinnernet 6y ago

>At Google there were interviews exactly like what Manara prepared us for: data structures & algorithms problem-solving. I'm surprised this hasn't become the main point of discussion here yet. Edit: I mean Google's interview technique, and how people prepare for it

elanning 6y ago
I think it does its job perfectly; gives them candidates who are willing to put up with 10 hour study sessions for weeks OR people who are naturally brilliant (and don't break under pressure while being watched). It filters out a lot of insanely good candidates by doing so, but who cares when you have 100,000+ job applications?
- Aeolun 6y ago
  Do those qualities actually correlate with what you want in an engineer?

sudosteph 6y ago

First of all - big props to Dalia. She clearly worked her behind off to earn those offers. Second - this definitely, to me, proves that Manara has a good business model. I actually don't think the fact that the Manara students are from MENA is all that important though. However, I do think that their extremely hands-on, and intensive "bootcamp for FAANG interviewing" model is clearly an advantage for early career technical candidates. Thinking back to my college days (in the US, mid 2010s) - we were not given any sort of class that focused on professional interviewing. The college career center was also very general, and not knowledgeable about the specifics of passing the coding interviews. The best advice I got was a recommendation from a guest lecturer to read "cracking the coding interview" (which to be fair, was better than nothing). As a result, the people from my school who did the best right out of the gate, were largely people who already knew people already in a FAANG roles and who could rely on that person for a referral, interview advice and practice feedback. Our school was not in SV (or anywhere close), so realistically, that was not an option for most of us. Additionally, I always applied for internships at FAANG companies while I was still a student - but never even got called in to interview - so it wasn't like I could practice that way either. I ended up doing fine for myself by accumulating a good base of practical experience from local non-FAANG companies before graduating, but I really believe my peers, and aspirational novice engineers of all backgrounds would have benefited greatly from having a hands-on course like Dalia described. I especially would love to see efforts like that extending out to under-served communities here in the US as well (native american reservations, appalachians, rust belt cities).

ilianam 6y ago
Thanks so much for sharing this perspective! I'm Manara's Co-Founder and CEO. I wish that we could tackle all these communities at once because you're right - there's undiscovered talent in many underserved communities and everyone (them, employers, society) would benefit from bridging the small gap they're facing to world-class employment. We chose to focus on MENA for a few reasons. First, it's the region that we know best and can therefore be competitive in. Second, it truly is a large, exceptional pool of diverse STEM talent - it will soon be as many STEM grads as Eastern Europe (and more than half of them are women!) Third, we can scale our impact by building a brand for this talent pool & referral networks. Similar to what happened in Eastern Europe. Finally, our focus helps to attract precisely the resource we need to fulfill our mission: highly talented engineers from top tech companies around the world. Some are alumni, most are currently volunteers who care about MENA. They volunteer to do mock interviews, mentor the participants, etc. We could never do this without them. My co-founder Laila (who is from Gaza, and like Dalia, made it to Silicon Valley... but back in 2016) and I are both passionate about untapping human potential. While we can't tackle all underserved communities at once, we are actively sharing lessons learned with organizations doing similar things in other regions. :)

andreygrehov 6y ago

Congrats! TLDR: Hard work pays off.

IOT_Apprentice 6y ago

This was a heartwarming story to read. Congratulations on your journey so far, wishing you much success in the future.

laura2013 6y ago

wow, this story is incredible. Dalia, thank you for being so honest about your experience. I have no doubt that your dedication and cheerful approach to the field will take you far. Not gonna lie, the end made me tear up a bit. I hope you an incredible summer with your friends.

daliaawad 6y ago
Oh, I am glad you liked my blog! Thank you for your sweet words. I hope someday I meet all of my friends from the West bank and maybe share a photo together :)

klik99 6y ago

I was so worried opening this link, but really made me happy to see such a great support system and preparation - without that applying can feel like you vs the world. Congrats!

Synaesthesia 6y ago

Crazy that she can never enter the West Bank or Israel

Clewza313 6y ago
The blog said she went to Jordan overland, which means she has entered both. You're right though that it's extremely difficult for most Gazans to do so, and many will live and die without ever leaving that cramped little strip of land.
- andrepd 6y ago
  Don't forget the fact that Israel blocks imports and exports, meaning the country has extreme difficulties getting e.g. construction materials, nevermind getting an industry going. Unemployment is everywhere, misery, disaffected youth (as is understandable)... is it any surprise resentment and hatred proliferate?

williesleg 6y ago

Nice! But why bring gender, age and ethnicity into the picture if we're all supposed to be equals? Or do you just like stirring the pot?

yannickt 6y ago

I salute you.

popobawa 6y ago

amazing achievement, this article made me smile and i am confident you will achieve a lot in the future. Keep up the good work

khendron 6y ago

Great article, and congratulations! One thing stood out for me though > On January 1, 2021, I received an email from Repl.it letting me know that I had been selected. To me this is a huge red flag. To receive a work related email on what is probably the most widely recognized holiday in the world is the sign of a company with terrible work-life balance. I hope I'm wrong, but I have ignored such a flag in the past and got bitten.

cyrux004 6y ago
timezones. probably sent on Dec 31 . our company doesnt have holiday for new years eve
- slumpt_ 6y ago
  oof
- cema 6y ago
  Or it could be automated.
kyawzazaw 6y ago
it could be automated or timezoned. a positive message could make the person day great the privilege has to show up.

SamElliotEsq 6y ago

That's the most long-winded way of saying "I'll fuck your ass" I've ever seen in a good while. Never underestimate the pussy, I know you boy-boys do. Respect the pussy, dudes.

jojobas 6y ago

How about we talk about an elephant in the room: the parents. Encouraging, or even allowing, a girl to venture outside the Strip is entirely unusual. I'd suspect her general interest in computers is not an accident either. You'll find more Gazan parents wishing their children to blow themselves up at a bus stop than go live a western life elsewhere.

marshmallow_12 6y ago

congrats

steve_taylor 6y ago

This is Hacker News, not shaadi.com.

mlthoughts2018 6y ago

Great to see the excitement and success story for this hardworking person. Depressing to see leetcode and data structures interview prep heralded as a positive thing and treated as a neutral, accepted, “nothing wrong with this” aspect of the path to getting a job.

bjourne 6y ago

Best of luck to you! Palestinians are nothing but resilient. Bootstrapping yourself to an internship at Google in a territory where the unemployment rate exceeds 50% takes an amazing amount of grit. Israel's siege of Gaza is truly criminal.

yesnomaybeno 6y ago
Israel is a apartheid regime that needs to be dismantled and replaced with a country that is fair to all its citizens, rather than an ethnostate based on racist ideas of Jewish supremacy.
- imbnwa 6y ago
  You should see how they they treat African Jews from the upper Nile who're definitively proven to be genetically Jewish but who face all sorts of discrimination when it comes to work and inter-marrying with, you know, their fellow Jews

radicalriddler 6y ago

Wow, sometimes I get so caught up in my dislike of social media (especially facebook), that I forget how useful it is for certain underprivileged demographics. Good on you Dalia for grabbing the opportunities with both hands :)

ygmelnikova 6y ago

The message is clear kids. Get skilled and head west. Leave these hell holes to the losers.

nickthemagicman 6y ago

With Manara and Latam incubators on the rise hopefully the demand will drop for tech people in North American companies and they will finally be able to pay reasonable salaries to tech people.

nomdep 6y ago
Not sure if I understand you. "Reasonable" == "lower"?
- nickthemagicman 6y ago
  Yeah lower. Way lower. Maybe it will finally bring some sanity to American worker salaries. Companies can use that saved money for better things. Like executive bonuses and investing in new opportunities.

_joel 6y ago

Echoing the sentiment, it's good to see hard work and dedication get rewarded, despite such adversity. It's safe to say you'll go far and considering what you've had to deal with, a P1 outage (which is a rite of passage) will be a breeze :) All the best for the future

whiddershins 6y ago

I feel like there are a large number of comments here stating how many obstacles the author is likely to face going forward because of race and gender. I wonder whether people have really examined the utility of repeating this claim. The huge obstacle in the author’s story was country of birth. OTOH race and gender can have pluses and minuses. There is casual and subconscious bias on one side, but on the other side we have explicit corporate hiring policies that seek to counteract this. It is possible that the net balance is in favor of the author because of this. Members of underrepresented groups could benefit greatly from knowing how many programs are in place to encourage, nurture, and welcome them into this industry. This could make it seem more achievable and encourage people to try. Members of underrepresented groups do not benefit from being told how hard it will be in tech, and I think it isn’t in even in evidence when all factors are included. Saying ‘you are going to face tons of discrimination’ is a form of keeping people out. It may seem like it is empathy, but it can just have the effect of discouraging people. If we want more diversity in tech, we should be saying things like ‘This is great! And you will find many people will be very welcoming. Please join us.’

Aeolun 6y ago
> The huge obstacle in the author’s story was country of birth. At least much more so than gender or race will be going forward :)

einpoklum 6y ago

> I’m so excited I will spend this summer at Google in Europe! ... amazing companies like [Google] You should be aware, that Google is actively supporting the continued siege of Gaza and occupation of Palestine, in at least the following ways: 1. Financial support for US politicians (and political groups I suppose) which themselves support and execute the US policy of supporting Israel's direct occupation and siege. The US finances Israel and equips it with much of the technology it uses in these activities, and Google avtively supports this political status-quo. 2. Ditto, but as it regards support of the military junta ruling Egypt, which is repressing the Egyptian population but also enforcing the siege of Gaza from the South. 3. Suppression of political websites which are radically critical of US imperialism in general and its Israeli client's policies in particular. See report in the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-google-interferes-with-its-search-algorithms-and-changes-your-results-11573823753 https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-google-interferes-with-its-... , and also some items here on HackerNews: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Google+WSWS https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Google+WSWS 4. Promotion of pro-Zionist news outlets - the mainstream outlets in the US, such as CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox news; all of these have a pro-Israeli bias in their cover, and none of these meaningfully covers the situation in Gaza, nor calls for the lifting of the siege, nor supports the right of return of the refugees in Gaza, nor gives voice to such positions, while official Israeli and many pro-Israeli voices are often heard when Israel and Palestine are covered. Also, Google engages is mass surveillance of Internet users at the behest of the US government, as has been revealed confirmed by the revelations of Edward Snowden. It is also involved in supplying AI capabilities to US military initiatives. etc. Thus, while it is of course not at all my business to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, I urge you to consider the implications of working for Google, as this choice is at the very least problematic.

kaczordon 6y ago
I urge you to consider the implications of working for Google, as this choice is at the very least problematic. Not everything has to be political, maybe she's just happy she's going be learning a lot from a tech company that has brought a lot of good stuff into the world both technical and otherwise.
- 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

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sendtown_expwy 6y ago

This is a wonderful post -- reminds me of how important the hiring processes in the tech community are, and how exciting and amazing it can be for the joy of programming to spread to more places in the world!

Brajeshwar 6y ago

This is one of the sweetest stories I have read in a while. Congratulations, and best of luck ahead. Love your innocence -- “I’ve never been on an airplane before.” Btw, how do you setup your username to be a sub-domain on Medium? `https://daliaawad28.medium.com https://daliaawad28.medium.com`

mlindner 6y ago

What's a "Gazan"?

spiralganglion 6y ago
Someone from Gaza

dk775 6y ago

May Allah bless you daliaawad, and I hope you do not use your blessed skills on ads, get your knowledge and work in service to the people when the right time comes or if they do end up largely using your wonderful skills for ads

neduma 6y ago

Congrats Dalia! Awesome and Very cool. Keep it up.

spoonjim 6y ago

Being really good at coding is the professional equivalent of being really sexy. People will do what it takes to get you.

known 6y ago

Dalia, I suggest you get MBA (part time) which would boost your career in future https://personalmba.com/ https://personalmba.com/

goldenkey 6y ago

So you left your homeland behind? Perhaps you should work on improving Gaza instead of abandoning it for the shiny blood diamonds known as FAANG.

b3kart 6y ago
What a harmful viewpoint. A single lifetime is nothing in the context of a country's history, but it's all a person has. Might as well go somewhere you'll be able to realize your full potential. If only to gain the skills and influence to actually to change something in your home country.
- goldenkey 6y ago
  What an unthoughtful viewpoint. You are correct: all we have is life. Humble bragging about selling one's soul for clout is rather uninspired. We both know that with a computer and internet connection, one can gain the skills and influence to do nearly anything, from anywhere. Full potential is hardly realized only by joining FAANG. If anything, it can cause irreversible harm and arrest a guileless mind. The callow campus life at FAANGs is ripely built to conceal the geopolitical and capitalistic affront. The workers tacitly support this affront through their mental givings, active labor, and passive complicities of employment.
deleted 6y ago
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another-dave 6y ago

congrats Dalia! Amazing achievement & you've a great writing style. Would be interested to hear more of your journey throughout your placement & beyond! Great inspirational story for a grey Thursday morning! :) Will also keep an eye on Manara Tech — missed that when it was on HN previously.

catwind7 6y ago

fantastic :)

jruthers 6y ago

Thank you for posting. This made me really happy.

jruthers 6y ago

Thank you for posting. This made me really happy. May this be the start of a wonderful career in software.

elhudy 6y ago

Your story is awe-inspiring! > We will meet for the first time in Europe this summer! The other 3 classmates (Muath, Mohammed, and Hamza) live in the West Bank. I live in Gaza. It’s not far away but I can’t go to the West Bank and they can’t come here. I can’t wait to take a selfie in front of the Google office together and share it with everyone at Manara. :-) This is so surreal to me that it sounds like something from a book or an odd dream. Super happy for you!

nrjklk 6y ago

Amazing story! Thanks for sharing

adultSwim 6y ago

Thank you for sharing your journey. A few of the comments left make me sad.

dejongh 6y ago

Hi Dalia. Great article. Very nice of you to pass on concrete career advice to people in your region. I hope you have a fantastic experience at Google.