Daily Iowan , IA
Oct 18 2004
Int’l students watch campaign with interest
By Arna Wilkinson – The Daily Iowan
Ferzan Akalin, a UI graduate student and one-year Iowa City resident,
has been watching the presidential debates and is leaning toward Sen.
John Kerry. She is adamant about voting in her native Turkey, but she
is not able to vote in the United States.
Although they will not cast a ballot, Akalin and other UI
international students are following the presidential race closely,
concerned with how the outcome will affect their countries.
“George Bush didn’t care about cooperating with his allies, and
that’s why he’s getting lots of reactions from other countries and
people,” Akalin said. “The next president should be working harder to
have better relationships with his neighbors.”
Yet, Akalin said, a Turkish newspaper had reported Kerry as
supporting the recognition of genocide against Armenians by Turkey
during World War I. Preceded by decades of conflict between the
Ottoman Empire and Armenians, approximately 1.75 million Armenians in
Turkey were deported by the government, resulting in 600,000 deaths.
Armenians contend it was genocide, a charge the Turkish government
disputes.
“The candidates promise a lot of things for votes, but this should
not be an issue,” Akalin said.
Evans Ochola, a UI graduate student from Kenya who has lived in Iowa
City for four years, said he would not vote in the U.S. elections if
he could, despite an interest in politics.
“I think that voting should be left for citizens – people that are
citizens should vote,” he said. “I would not want to dilute the
process.”
What amazes him most, he said, is the fairness of the debates.
“No one is being taken to jail. Both sides can say what they want
without anyone victimizing them,” he said. “You don’t see that in
most African countries.”
Even with a recent peaceful election in Kenya, Ochola said, he would
welcome presidential debates in his country’s election process,
adding they can indicate candidates’ personalities and intellects.
UI graduate student Prem Ramakrishnan, a four-year U.S. resident,
said everyone in his native India is watching American politics.
“We do follow American politics because our kin are here. If
something goes wrong here, it will affect the others” in India, he
said, adding he was concerned about the fluctuating number of work
permits offered by the U.S. government, along with the war in Iraq.
Ramakrishnan, who watches CNN and reads Indian newspapers, said
American and Indian campaigns are different because of ethnic
diversity in India, where more than 14 different constitutionally
recognized languages are spoken in 28 states and six union
territories.
“I like the [American} system; it looks orderly, I can follow it
easily,” said Ramakrishnan. “The majority of the issues are the same,
but there are difficulties because of different languages and
ethnicities.”