February 18th, 2008

Restricted region changes not always for the worse

The neatness and simplicity of Duke’s new Restricted Regions List belies the amount of careful consideration that goes into it. Evaluating where in the world is safe and where is not is complicated precisely because we never know what’s going to happen. Changes can be “sudden and devastating,” as Margaret Riley, director of the Office of Study Abroad, put it. Strangely, however, the suddenness of these changes is not always for the worse.

Gilbert Merkx, vice provost for international affairs and chair of the International Travel and Oversight Committee, told me that some once-violent regions are now quite peaceful – and that the changes have occurred quite quickly.

He pointed to the Aceh Province in Indonesia as the classic example. Prior to 2005, there was a bloody ongoing conflict between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement. However, after the massive tsunami of 2004 swept away much of the region’s infrastructure, the government and the rebels put aside their differences in order to rebuild the province.

Another example is Colombia.

“In Colombia we know that the rural areas are dangerous because that’s where the guerillas are and they kidnap foreigners, but the cities have become pretty safe,” Merkx said. “Two years ago, we probably would have said don’t go to Medellín, but now Medellín has had almost no violence for some time.”

Of course, things do go the other way as well. The most pertinent example is Kenya’s descent into violence after the disputed presidential elections of last December. Originally, travel to Kenya was unrestricted with the exception of Nairobi and border regions. After the increase of violence, however, all of Kenya was added to the list.

Even though the list is based on a large amount of closely monitored sources, it still cannot cover every possibility. For example, the list restricts travel in Saudi Arabia to the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran. However, there was a group of students who wanted to travel to Mecca on a pilgrimage. Normally, Mecca is off limits because non-Muslims are not allowed there – but what if one is a Muslim?

“These students of ours happened to be Muslims, and a group of them wanted to go with the father of one of the students,” Merkx explained. “Well, since they were Muslims and were accompanied we considered their request for a waiver and we granted it.”

So don’t despair just yet if the study abroad or DukeEngage venue of your dreams appears on the Restricted Regions List – things change.

-Donnie Allison

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