After protesters in Tunisia attacked the U.S. embassy Sept. 14, the two Brown students in the country's SIT Study Abroad Program were promptly relocated to Toulouse, France in response to a travel warning issued by the United States government. The students, Felice Feit '14 and former Herald senior staff writer Sarah Forman '13, will remain in SIT's program in Toulouse for the rest of the semester.
Feit said the program participants originally thought they would return to Tunisia after the initial turmoil died down and were even given plane tickets back dated for Oct. 5. But two days before they were due to return, they were told the change would be permanent, Forman said.
Four out of the 14 students in the program returned home in response to the announcement, Feit said, adding that two relocated to Jordan immediately after the group was moved to France.
Feit said she did not feel unsafe in Tunisia while she was there, adding that the travel warning felt "pretty clearly politically motivated."
"Options are limited for people who want to do study abroad in that part of the world," said Andrew White '13, international relations department undergraduate group co-president. Travel warnings are a hindrance for many students who might want to study in North Africa, he said, adding that summer study, which he did in Tunisia last summer, is sometimes easier to arrange than semesters abroad.
"It is not what I wanted at all, frankly," Feit said about her study abroad experience in France. She said she had been studying Arabic at Brown and wanted to study abroad "for the language and culture" in Tunisia, rather than for the academics SIT can provide in Toulouse. "I'm making the best of it," she added.
Forman is writing a senior thesis on North African immigrant identities and said she decided to study in Tunisia for the research opportunities. She said at first she was disappointed about the change in locations but soon realized there are many Tunisian immigrants in Toulouse. "I'm getting a different perspective on the country I wanted to study," Forman said. "I'm very curious about how people who were born in Tunisia or Algeria have changed their connections to their home country now that they've immigrated to France."
The Office of International Programs has stayed abreast of the situation in Tunisia and feels that SIT's relocation of the students was "a wise decision," said Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and associate dean of the College. In light of the unexpected circumstances, Brostuen said he met with Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron to discuss what could be done to allow Feit and Forman to engage with North Africa. The deans arranged for the students to spend some time over winter break in Morocco and conduct a research project related to their studies in France.
Brostuen said the OIP will continue to keep watch on the situation in Tunisia, as he does not see the danger there as permanent. "In the future we will have students studying there," he said.
A representative for SIT Study Abroad could not be reached for comment.
