Egypt study abroad halted for UNC students

As the violent political crisis in Egypt between ousted President Mohamed Morsi’s supporters and the Egyptian military worsens, the UNC Study Abroad Office has suspended its programs in Egypt for the fall and spring semesters.

Bob Miles, associate dean for UNC Study Abroad, said UNC policy prohibits students from studying abroad through the University when there are federal travel warnings or travel alerts issued for an area.

A federal travel warning was issued for Egypt on Aug. 15, so students are currently not able to apply for the 2014 spring semester, he said.

Students can still study abroad in other African countries where no warnings are in effect, Miles said. UNC offers more than 30 study-abroad programs in Africa.

One UNC student caught in the midst of the recent unrest was junior Caroline Zullo, evacuated from Cairo earlier this summer while studying Arabic at the American University in Cairo.

She said both her dorm and her classes were located downtown in close proximity to the military’s protests.

“From the moment that I got there, there were many signs that tensions were absolutely rising,” Zullo said.

Miles said UNC has historically been cautious in determining whether students should participate in study abroad programs in countries where a safety risk is involved — he said UNC had to evacuate two students from Cairo in 2011 due to social unrest.

Zullo said she was aware of the military’s planned July 3 uprising long before it happened.

“When my other fellow students and I would walk through Cairo, we would get little pamphlets and signs and fliers,” Zullo said.

“People would just be handing them out, getting ready to start planning for this protest weeks in advance.”

She said the university canceled student trips to Alexandria and other Egyptian cities due to safety concerns — and classes were canceled 10 days before the protest was scheduled.

Zullo said after the 48-hour ultimatum to leave office was given to Morsi by the Egyptian military, her classes were moved into her dorm, and she was evacuated soon after.

She added that she maintained contact with the UNC Study Abroad Office throughout the entire process.

Andrew Reynolds, a UNC political science professor, said he does not believe the situation in Egypt will improve any time in the near future.

“I think it’s a declining situation of violence where the Muslim Brotherhood is increasingly being suppressed by the military, and the clashes seem to be getting worse,” Reynolds said.

This week, the situation has further escalated, he said.

“The protest camps in favor of President Morsi were broken up obviously a couple of days ago, and many people were killed, and there have been allegations of Muslim Brotherhood detainees being killed in custody as well,” he said.

“So the fragility on the streets in Cairo is getting worse by the hour.”

Despite her evacuation experience, Zullo said she enjoyed her time in Cairo because it allowed her to get a firsthand feel of Egyptian life.

“It was really interesting to live there, because I got to really experience Egyptian culture,” she said. “It was like living right amongst the people.”

But Reynolds said he would not advise students to travel to Egypt under the current circumstances.

“I think it’s probably a situation where it’s a little too fragile for students to be there right now.”

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