The Pearson Institute International Conflict Seminars (PICS) are new programs where students can focus on critical issues of global conflict through immersive international experiences. By engaging with government officials, NGOs, community leaders and more, students can gain a holistic perspective of global conflicts. 2018 PICS programs included Northern Ireland and Jordan. Read more below to hear from Adrian Rodriguez MA’19 and Elise Egan MPP’20 about their experiences in Jordan.

Why did you want to visit Jordan?

Elise

Elise Egan, MPP Class of 2020

I’m a first year studying for my MPP, and I came into Harris having worked for the US Agency for International Development, focusing on issues relating to HIV/AIDS. The US doesn’t do much HIV/AIDS work in the Middle East or in northern Africa (frequently called the MENA region) – most of our work on the African continent is in sub-Saharan countries. I really wanted to do the Jordan program as a way to bridge the gap in my knowledge between what I know professionally from working in developing countries and what I know culturally about the MENA region as a consumer of news media. I wanted to see those things for myself, to make connections between what we read – particularly regarding the refugee crisis coming out of Syria and Palestine – and the people who have to live that reality every day.

Adrian

Naively, I embarked on the Pearson Institute International Conflict Seminar to Jordan looking for answers about that unknown world, but fortunately, I returned home with many more questions. After seven days visiting incredible ancient cities in the middle of the desert, listening to experts in feminism, extremisms, refugees, top-level personalities, and other opinion leaders, I am more intrigued than ever. I was touched intellectually to discover more and now I have an endless thirst for knowledge about the culture in the Middle East.

Tell us about one part of the trip that really made an impact on you.

Elise

We had a great wealth of opportunities to talk to experts, people who have grown up in the region, people who’ve worked there a long time, people who professionally work on refugees and migrated people; taken together, it confirmed for me how complex the situation is, and how resilient people are. 

We went to a couple of refugee camps and were able to speak to residents in two of them, one called Zaatari run by the UN, and one more agriculturally focused, Al Aloun. What was evident was that these were real people living these challenges: their lives and information were not filtered through various levels of editors. In the media, we see the most tragic images depicting the refugee crisis, and yet life goes on after those photos are taken. Children are still going to play, still going to huddle in groups to giggle at how funny our group of Americans is. 

It was amazing to see the children in all of those contexts, and we had the opportunity to talk to mothers about what their life is like now, the things they struggle with daily. It’s incredible what people will withstand and do for their loved ones. People still have to find a way to put food on their table, through all sorts of physical and mental health struggles.

Adrian

Our trip began with the visit to the ancient city of Petra, considered one of the modern wonders of the world, followed by the visit to Wadi Rum, a majestic desert that feels like another planet. It's a place full of history and welcoming people dancing and laughing, who will not hesitate to share a cup of tea or coffee with a stranger. Furthermore, among numerous activities, we were able to visit three refugee camps: Zaatari, Al Aloun, and the facilities of Um Amarra, the NGO responsible for the Huteen camp. We spoke with their residents, sensible and resilient human beings who struggle to recover from the war in Syria. Speaking with experts in different fields at the University of Jordan was enlightening. And listening to the perspective from top level dignitaries like his Royal Highness Prince Hassan Bin Talal and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh gave us a wide perspective of the socio-political circumstances in Jordan form multiple angles.

That is what I was looking for: Perspective.  

What are some big-picture takeaways from our trip?

Adrian

“What affects my neighbor affects me” was a repeated statement in the meetings with these opinion leaders. For example, when speaking about the issue of water scarcity in the region witht his Royal Highness Prince Hasan Bin Talal, he listed multiple internal attempts to resolve the issue and some vague explanations about why they failed. He emphasized that whatever the solution is, it has to be implemented as a regional issue impacting multiple countries. Similar to what the expert in feminism in the Middle East stated when we visited the University of Jordan; the issue that affects women, affects the society in general, not just women. Regardless whether the issue is about women empowerment, access to justice or access to water, they al lmust be seen as intersectional issues that affect not only a single country or segment of the population. Furthermore, these issues affect us all as an international community and the consequences of these issues are not as far away from home as we might think. What is happening over there affects us all. We share challenges and we can share successes and progress.

Elise

Nearly every expert echoed similar ideas about how the region is still dealing with the vestiges of imperialism, and will be for a while. There’s so much international influence in the region. It’s impossible to separate the issues that are native to the region, that people might want to specify as unique to the region; in many cases, they are really a byproduct of so many years of US, Western, or European involvement – and these days, Chinese or Russian involvement. I don’t think any one issue in the region can be looked at as just a MENA issue. 

One expert, Talal Abu Gazeleh, while talking about social impact investing, said something that really stuck with me: “Prosperity is not sustainable if your neighbor is not prosperous as well.” That struck me as a key lesson. If you have particular parts of society that are benefiting from natural resources or lucrative trade deals, or even just political power, their wealth and prosperity is not sustainable if they don’t utilize their power and wealth to build up their neighbors, because at some point that will come back to bite them.

One of the big “solutions” being touted for the global migration crisis is focusing on economic development and job security for people at all levels of the workforce, but that’s only part of the solution. You can’t just give them a job. You also have to focus on the wellbeing of their family: Are their kids going to good schools? How are they getting to those schools? Once they get that education, what can they do with it? If you’re not well, you can’t go to work; if you have a family member that’s not well, everything you’re gaining from your employment is going to that. Add that in with other social issues, including gender power dynamics – ultimately, it’s all interconnected and hard to separate.

Now that you’ve been there, how would you describe Jordan?

Adrian

Jordan is resilient, chaotic, and vibrant. A country with thousands of years of history on its walls and colorful traditions in its blood. A society that survived war and hunger in the past – and its challenges are not over yet.

Elise

Jordan is very resilient and responsive. Jordan has been the de facto home for refugees going back generations – not just the latest Syrian refugee crisis. Over the years, they’ve taken in Iraqi refugees, Palestinian refugees, all kinds of people who needed a place to escape from persecution in their home country.

Jordan is also the cradle of civilizations. I’ve heard that said before, but it was very evident in everything that we saw or did. Jordanians are very proud of their history and having brought so much to civilization over hundreds and hundreds of years. These days it’s important to realize that if it weren’t for that region, we wouldn’t have so much of what our global civilization has today.

What else would you say about this experience?

Adrian

As a future policy leader, I am enormously grateful for the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and The Pearson Institute for Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts for allowing me to be part of this experience. 

Elise

I was extremely impressed with how the Pearson Institute – Sheila Kohanteb and Alex Carr in particular – managed to put together an itinerary that covered issues that are not only pertinent to Jordan and the wider MENA region today, but emphasized the history of how we got to where we are. The history blended in seamlessly with current events, which was really fantastic and exceeded my expectations.