When Hasan Abdel-Kareem traveled to Palestine in late October to conduct research for his dissertation, he didn't expect to miss the holidays with his family.

Or miss ringing in the new year.

Or miss his wife's birthday.

Now, Abdel-Kareem, whose visa expired during his visit, could miss the birth of his fifth child, who is due Jan. 28.

"I never imagined to be stuck here for three months," said Abdel-Kareem, a doctoral student in the College of Education, during a telephone interview from Palestine on Monday. "My wife celebrated her 34th birthday. I just sent her flowers, and said I am really sorry. I feel guilty because I miss the family, and it was difficult to imagine the new year and (the birthday) by e-mail or phone.

"(Raba) told me she just had some tears in her eyes, and she told me it was difficult for her."

Security precautions

Abdel-Kareem, who is from Palestine, left campus, his wife Raba and their four children, Oct. 23 and was to remain in Palestine until Nov. 15. But his visa expired while he researched students' knowledge of water systems in Palestinian schools. He applied to renew his visa, but the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem delayed the interview with him for security clearance.

It wasn't until Tuesday that an interview was set up for sometime this week.

Abdel-Kareem is living in Bodrus, a village near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The village is located in an area between the borders of Israel and Palestine, where the two regions have been fighting over border issues for years.

"I was not supposed to be here for a long time and leave the family struggling in East Lansing," he said.

"This is really tough because my kids and my wife are suffering. My kids cannot understand why I am here. It's not so easy to explain to those children the meaning of security clearance and military procedure."

Sylvia Warner, spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said Rogers' office was contacted to help Abdel-Kareem return safely and promptly.

"A lot of the procedures have changed since 9/11 and any security clearance tends to take a long time," Warner said. "It's not something that happens in a very quick manner simply because of the nature of the investigation and paperwork that goes into it — making sure all the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted."

A livelihood threatened

In an East Lansing apartment Monday evening, a pregnant Raba Abdel-Kareem is dressed in a brown head scarf and carries a tray of Palestinian chai tea and chocolate cake. She sets the goodies on the coffee table and sits down on the couch in her living room.

Three-year-old Issam and 12-year-old Maysam scurry to sit down on either side of her. Issam, the youngest son, is wearing a bright orange hooded sweatshirt and climbs on the arm of the sofa. A more reserved Maysam, who is the oldest daughter, wears a bright pink- and yellow-striped sweater. She's excited to talk about her family and translate for her mother, who cannot always understand English.

An Arabic-language television program blares news from the Middle East throughout the room.

Raba, who does not have a driver's license, said her husband's absence drastically changed the family's livelihood.

"(It's) very difficult for me and my kids," she said, while smiling self-consciously and apologizing for her broken English. "Neighbors bring us to the mosque."

Raba said she's extremely concerned about giving birth to a daughter, named Dana, without Hasan present.

"Will I have problem with delivery?" she said. "Issam wakes up every day and asks, 'Where is my dad?'"

Helping hands

In addition to her inability to cart the children to and from school, Raba said she's disappointed she cannot attend parent-teacher conferences. The family has to rely on friends, including Stefanie Kendall, who works with Hasan. She visits the family at least three times a week and lightens Raba's load of caring for four children, with another on the way.

"As his colleague, I really miss him," said Kendall, an MSU doctoral student, adding that people have been very supportive of the situation.

Hasan's colleagues have offered to give rides to the grocery store and school, to give money for bills and to watch the children.

"The outpouring has been remarkable," Kendall said, adding that this situation is making the family fragile.

So fragile that Hasan's two oldest sons didn't want to be interviewed for this story. The boys — one is 11, the other 9 — are in classes that have current event assignments requiring news article clippings.

They did not want to end up as part of their assignments.

However, they said they missed playing video games with their dad. Their sister, Maysam, said she misses the family's weekend trips to go shopping or eat ice cream.

Words of advice

Warner, Rogers' spokeswoman, said because this is not an uncommon situation, travelers should be aware of when their papers expire.

"Each individual has a different situation," she said. "Sometimes they don't have the documentation, and they have to get it. There's a long waiting list of people who are getting clearances and the agency works through it the best way they can. There's a lot of reasons it could have happened."

In order to avoid travel troubles, don't wait until the last minute to update travel papers, Warner said.

"It's never too early to start paperwork you need to get done," she said. "Don't wait to request help ? until you're in a crisis situation."

Palestinian passports are only valid for three years, whereas American passports last longer.

"If I left with a valid visa and passport, I would not be in this situation," Abdel-Kareem said.

"I would never make (the trip) again unless I know I can return after 10 days or two weeks — otherwise, it won't happen again."

Long-awaited return

Hasan received word Tuesday that he might return to Michigan as early as next week.

"I am asking myself what is the meaning of education, democracy and social justice," he said. "We ask ourselves this in the College of Education. I enjoy such a democratic community in the United States, but the magic of this concept starts to evaporate unfortunately.

"I would like to be with my family and my school as soon as possible."

Even with the seriousness of the situation, Hasan joked in an e-mail sent Tuesday to his friends and colleagues about his return.

"Just one thing," Hasan wrote. "In Palestine, it is around (68 degrees), and somebody told me that you guys have snow, if so, I may change my mind."

Kristi Jourdan can be reached at jourdank@msu.edu.