there are fashions with respect to degrees, even if such fields are geared towards sectors in which ex-Gazans cannot work227. Moreover, ex-Gazans repeatedly told us that higher education has intrinsic value in and of itself, and that residents in Jerash, as reflected in statistics, value education highly. One man in his early 20s, who had moved from Jerash camp to Sweileh, for example, claimed that: [Parents] will do anything so that their children can go to university. And they may know that after they graduate they will not find a job, but we have a passion to teach our children228. Such emphasis on education and its intrinsic value often ties into broader aspirations for the future — in Jordan and, possibly, we were told, in a future Palestinian state. Deprived of so many other rights and opportunities, the massive financial investment in higher education — knowing jobs are hard to find — was often cited as the ‘only weapon’ exGazans possess: [T]he only weapon we have as Palestinians, is education. Although we know there are no opportunities now, we look to the future when it would be necessary 229. A student in his last year of compulsory schooling echoed this sentiment, saying: ‘we exGazans, the only thing that we have are our qualifications, because we don’t have a national number or anything’230. Education is thus tied up with identity, rather than being seen in purely economic terms. Nevertheless, there remains a significant achievement — and aspiration — gap within Jerash camp, a pattern persisting across generations. Amongst the ‘high achievers’ interviewed (11 persons), with two exceptions, all had fathers with post-secondary academic or [Palestinian] military background [from the PLO], and all mothers had tawjihi or higher education. Several of the fathers worked for UNRWA. Almost none of these students worked during holidays or alongside school, and their educational aspirations focussed on medicine, engineering, and accounting, often hoping to study or complete studies abroad. Amongst the ‘lower achievers’ (12 persons) on the other hand, parental education was significantly lower, with only two having fathers with post-secondary education, and two having mothers with secondary education or a bachelor’s degree. Amongst the Palestinian refugee population in general, parents’ educational level is associated with educational attainment (Tiltnes and Zhang, 2013, p. 160) 231, and all aimed to continue in vocational training streams, including car mechanics, plumbing, aluminium, and air conditioning/cooling, often to join parents or relatives who owned workshops in the camp. For those without relatives with workshops in the camp nor obligations requiring them to stay in the camp, they hoped to find work either in Amman or abroad where pay is better. Amongst these ‘lower achievers’ several came from households receiving poverty support from UNRWA, and almost all worked either after school hours, during weekends or during holidays, while several would also leave school during olive season. These youth, often amongst the older sons and needing to support their family, felt that studying academic Male, age 29, Manshiyyeh, 26 January 2016. Male, age 22, Jerash camp, 17 January 2016. 229 Focus group discussion with men, Jerash camp, 21 October 2015. 230 Focus group discussion with male youth, Manshiyyeh, 9 February 2016. 231 The comprehensive survey reveals that 26% of ex-Gaza youth aged 20 to 24 living in households with at least one individual (usually a parent or a sibling) with higher education were currently enrolled in education. In contrast, only 2% of youth aged 20 to 24 living in households where the highest attainment was preparatory or basic schooling, were still pursuing their education. 227 228 Fafo Report 2019:34 120