crossposted from Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/what-trump-s-win-looks-like-around-the-world/401371445/Commentary
What Trump's win looks like around the world
Minnesotans with exposure to global concerns share reactions to the election.
EAST AFRICA
There is fear and a rethinking of futures
The
presidential election has shaken America, but the streets of Eastleigh,
the Somali neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya, have been buzzing with talk
of Donald Trump’s victory for days. I was there when the news broke.
People are afraid. They fear for the safety of their relatives in
Minnesota. Accounts and stories of people harassing Muslim Americans and
immigrants have made their way to Kenya. People enthusiastically
ripping hijabs off women, spitting on immigrants, telling them to go
home, increased sexual assaults, the drawing of offensive slurs and
images on buildings — the list goes on. As an American citizen, people
asked me questions: Can I wear a hijab in America? Will Trump declare
war on the Muslim world? Will my family be sent home? Is my family safe?
The
attitudes of Trump and his supporters are no secret. English is the
language of the world and a major language in Kenya. I worked as an ESL
teacher in Eastleigh for the month of October, and I know that the
register of English spoken by the president-elect and his supporters is
easy enough for English learners to understand. Build a wall. Deport
Muslims. Nothing is lost in translation.
This does
not sound like the America I left in late September, or the America
people around the world dream of. Many here in Kenya wished to one day
join their families in Minnesota, but they are aware of the polarizing
effect of the campaign season and the xenophobic environment it has
created. To them, America was known as the land of opportunity, but now
they think they are not welcome. If we do not stop this rhetoric and
behavior, their hope may not return.
Karsten Potts
The
writer is a Somali and French interpreter who works between Minnesota,
Djibouti and Kenya. He is currently working with Al Imra College in
Nairobi, Kenya, teaching English and developing an online curriculum as a
new resource for students.
FROM A FORWARD OPERATING BASE IN AFGHANISTAN
Us vs. Them: Our eternal challenge
Through
the mental mist of a cold and the aftermath of rocket fire, the election
looks strange. I watched the opening of the polls and last-minute
speechifying while trying to take an exercise break. The tone of the
coverage was sensational, the contenders were beyond confrontational.
A lifetime
ago, I learned something of the American West and its native peoples.
In addition to living in balance with nature, I learned that native
tribes who might refer to themselves as “the people” did not necessarily
acknowledge the “peopleness” of the tribe next door. In my travels
since, I have seen this issue in every continent I have worked in: Us
vs. Them.
Today and
everyday here in Afghanistan, I live the “Us vs. Them” life. For sure,
we meet many Afghans whom we respect and trust — but, we also meet or
“indirectly meet” nearby Afghans who see us as them, the invaders, those
who are not people and should therefore cease to exist. This is a real
problem.
In the
Army, I work with a diverse group of Americans. I am sure that our
political colors mesh into purple. Our skins would mesh into the dark
side of tan, and our first languages were often not U.S. English. Still,
we get along. We salute one another and (this is key) we return
salutes. We serve in danger with loaded weapons, bound by our collective
need to protect one another. And, when rockets come, and they do come,
we hit the ground together shoulder to shoulder, brothers and sisters of
all colors doing our best to stay alive, to get back home, to represent
U.S. democracy in a foreign land. That this war seems unending is not
our immediate concern. Serving our country with honor is.
We are
busy here. Watching the goings-on at home is not a high priority. But
what we see is difficult to understand. One side is chastising
protesters when the victor is arguably the benefactor of a huge protest
vote. I can’t help but think that politicos in Russia and/or China are
having parties with our national confusion as entertainment.
When I was
a child, I heard John F. Kennedy ask us to ask not what our country
could do for us, but what we could do for our country. Has so much time
gone by that we have collectively forgotten that we the people are
responsible for our country? One another? Expecting a single person or
party to meet our individual needs is not what the Constitution
guarantees. We are guaranteed the right to pursue a religion of our
choice, the freedom to speak and write our mind (which does not extend
to libel or yelling fire in a crowded theater). Neither happiness nor a
job is guaranteed. Even though not perfect, these rights and this
governmental structure are miles better than the situation in England in
1776 — and the situation here in Afghanistan in 2016, particularly if
you are a girl or a woman.
I hope to
return to U.S. soil by the new year, but most of the team I serve on
will stay behind. Their tour of duty continues. Statistically, fewer
than 1 percent of you who read this as Americans will have to worry
about your upcoming or ongoing tour of duty. You can instead worry about
how the other guy is taking your cheese from you. But, that mentality
is no longer working. As a veteran, if I am certain of anything, I am
certain of this — it’s time for all citizens to serve a tour of duty.
Not necessarily in military uniform, but as an American first — serving
the needs of our country. To do something for the country without asking
for something in return.
We are a
great country. We are free. We are the most diverse and open society on
Earth with almost unlimited opportunity. But we need to bind ourselves
together again into a nation of us. We the people, all the people, all
of us — in service to America and its dream.
Dr. Matthew D. Putnam
The
writer is a full-time staff surgeon at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs
Medical Center, a professor of orthopedics at the University of
Minnesota and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve. He is immediate
past commander of the 945th Forward Surgical Team based at Fort Snelling
and is temporarily assigned to the 629th Forward Surgical Team in
Afghanistan.
THE KOREAN PENINSULA
Dangerous environment now looks even more so
Trump’s
victory was greeted by some with jubilation, but it’s unlikely many of
them live on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. While it is
unclear what Trump’s policy toward the peninsula and its security
problems will be, his rhetoric during the campaign has already caused
serious upheaval. Whether entertaining the idea of withdrawing U.S.
troops if South Korea doesn’t pay more for hosting them, or offhandedly
suggesting the region would be safer if South Korea had nuclear weapons,
Trump has done little to soothe any latent abandonment fears in one of
our oldest allies.
This might
not be an issue if South Korea weren’t going through its own political
turbulence. President Park Guen-hye has weathered a number of political
problems during her time in office, but her latest scandal seems to be
much more debilitating. Under pressure for having given her confidant,
Choi Soon-Sil, special favors and influence in governing, Park has seen
her domestic situation affect her performance as the face of South Korea
abroad. She has lost the confidence of her own party and, although her
government denies it, many see her absence from this year’s Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation meeting, the first such absence for a South Korean
leader, as directly related to the scandal.
Without
strong leadership from a leader in Seoul, Trump’s comments on North
Korea take on more ominous tones for South Korean ears. Trump expressed
numerous times during the campaign his willingness to meet with Kim Jong
Un, stoking concern that the U.S. could throw South Korea under the
proverbial bus. Trump does not seem to realize that public talks with
North Korea, without South Korea at his side, only reinforces the
North’s narrative as a champion for Korean independence, both in the
North and abroad.
This is a
big deal when one remembers what Trump has said about U.S. relations
with South Korea specifically. The comments about making South Korea pay
more to host the U.S. military, despite the South’s financing of about
40 percent of the costs, are at the front of most minds. Trump also said
that the U.S. “gets nothing” for all the assistance it provides,
conveniently forgetting that a large-scale conventional war in Korea
would be far more expensive. Trump has also effectively accused South
Koreans of leeching on the U.S. economy. He claims the U.S.-Korea Free
Trade Agreement destroyed 100,000 U.S. jobs and killed U.S. automotive
manufacturing, and has stated that he wants to “get a better deal” from
South Korea. In short: The U.S.-South Korea relationship does nothing
positive for the U.S.
You could
forgive South Koreans for seeing Trump as a predatory figure — the idea
that a President Trump will see them as more of a competitor than ally
is too distressing to ignore, and South Koreans have no effective leader
at the moment to protect them. They rightly worry about their security:
Pockets of Park’s own Saenuri Party are seriously discussing the
acquisition of nuclear weapons to hedge against Trump policy changes,
and more of the South Korean public views it as a serious option than
ever before. It has been reported that Trump has already rolled back his
threats to remove U.S. troops from Korea, but when Trump has repeatedly
made unpredictability the centerpiece of his negotiating strategy, will
that be enough to gain South Koreans’ trust? With virtually absent
leadership in Seoul and a seemingly predatory U.S. administration on the
way, we should all be worried about what comes next in Korea.
Chris Kruckenberg
The writer is a graduate student at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.