Peace and Democracy: Conversations with Americans

During the first week of March, School Connectivity for Uzbekistan offered schools several opportunities to share ideas with American authorities on issues of democracy. Students participated in live online forums with a delegation from the US Air War College visiting Uzbekistan and with the commissioner of the US Elections Assistance Commission.

Ten American military officers visited Tashkent School No. 145, to conduct a live forum with students at School Connectivity finalist schools. The delegation, in Uzbekistan as part of a traveling mission from the US Air War College in Alabama, spent a week meeting with Uzbekistan military and political officials. Students from Parvoz Gymnasium in Ferghana, School No. 15 in Karshi, School No. 11 in Termez, and School No. 11 in Nukus asked questions on a range of topics, including the preparation process for army recruitment, the special privileges soldiers receive, the role of women in the American military, and how the Uzbekistan and American militaries are cooperating in the international war on terrorism.

A student at School No. 15 in Karshi asked asked about the soldiers' opinion of the Uzbek military. "We have been impressed with the Uzbek military members we have met," answered Lieutenant Colonel Mark Dillon. "We had the opportunity yesterday to visit the 66th Brigade at Chirchiq, see their helicopters and talk about flying. They are very professional and enjoy flying as much as our pilots."

Expressing a question of foremost interest to forum participants, Hasan Yallaev of Karshi asked, "Why has the United States placed a military base in Khanabad, Kashkadarya province?" Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Brent Johnson responded, "Our base at K2 directly supports the global war on terrorism being conducted in Afghanistan. Without the support and cooperation of every country in the world, we can not defeat the goals and violence of the terrorists." Lt. Col. Mark Kelley added, "From the base, US airplanes fly into Afghanistan and perform several missions to support US and NATO troops on the ground."

Commented US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Altman, "The forum today, I've never done anything like that before...Frankly, some of the questions were really interesting, moreover - very pointed. There were questions about the 'Road Map for Peace' - trying to solve the Israel-Palestinian problem. These are 16 year-old students from Uzbekistan - they have their own issues to worry about. And they are interested in our, Americans', opinion on what's going on in Israel. I think it was amazing."

"We had a very interesting discussion," added Carol Risher, colonel and instructor at the Air War College, "like on the war on terrorism and the cooperation of the two countries in solving this problem. As we discussed today, in every case it was an exchange of information. I believe that not only we learned from them but also I think they learned something from us."

Upon returning to the United States, Risher noted, "This was a unique opportunity to expand our bilateral relations and have great discussions with a well-educated and intelligent group of young people."

Conversations continued during the week with presidential appointee Paul DeGregorio, commissioner of the US Elections Assistance Commission, the agency set up to monitor and advise states on the elections process. As part of School Connectivity's US Elections Online Project, DeGregorio visited the IREX Washington, DC, office to meet online with 12 7-9th grade students from all School Connectivity regions.

Students from Parvoz Gymnasium in Ferghana, School No. 2 in Andijan, School No. 2 in Namangan, School No. 1 in Nukus, School No. 34 in Karshi, and School No. 1 in Termez prepared for the event by studying additional hours at the Educational Internet Centers and discussing election-related issues in the classroom, during club meetings, and in forums with their peers on the connect.uz site. Given the chance to ask questions resulting from their research to an expert on the topic, students asked DeGregorio about campaign advertising, the importance of elections, and the American two-party system.

Shavkat Abdullaev, a 10th grader at School No. 2 in Andijan, asked DeGregorio to reflect on his broad elections experience and compare systems in different countries. "There are many countries …where the president of the country controls the media and most of the messages that people receive. There are some countries where you can go to jail if you make a negative statement against the president or the ruler of the country. This is not true democracy," he responded. "Real democracy is where there is strong freedom of expression, strong civil rights for all citizens, a rule of law that everyone follows and the opportunity for people to select their leaders through elections that are organized to be free, fair and accurate."

DeGregorio recommended that the students take a look at the websites for the two major candidates running for US president - www.georgewbush.com and www.johnkerry.com. He also suggested that they find an American citizen in their regions who might be able to speak to their class about elections. He concluded the conversation with encouraging words: "I hope that you continue this kind of interest in government and democracy and that you encourage your friends to join you. … Uzbekistan is an important country in Central Asia and the more that you participate in your society as a strong citizen, the stronger Uzbekistan's system of democracy will be."

These live forums provided School Connectivity schools unique access to American professionals working to support democracy in the US and abroad. The success of these events has paved the way for the program to provide more live conversations with American specialists and students.