Hendrix student Sairah Siddique has safely left Egypt.
A junior international relations major from Little Rock, Siddique was to study abroad in Cairo for the spring semester. Foreign students, however, were evacuated as anti-government protests escalated last week. She is scheduled to arrive home on Thursday evening.
"We are very careful when selecting international partner institutions that they have rigorous safety and security plans in place," said Dr. Peter Gess, Director of International Programs at Hendrix. "I have been most impressed by the way American University – Cairo has handled the situation. Even when I couldn't reach Sairah because of government-blocked Internet and mobile phone networks, AUC sent me regular, timely updates through their U.S. office."
"Even though we have had to contend with natural disasters abroad, such as the Chilean earthquake last year, this is the first time since I have been at Hendrix that we have had to evacuate a student because of political unrest," said Gess, who started the Office of International Programs in 2007. "The process worked smoothly, and we are, of course, happy that Sairah is now safe. This is certainly an experience that she will never forget, a chance to witness history in the making."
Gess said Siddique remains committed to completing a study abroad experience to complement her international relations major.
"Sairah remains remarkably upbeat through all of this. The minute she landed in Istanbul and was reconnected with the World Wide Web, she began researching other universities in the region. She has even visited campuses in Istanbul," he said. "We are working hard to ensure she gets a placement for this spring semester in order to meet her study-abroad goals."
Siddique recently started a blog (http://siddiquesn.posterous.com/) chronicle her experience in Egypt.