Coming from conflict

Simultaneously adapting to life at Princeton and adjusting to life in America is a challenge shared by many international students. In addition to navigating precepts and the Street, students from other countries are confronted by a brand new culture.

But students like Japanwala, who come from homelands marked by tumult, face added challenges. The campus they see, with its manicured lawns and catered study breaks, contrasts with visions of home countries where buildings are hollowed by bomb blasts or where bread is at times available only on the black market. Telling stories about hardships at home and worrying about the security of loved ones can be difficult to reconcile with finding one’s place within the student body.

In interviews conducted over the last month, students from Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Kenya described their approaches to balancing their past experience in a very different setting with their current lives as students at one of the wealthiest and safest places in the world. They shared a pride in their culture and explained that their connections with homelands marked by upheaval have given them unique perspectives on the world and on Princeton.

Life at home

While many students see images of violence and economic insecurity in the news, or experience it briefly while studying, volunteering or conducting research abroad, some students have witnessed the turmoil firsthand.

During her first semester of college, Japanwala has followed terrorism and bombings, which have become frequent events in her country, through updates from family members.

“My mom e-mailed [that] two bomb blasts near my house blew up a shrine that I can see from my window,” Japanwala said earlier this month. “When she says, ‘Don’t worry, we’re OK,’ she means, ‘Don’t worry, we’re alive.’ ”

Another such bombing occurred Monday, when a blast killed at least five people after exploding near a Sufi shrine.

Zeshan Javed ’11, who is from Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, echoed Japanwala’s concerns.

“My mother worries when my brother goes out with his friends. Your life security is such a big deal now,” Javed said.

Javed explained that Pakistan has grown more unstable over the last decade. “When I was 10, 12, 14, we didn’t even think about terrorism,” he said. Japanwala explained that now, bomb blasts are so common that people have gotten used to them.

In recent times, Pakistan has struggled to combat deadly terrorist attacks and threats from the Taliban. Economic struggles, already a problem, worsened when a devastating flood hit the country in July, displacing 20 million people from their homes.

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In Zimbabwe, which Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa ’14 calls home, political turmoil stemming from the autocratic rule of the country’s president, Robert Mugabe, and record hyperinflation created a precarious situation.

“We had trillion dollar bills,” Tawengwa recalled. “I don’t think it was that much of a shock for me as it was for the people looking at it from the outside, because it was a buildup over time.”

The problem grew so dire, Tawengwa explained, that bread was available only on the black market. However, the crisis has eased somewhat since people began using the U.S. dollar in 2009.

While Zimbabwe’s economic troubles have begun to settle, Pakistan’s economic condition is worsening.

Even for the middle class, times are becoming much tougher, Javed said.

“Prices are a lot higher,” he explained. “Now everyone is thinking, ‘How do I feed my children?’ Even the people who have full-time jobs.”

A world away

While physically removed, students said they couldn’t help but think about home often.

“As an international student, you feel guilty that you’re not there,” Japanwala said. “It’s scary being on the other side of the world,” she continued, adding that she often feels as if she should be doing something to help out.

When returning home during school breaks his first years at Princeton, Javed said he was disappointed by Pakistan’s worsening situation.

“When I went back I was really sad about the state of my country. It’s sad because it is the same country that I grew up in without any fear,” he explained.

Several students said the striking contrast between their situations at home and life at Princeton has given them a unique appreciation of the University’s vast resources and intellectual environment.

Japanwala said that she particularly values the University’s library system. “With the resources I have at Princeton, I can get any book I want to read,” she said.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has a literacy rate of 55 percent, according to United Nations estimates. The country has “some small, private libraries for people who can read, but there’s not much of an interest [in literacy],” Japanwala explained.

Hamza Aftab ’12, who is also from Pakistan, said that the country’s low literacy rate contributes to a less-informed populace.

Japanwala explained that she also values the sense of safety at Princeton, including the freedom to walk around alone. “Those are things I can’t do at home, because it’s not safe. The crime rate is through the roof. There is no stable legal system,” she said.

The diversity at Princeton is also a contrast with their home countries. Both Aftab and Javed noted that Pakistani society is more homogeneous.

“The people you have around you are people [with] similar beliefs, religious beliefs, traditions,” Aftab said.

Coming to Princeton “opens your eyes and allows you to question your beliefs, so you can decide whether something is right or wrong,” Javed said. “Before coming to Princeton, I knew of other religions but I had not experienced them so closely. It allowed me to go beyond religious differences and make friends on a much higher level. This would be a rare experience in Pakistan.”

To stand out or blend in?

Rather than putting past experiences behind them, students said they chose to share stories of their lives at home with others.

Tawengwa said that coming from Zimbabwe has influenced what she has prioritized so far in her time at Princeton. She noted that, beginning with international student pre-orientation, she observed students attempting to cover up their accents or other aspects of their culture in an effort to blend in.

“It’s easy in a place like Princeton to blend in,” Tawengwa explained. “But I thought the best thing for me was to remain true to myself and my culture because that’s where I came from.”

Edwin Cheruiyot ’14 of Kenya also noted that it is easy to get lost in the crowd of Princeton. But he also said he hoped to hold on to the values he learned growing up in Kenya, such as independence and social obligation.

“You have to think about how your decision will affect the greater society,” Cheruiyot explained of his life growing up. In Kenya, every adult gets the same amount of respect from children, and adults look out for neighbors’ children as if they were their own, he added.

Community is also important in her home country, Tawengwa said. “In Zimbabwe, when I introduce myself, someone always knows a bit of where you came from,” she explained.

Cheruiyot said he has not forgotten Kenyan values, which seem less common on campus.

Japanwala has also sought to uphold values from her homeland, where she volunteered at a school for blind children. At Princeton, she explained, she has channeled this energy to tutoring children in Trenton.

Her reasons for her service stem from what she learned in Pakistan: “If you want to see your country change, you have to take steps to make that change.”

“I owe a lot to this community because it is giving me my education,” Japanwala added. “Anywhere you are, you want to reach out.”

Japanwala said she plans to go back to Pakistan eventually, citing a connection to her home and a need to help the people there. Tawengwa also said she wants to return to Zimbabwe.

Javed noted that regardless of where he decides to live after graduation, he will continue to support his country and attempt to inform people’s understanding of Pakistan. “A lot of Americans have a misconception that Pakistan is a terrorist state, but that is simply not true,” he explained. “You can’t judge a whole country by the actions of a few people.”

Tawengwa also said she believes the community can benefit from the perspectives offered by students from countries that have gone through turmoil. “We’re like the salt and pepper of the student demographic and add a different spin to things and bring something different to the classes,” she explained.

“That is something we should be proud of and not shy away from.”