Two international students sat down with other Ball State students and community members to discuss an issue they believe Americans are not paying attention to— the Middle Eastern revolution.
With the discussion originally centered around Tunisia, Ball State student and Tunisia native Majdi Felah, was invited to speak at this month's installment of the Peace and Conflict Studies' Brown Bag Discussion series.
Yemen native and Ball State student Loaei Thabet joined Felah in discussing the current revolution going on in the Middle East.
Felah and Thabet each spoke about what is happening in their respective native countries and following their explanations, the floor was open to questions and discussion.
Some of the questions people asked were about what is really happening with the governments in each country and the corruption people hear about on the news. Other questions were about their own personal experiences before coming to Ball State.
Felah and Thabet did not hold back when telling the discussion group their thoughts and beliefs.
Thabet said the countries having revolutions look to help in the United States, because the freedoms they are looking for are stated in the First Amendment of the United State Constitution.
"[The United States] is saying, ‘The new Middle East. We are looking for the new Middle East,'" he said. "This is the new Middle East. The new Middle East is based on freedom."
Felah has been trying to reach the entire Ball State community through different events.
Trevor Foley, program coordinator of the Rinker Center for International Students, said he has been working with Felah to do more events to raise awareness about Tunisia. The events will include charity events and more discussion group sessions with Felah, but none of the events are set in stone yet.
Felah said awareness is the main reason why he is trying to reach Ball State students in every way he can.
"People here at least wouldn't know about the politics and the real situation is not necessarily shown through the media," he said. "People need to know about each other and try to help each other. [They need to] talk to their government and make it more transparent."
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