University of Wisconsin professors and students offered first-hand perspectives on the revolution in Egypt and the possible steps for rebuilding the government and students’ personal experiences in the country.
Members of the panel fielded questions and offered personal experiences to provide students and members of the campus community in attendance at Grainger Hall with insight on the nuances of the conflict, and UW professors Jeremi Suri and Jon Pevehouse moderated the discussion.
To start off the forum, the panel was asked how citizens in the Middle East and Egypt reflected on popular perceptions of Americans.
Contrary to the what many believe is an overall abhorrence of the American people, members of the forum said the Egyptian people the students contacted did not harbor ill feelings toward Americans in general.
“From what I got, they just love Americans,” UW junior Michael Jurgens said. “They nothing but adore Americans and love our culture.”
Pevehouse said many Middle-Easterners choose to distinguish the American people and the political actions of the government.
Katrina Gray, a UW junior, was in Egypt until Feb. 1, when she was ordered to return to the United States because of safety concerns.
When asked about the Parliamentary elections in November and December, she said she did not know any Egyptians who voted.
“For the most part, the Egyptians were apolitical…some guys said, ‘Why would I vote for something that’s not real?'” she said.
The panel also weighed the motivating factors behind the initial outbreak of protests on Jan. 25.
Many of the students on the panel maintained the turmoil in Tunisia was a major spark in initiating the conflict, as well as the stagnant Egyptian economy.
Members of the panel also said the Internet allowed many young Egyptians to organize demonstrations through social networking sites. As momentum began to build, the conditions in Egypt helped promote the beginning of a revolution.
Gray said the experience of watching the demonstrations in Egypt begin provided her a vastly different understanding of the situation than was presented by the media.
She said the media misrepresented the level of violence in Alexandria and she was never fearful for her life during her stay in the city.
As the conversation shifted to the future of the Egyptian people, members of the panel said there are many possible next steps for rebuilding a new government.
They said a new government could be founded around a strong president figure with a parliamentary system at the helm, or a democracy rooted in religious law.
Pevehouse said whatever the outcome, there will be “something for the next generation.”
While Egypt’s future remains uncertain, Suri and the students involved in the panel were adamant that major change worldwide could begin as a result of the recent Egyptian revolution.
“The world in the Middle East and in Madison, Wis., will look different in five years,” Suri said. “You will all play a part.”
