Witness to Change:
Firsthand Accounts in Egypt, Libya, and Japan
The world has been shaken by historic events this year, including rebellions in Libya, a president's fall from power in Egypt, and a tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Arts and Sciences faculty and students were on hand for all of these dramatic events. Here they offer first-person accounts of their experiences.
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When Egyptians took to the streets to demand the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year, A&S graduate student Hind Zaki, an international student from Egypt, rushed home to join her nation's struggle. She spent the remainder of winter quarter in Cairo, participating in many of the country's most dramatic demonstrations. Read Hind Zaki's firsthand account.
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A&S Professor Robert Pekkanen, living and working in Japan since summer 2010, was in his Tsukuba apartment when the 9.0 earthquake hit in March 2011. "I have been through many, many earthquakes in Japan," he says. "It was immediately clear this one was different. I recall distinctly thinking that there was a reasonable chance that I would die in the next few minutes." Read Professor Pekkanen's firsthand account. |
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Born in Libya, A&S Professor Hussein Elkhafaifi returned in February 2011 to visit his dying mother. The streets were rattling with the gunfire of a revolution he'd been waiting for years to see. "This is something I really wanted from the bottom of my heart, more than anything else. So there was nobody who could tell me to go from Libya at that time." Read Professor Elkhafaifi's firsthand account. |
Return to Table of Contents, June 2011 issue
