Two MSU students on a study abroad program in Egypt were evacuated Monday, and another has stayed behind as protests continue in the county. The protests have lead to deaths and looting, and travel to the country has been deemed unsafe.
Seven MSU students were in the county through the Arabic Overseas Flagship Program. Four of the students left the county last week for a three-week break at the end of the semester. Brett Berquist, executive director of the Office of Study Abroad, said the program has been suspended since Sunday and the future status of the program is unclear.
“The American University (in) Cairo (Monday) in several e-mails were saying they suspended their classes for a week,” Berquist said. “They were not shutting down the university. I think it’s very important how things evolve for the next few days.”
The status of several MSU study abroad trips to Egypt this summer will be assessed by the Office of Study Abroad in two weeks.
Arabic and anthropology senior Zenit Chughtai was one of the four students who left Egypt last week. She said she hopes the program will be able to resume soon so she can return to Egypt.
“I was pretty optimistic the last couple of days,” Chughtai said. “It took them a really long time to evacuate the students. … In their apartments, it was safe.”
Chughtai said she still has belongings in her room in Egypt, as do other students who left for break. She said she heard her program might be canceled, or moved to another county.
Berquist said the single MSU student left in Egypt cannot be forced to return to America because she is an adult. However, she has been moved to a more secure area in light of the chaos and is under the care of the American University in Cairo.
“This is a part of the world where safety is an ongoing concern,” Berquist said. “When you visit this region, you don’t have to wander into the campus, you have to be allowed in.”
Berquist said despite any difficulties caused by the protests, students on the trip had a unique opportunity.
“It’s a really interesting learning experience to see the transfer of power in this part of the world,” he said.
