Student Union
Finding Inspiration for Afghanistan in America's Election
Tufts: where more people watch the election than the Super Bowl twitter.com/mattmcd88/stat…
— Matt McDonald (@mattmcd88) November 7, 2012
Two weeks ago, I was standing among a throng of students in Hotung Café at Tufts University—a crowd burning in anticipation to learn the outcome of the presidential election.
I had left my quiet dorm room just ten minutes before with a friend of mine, after finishing my assignments, to witness this historic moment.
The area was packed; I could only cram into the room by jostling and shoving other students aside. The predictions for most of the eastern and southern states had already been announced; Governor Romney had a marginal lead over President Obama. After a while, the emcee announced that CNN’s prediction for Ohio, one of the key swing states, was out. Breaths were held, dead silence prevailed, and all eyes were fixed on the two TV screens.
***
In my mind I was transported back to the Afghan presidential elections in 2009.
The number of candidates was 22 times the number running in the American elections – 44 candidates – yet the thrill of the election was barely noticeable. In fact, I don’t even recall following the news about it. No matter how many candidates there were to choose from, there was little faith that any of them could or would bring much change.
Unlike in the U.S., the dominant political system in Afghanistan is one based on religious ideas and ethnic politics. This situation hinders even the most astute politicians from making much progress without bringing a complete revolution, an agenda that I believed none of the candidates promoted.
The U.S. presidential election had sparked many debates on campus over the issues of foreign and domestic policies. Many Tufts friends — both Republican and Democrat — constantly debated the varying issues. I too enjoyed enthusiastically engaging in discussions on American policies towards Middle East, China, or different regions in the world. At times I even dared to comment on the domestic policies of the two candidates. Passions on campus ran high.
In contrast, in 2009 most Afghans didn’t think their voices or votes mattered. The estimated voter turnout was a mere 30 to 35 percent. Many people in the rural areas were utterly oblivious to the elections, partly due to lack of media access and partly because the Afghan government plays no tangible role in their lives. Afghanistan may have been a “democracy” in structure, but due to the illiteracy and isolation of millions, a true democracy would be hard to establish.
***
“The 18 electoral votes from Ohio go to President Obama.”
The whole room exploded in exhilaration. “Obama, Obama, Obama,” the crowd roared, “Four more years, four more years, four more years.” I found that I also was standing there beside my American and international friends cheering for Obama.
Video from election night at Tufts University, by student Angela Sun
Tufts University Election Night Extravaganza 2012 from asun2013 on Vimeo.
I too was excited, but not because I truly embraced or even understood many of his domestic or international policies, or because I was against Governor Romney’s proposed strategies. I didn’t even agree with all of President Obama’s policies in the Middle East or Afghanistan. The reason was something more intimate.
The hope I felt was that one day I could be standing in a similar room in Afghanistan among the thunderous roar of people. People who were as equally excited about their own future.
America’s elections aren’t perfect, nor were its candidates. But I felt hope that one day Afghanistan could have candidates as capable and motivated as both President Obama and Governor Romney. I had hope for a leader who was not chosen due to ethnicity or religious sect, or who he was related to, but because of the potential he had for holding the office. I had hope that one day we too would have a free and fair election.
Afghanistan may have a long road ahead to tackle the issues of corruption and Taliban control, and to create the capacity for an authentic democracy, but for that one brief moment Obama’s victory rekindled my belief that anything was possible.
His victory speech wasn’t just to the American people, but to me and other Afghans of my generation.
When Obama challenged us to cherish “the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression; the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope,” he gave me inspiration that we too could move forward. I identified with Obama’s messages, as they were the mottos I wished my countrymen held: hope, change, and moving forward.
Our hopes need not remain buried under the ruins of war by Kalashnikovs, tanks, and bomb explosions. We, too, could move forward. If we only believe we could.
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Industry analysts say the negative trend is mainly due to higher costs amid China’s struggling economy, with a growing number of students going to less expensive countries like Australia and Britain, and tense ties between Washington and Beijing.
The number of foreign students studying in the U.S. in 2022-23 passed 1 million for the first time since the COVID pandemic, said Open Doors, an information resource on international students and scholars.
While the U.S. saw a nearly 12% total increase year-on-year for that period, the number of international students from China, its top source, fell by 0.2% to 289,526.
That’s 600 fewer students than the 2021-22 academic year, when their numbers dropped by nearly 9%. The COVID pandemic saw Chinese student numbers drop in 2020-21 by nearly 15%, in line with the world total drop.
While it’s not yet clear if the drop is a leveling out or a fluctuating decline, analysts say China’s struggling economy and the high cost of studying in the U.S. are the main reasons for the fall in student numbers.
Vincent Chen, a Chinese study abroad consultant based in Shanghai, said although most of his clients are still interested in studying in the U.S., there is a clear downward trend, while applicants for Anglophone universities in Australia and Britain have been increasing.
"If you just want to go abroad, a one-year master's degree in the U.K. is much cheaper,” Chen said. “Many people can't afford to study in the U.S., so they have to settle for the next best thing."
Data from the nonprofit U.S. group College Board Research shows that in the 2023-24 academic year, the average tuition and fees for a U.S. private college four-year education increased 4% to $41,540 compared with the previous academic year.
The British Council said three to four years of undergraduate tuition in Britain starts as low as $15,000.
The number of Chinese students in Britain was 154,260 in 2022-23, according to the U.K. Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA, up from 121,145 in the 2018/19 academic year.
Australia’s Home Affairs office said in the 2023-24 program year, China was the top source foreign country for new student visa grants at 43,389, up slightly (1.5%) from the previous year.
Chen said Chinese state media's negative portrayal of the United States and concerns about discrimination have also contributed to the shift.
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When he entered Boston's Logan International Airport last year, Zhang said customs officers questioned him for more than an hour about his research, and if it had any links to the military, and took his computer and mobile phone for examination.
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Zhang was allowed to enter the U.S. for his studies in materials science, but the questioning left him so rattled that he has encouraged other Chinese to study elsewhere.
Cui Kai, a study abroad consultant in Massachusetts told VOA Mandarin that experiences like Zhang’s or worse happen for a reason.
"Students who were questioned or their visas were revoked at the customs are usually those who completed their undergraduate studies in China and come to the U.S. for a master's or doctoral degree in a sensitive major," said Cui.
Former President Donald Trump signed Proclamation 10043 in June 2020, prohibiting visas for any Chinese student who “has been employed by, studied at, or conducted research at or on behalf of, an entity in the PRC that implements or supports the PRC's “military-civil fusion strategy.”
The U.S. says China has been using students and scholars to gain access to key technology and, under Proclamation 10043, revoked more than 1,000 visas issued to Chinese nationals and has denied thousands more.
Critics say the policy is costly to the U.S. and is encouraging Chinese students to look to European and other universities.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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