The opportunity to hear from students around my age talk about political issues in their home countries was one of the most interesting things I’ve gotten to see at OU so far. At this forum, six students from different areas of the world gave a 5 minute spiel discussing the current political status in their home countries. The students were from Costa Rica, Venezuela, Sierra Leone, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Some discussed the role of the government in their countries and how that’s been beneficial or not, and others discussed their personal role in activism, and how that resulted for them.
For me the most interesting ones to listen to were the political status in Pakistan and in Venezuela. The student from Pakistan discussed that their new prime minister, Imran Khan, initially appealed to the public since he used to be a famous cricket player and claimed a lot for Pakistan. She made some comparisons of him to Donald Trump since both countries have leaders that were originally not involved in politics, and were big name celebrities before their role in leading their countries. The other student from Venezuela talked about her experience with activism in her country. She said that her and her friends made a documentary about the Venezuelan government which they then got in trouble with the government for doing. She explained that the freedom aspect of Venezuela is very corrupt since freedom of speech is not allowed. She now is a Journalism student at OU. She explained how much she appreciates the freedom here in the United States.
Listening to these stories really made me think about my role in this country. Being an Indian-American, I really reflected on my place in this country. I am happy to live in a place where I can be appreciated for who I am, as well as appreciate others’ backgrounds and purpose living in the United States.
