Eight UC Davis students, their instructor and her son were being evacuated from Cairo late Wednesday and expected to fly to Paris in the wake of a military takeover that has toppled the government in Egypt.
The students are among 10 University of California undergraduates led by UC Davis comparative literature instructor Noha Radwan. Two other students enrolled at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz are also being evacuated.
The group has been in the country since June 18 to study the works of Egyptian authors and filmmakers, UC Davis officials said. The group was originally scheduled to leave Egypt on July 16.
The 10 students, Radwan and her son are all safe, officials said. UC Davis’ Education Abroad Center was working to evacuate the group by this morning Cairo time. Radwan is a Cairo native and Egyptian literary scholar.
In a statement, center associate director Zachary Frieders said caution stems from “increasing instability and concerns” about further developments in Egypt.
“Our primary concern is the safety of students and ensuring safe passage out of the country,” Frieders said.
At UC Davis, center officials have been monitoring the political situation in Cairo since the outset of the students’ visit and received regular updates every few days, Easley said.
UC Davis later requested additional security briefings and began what officials called “broad consultations” on Monday after updated U.S. State Department warnings.
The State Department on Wednesday advised all U.S. citizens to depart Egypt “because of the continuing political and social unrest.” A 21-year-old U.S. citizen, a student at Kenyon College in Ohio, was killed June 28 during a demonstration in Alexandria, according to NBC News.
It is the second year the UC Davis program has been offered in Cairo and the second time the program brought its students home early from Cairo.
In spring 2011, students were sent home early from a UC Davis program after then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was removed from power.
University officials said more than 1,000 UC Davis students study abroad annually at programs in 40 countries.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/04/5544150/uc-students-leave-egypt-amid-political.html#storylink=cpy
