This week Secretary Clinton spoke to Balkan youth [22]about the importance of cross-cultural exchange programs. “We should have more exchange programs with…other places in the world so that you can tell the story of Kosovo,” she told students in Pristina. Reports of Clinton's visit to Bosnia and Kosovo appeared alongside accounts of the Chilean miners emerging from their subterranean tunnel. Across the globe, people gathered around TVs and computers to watch the latest news from Camp Hope, Chile.
There was much speculation about what would happen to the miners as they rose to the surface. Would the light blind their eyes? Would they suffer from The Bends? Would they be ready to face the media scrutiny and overjoyed attention of their families? Their journey in the Phoenix capsule was momentous and extremely challenging, but actually covered only 622 meters [23]. By contrast, the journeys that Clinton was urging Balkan youth to undertake were cross-continental.
When I watched the first miner emerging after 69 days, the closest thing I had to compare it with was stepping off a plane after months away on an exchange program. Granted, I had not survived on two tablespoons of tuna fish a day or gone weeks without fresh air, but international travel also involves environmental shock and calculated risk-taking.
Working on exchange programs can sometimes feel like providing logistical support to people trapped in a mine. We use innovative communication technologies to send messages to hard-to-reach locations. We anticipate the challenges that will come upon arrival in a new place. We develop resources to combat culture shock—the equivalent of the sunglasses given to the miners. When all goes according to plan, the rewards are palpable.
Each time I meet IREX fellows stepping off a plane and landing in the US for the first time—the undergraduate student from Pakistan [24]; the Muskie fellow [25]from Uzbekistan; the teacher from Peru [26]– I’m inspired by the personal bravery their journey demanded. A Senegalese teacher once proudly showed me the certificate that the airlines awarded him for his first trip on a plane. I understand why the world was captivated this week by the emergence of the miners: when individual fortitude meets international collaboration, the result is inspiring.
Amy Ahearn [27] is a program associate at IREX.
*Photo Source [28]