Monday, September 28, 1998
Terrorism compromises studying abroad
AFRICA: Recent attacks cause people to rethink international
programs
For about a decade now, the world has been undergoing dramatic
economic, political and social changes. In large measure, this has
been influenced by the communications revolution, which has given
new meaning to the phrase, "the world is now a global village."
Through the miracle of satellite technology, the distance
between the rich, industrialized countries of the North and the
poor, non-industrialized countries of the South has been shortened.
Through telecommunications and the world-wide web, we are able to
transcend geographic boundaries as never before.
With the end of the Cold War, the ideological battles between
the West and the Soviet Empire have been relegated to the dustbin
of history. Rather than competitively seeking clients in other
parts of the world, the powerful countries of the East and West are
now attempting to collaborate with each other, leaving former
client states to scramble to avoid total marginalization. Among
those countries in the latter category, African countries stand
out. African leaders have come to realize that African people are
going to have to find solutions to their own problems. African
leaders will have to find ways for their respective countries to
cooperate with each other to avoid problems of regional security
and to meet the global competitive challenge.
While these momentous changes are taking place in the world,
institutions of higher learning such as UCLA are attempting to find
new ways to internationalize our curriculum and to prepare our
students to become productive citizens in a rapidly changing
world.
One of the primary ways in which this occurs is through
education abroad programs. The 21st century will be characterized
by new and more difficult challenges for leadership, and the
citizens we educate will have to have the skills and intellectual
abilities to effectively meet these challenges.
We must produce ever-increasing numbers of young people who are
familiar with other cultures and have the international contacts
that will enable them to fulfill their career objectives.
All of that being said, we must realize that while there are new
opportunities in the process of globalization, there are also new
dangers.
This was graphically brought home to me by the terrorist
bombings of the American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania, the subsequent bombing raids conducted by U.S.
planes and ships on suspected terrorist bases in Sudan and
Afghanistan, and the terrorist bombing of the Planet Hollywood
nightclub in Cape Town, South Africa shortly after that. Such
events are becoming all too common, and they have implications for
those of us who frequently do research and study in other parts of
the world.
I learned of the bombings in East Africa while I was in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, on my way to Tanzania. I was scheduled to travel
on Aug. 8, the day after these events. By the time I arrived in
Tanzania, although the country was on alert, things were calm.
However, I had one major problem. I was in Tanzania as one of the
coordinators of a leadership institute involving university
students from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States and
Denmarlc, the Uongozi (Leadership) School. The school had begun its
six-week session on July 4, and when the bombings occurred
participants were on a field trip to northern Tanzania and Uganda.
Consequently, they were not easily accessible by telephone and were
generally out of touch with events taking place in other parts of
East Africa, let alone the rest of the world.
In the immediate aftermath of the East African bombings, the
parents and friends of UCLA and other American-based students
participating in the school frantically called our office to make
sure that their loved ones were not in harm’s way. In a few days,
we were able to provide assurances that indeed the participants in
the Uongozi School had not been affected by the bombings and were
safe and sound.
The students arrived back in Tanzania with only a week to go in
their program, and, happily their morale was high and the school
session was successfully completed by Aug. 15. By the the time
missiles launched by the United States landed in Sudan and
Afghanistan, all Uongozi participants had safely returned home.
Their story is one that resulted in a happy ending; but for
thousands of Kenyan, Tanzanian and American families the story is
one filled with grief. Almost 300 Kenyan and Tanzania citizens lost
their lives, and thousands more were injured. In all, 12 Americans
were killed in the Nairobi blast (none in Tanzania) and hundreds
were injured.
In the end, one is left to ponder the implications of these
recent trends for students and faculty at UCLA. Should we abandon
our efforts to live, work and study in other parts of the world?
Should we forget the notion of actively engaging the process of
globalization? Even though the Cold War has ended, are there
threats present in the world that should make us rethink our
idealistic notions about making a contribution to the spread of
democracy and development to countries like the ones we find in
Africa?
Tragedy can strike at any time and in any place. We must be
prudent in terms of the timing of whatever foreign places we might
visit and what we might do while we are there, but there is no
foolproof way of insuring that we will be able to avoid all
unfortunate events. Governments that conduct foreign policy must
always be sensitive to "the big picture," and they must resolutely
pursue foreign policy objectives in a manner that has the long-term
security interests of its citizens at heart.
Terrorist acts must be responded to in an appropriate manner by
any government that has been targeted. Usually, terrorists will
strike at institutions of targeted governments, rather than
randomly at citizens of a particular country. In such cases, the
appropriate response should be toward the institutions of the
terrorist organization. In either case there could (and most often
are) individuals and non-governmental property that are the victims
of collateral damage. It does not appear that we are at a stage now
where individual citizens of the United States would be randomly
targeted by terrorists in Africa. At the same time, in planning for
research or study trips involving our faculty and students, we
should always be mindful that with new opportunities, there are
always new challenges, and we should prepare accordingly.
On a personal level, I will continue to encourage undergraduates
to pursue the Undergraduate Certificate in African Studies;
graduate students to pursue doctoral degrees and master’s degrees
with an African focus; and faculty to do research in Africa. In the
21st century, Africa will be an integral part of the global
community. It possesses enormous market potential, as well as
fertile ground for the development of the human capital that will
be necessary to make the world a better place for everyone.
Thus, we must know Africa. This is the only way we will be
prepared to meet the challenges of this global age.
Keller is a political science professor. He is also director of
the James S. Coleman African Studies Center at UCLA and is the
American-based coordinator of the Uongozi School in Africa.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]