Jefferson Gray, a graduate student in politics at the University of Chicago and a former Fulbright Scholar to the Republic of Yemen, spoke to students and faculty last night about current pressures for political reform in Yemen.
Gray opened the talk, titled "Yemeni Echoes of the Arab Spring," by giving three stereotypical narratives of Yemen, describing Yemen as a grand place of tourism, a desperate human rights situation and a country demanding change through the lead of recent Nobel Peace Prize recipient Tawakkul Karman, an Arab woman known internationally for her role in the Yemeni uprisings.
"The problem with all three of these narratives, is that it sort of keeps Yemen in its corner," Gray said. "We look at the Middle Eastern experience, [and] rather than seeing it as a continuum of other problems in the region, we see it as being weird and exotic."
Gray said Americans tend to view Arab political transitions from a narrowly American perspective. They see these shifts as reflecting "our own desire and demands for freedom and civil liberties and civil rights," he said.
He urged audience members to instead consider the Yemeni perception of the Arab Spring and its relevance to the country's own struggle for liberty.
"The point of this talk was to talk about ... how Yemenis themselves ... see these struggles," with or without similarity to the struggles occurring in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and South Sudan, Gray said.
Scott Harrop, instructor in the department of Middle Eastern & South Asian languages and cultures, noted a "double parallel" between the flame of liberation spurring on the Yemeni uprisings, and the flame of liberation which influenced the American Revolution.
"There's the recognition of the struggle for independence, [that] they want to find their own way," he said. "They don't want their Saudi neighbors or the Americans telling them, 'Oh you can't do that.' ... I'm seeing so many echoes of Jefferson in what we're seeing unfolding across the Middle East."
Fourth-year College student Jacob Kohn said he came to the event to hear what people are saying about the Arab country.
"It seems like the issue of Yemen doesn't get too much comprehensive attention in American press, especially with the whole context of the Arab Spring," Kohn said, noting the value of learning about Yemen's complexity from the perspective of someone who had previously lived in Yemen.
Prof. Farzaneh M. Milani, chair of the department of Middle Eastern & South Asian languages and cultures, said she was "fascinated by the interest" in the Islamic world University students demonstrated by attending events such as Gray's speech.
Milani hoped that by attending the event, students would obtain "both knowledge, but also a sense of excitement that change can be brought about without violence" in Yemen and other parts of the Arab world.
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