Student in Egypt during protests shares experiences

Curfews are a thing of the past for most college students, but Otis Clarke had to be in his dorm by 4 p.m. from Jan. 26 until Jan. 31.

Clarke, a junior majoring in Middle East studies and linguistics, arrived in Egypt on Jan. 19 to study abroad at the American University in Cairo. He had planned to study in Cairo for four months and had enrolled in Egyptian history, anthropology and Arabic language classes before evacuating the country Jan. 31 because of the protests and political unrest in Egypt.

The Egyptian revolution began Jan. 25, just six days after Clarke landed in Egypt. There were street demonstrations, marches, riots and labor strikes in Cairo and throughout the country. The protestors wanted to remove Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from office to bring an end to corruption, repression and reforms of the political system. Mubarak resigned Feb. 11.

Clarke was looking forward to experiencing Egyptian culture, but he is now taking the semester off before returning to USC in the fall.

“As a Middle East studies major, I was obviously looking for an overseas program in that area,” Clarke said. “The one located in Egypt seemed the most appealing to me because the history of that country is so interesting. Plus, Egypt is one of the more influential countries in the Arab region, both politically and culturally.”

Clarke was the only student from USC to attend the American University in Cairo for the spring 2011 semester, but was placed in a dormitory with other college students from universities across the United States. Clarke arrived Jan. 19 for orientation week, but did not understand the extent of the civil unrest in Egypt.

“Our orientation leaders and other people at the dorms were keeping us apprised of what was going around us,” he said. “We did have a television, so we were able to watch CNN and Al Jazeera. But even with that sort of access, we still did not know the full extent of the protests.”

Because the dorms were located on an island in the neighborhood of Zamalek in Cairo, away from the center of the riots, Clarke said he and his fellow students were never truly fearful for their safety. The private security in the dorms made them even less afraid.

“None of us really felt the full effect of the demonstrations because we were so isolated,” Clarke said. “I didn’t witness anything violent firsthand, but it was definitely a unique experience to be in the middle of such an historical event, especially when I got back to the States and saw how bad it really was.”

On Jan. 25, the orientation leaders informed the students of the government-imposed curfew, and also urged them not to go anywhere near Tahrir Square, where the largest protests were being held. For the first night of the curfew, the students had to be in their dorms from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m., but by the next day their curfew began at 4 p.m.

Lisa Anderson, the president of the American University in Cairo, came to speak to the students in the dorms to let them know they had the option of leaving the country on one of several flights chartered by the U.S. State Department. Clarke boarded a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, flew through Europe and finally reached his hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota Jan. 31.

Students also had the option to remain in Cairo and wait for any improvement in the situation, but the vast majority chose to leave the dorms.

Clarke decided leaving Egypt would be in his best interest because it was unclear whether the situation would improve. Unbeknownst to Clarke at the time, USC had issued a recommendation to evacuate the area as well.

“We didn’t have any cell phones or internet access, but I was able to talk to my parents on a landline through calling cards they had provided us with,” Clarke said. “I talked it over with them, and we all agreed it was the best thing for me to leave Cairo.”

Clarke said the Egyptian students who were attending orientation week were both concerned and hopeful about the demonstrations.

“Most of them were pretty anxious about what was going on,” Clarke said. “They were all definitely hoping that this would lead to a change in Egyptian politics, but I don’t think any of them expected Mubarak to resign from office. They just wanted a step toward democracy.”

Clarke said watching the events unfold before him added a new perspective to what he had learned about in classes he took at USC.

“I was enrolled in a course last semester that was about the politics of the Middle East,” he said. “We learned about the persistence of the authoritarianism in the region, so it was really interesting to see the people around us rise up on their own.”

Clarke now plans to take the rest of the spring semester off, and hopes to get a job in either Sioux Falls or in the Los Angeles area. Nevertheless, Clarke said that leaving Egypt was extremely bittersweet for him because he had so been looking forward to spending four months in Cairo.

“At the time it was kind of disappointing, but we were also just so hopeful that this would be bring about some kind of change for the people of Egypt,” Clarke said.