Democratic Debate

This blog is going to be pretty short because I am very sleepy, but I want to provide an update on the past two days amazing days! Yesterday, we all participated in debates with the Tunis Business School and, again, made great friends! I met my new host family and have migrated to their home. (We each moved to new host families so as not to overstay our welcome in the other families' homes). The debates went extremely well, and I was very impressed with the new public university facility. 

Now that the debates are finished, today our delegation attended a panel discussion of the topics "Should the Tunisian revolution be used as a model for the rest of the world?" and "Women's rights in the new Tunisia." The panel has been one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. We had the opportunity to hear varying opinions from different political party members of Tunisia regarding the future of the country. The panelists ranged in their views from an advocate of the Islamic party in power, Ennahda, to Tunisian female activists. As you might guess, the discussion got a little heated! At the end of the debate, however, the panelists shook hands and agreed that they all stand for a better Tunisia. Their free expression of the difference of their opinions and the willingness to still discuss these differences with each other represented the larger democratic process that is taking place in the country. Needless to say, this was a very unique opportunity for which I am extremely thankful!

As somewhat of a post script, I wanted to include the picture below. This is Hela, a former Marshall graduate! She approached me at TBS yesterday and asked if I had gone to Marshall! For all of you Herd fans out there, you know that this is typical Herd behavior. (If you hear someone went to Marshall, it is absolutely necessary to talk to them!) I was thankful to meet this fellow Herd member, but more importantly, I was thankful to make a new Tunisian friend!