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March 9, 2003Anxiety swells for Americans overseasIt has never been easy to be a stranger in a strange land. But as war with Iraq looms closer and anti-American sentiment spreads wider throughout the world, many Americans living overseas are feeling an anxiety perhaps unprecedented in recent times.From London, where anti-war rallies make a student an occasional prisoner of his room, to Kuwait, where a mother of two young children varies her route to work each day, Americans with northern Michigan ties report an increasing sense of uneasiness. The following are the experiences of people from northern Michigan now living overseas whom the Record-Eagle was able to reach in time to file this report. Editor's note: The first of a two-part series By Record-Eagle staff writer Unsettled in Bahrain Lynn Troutman has lived in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain nine out of the past 19 years, long enough to develop a taste for the warm cheese bread called sambousa and to pick up a limited Arabic vocabulary that often brings smiles from Bahraini taxi drivers. Troutman, a summer resident of the Grand Traverse region for 23 years, says she has always had great respect for the Bahrainis. Most have a good education and many work despite the vast wealth oil brought to their country in the 1930s. And by and large, she says, that respect is returned. Individuals are usually generous and pleasant and, even two years later, still express their sorrow for the events of Sept. 11. In the past two years, however, the 56-year-old has felt "unsettled" by the anti-Western sentiment that has produced pro-Iraq street demonstrations, anti-American graffiti and bumper stickers, and a local chapter of Women in Black, a loose network of women world-wide committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to war and other forms of violence. Many in Bahrain do not want a war, she says, especially since a war would directly affect the small nation, south of Iraq in the Persian Gulf. Many still remember when a scud missile landed in the desert of Bahrain in 1991, a result of Desert Storm. Troutman, a volunteer at the Department of Defense School library and health office, and her husband, David, are registered with the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain and receive regular travel warnings for the area. One, issued Feb. 12, advised Americans of a pro-Iraq demonstration of some 3,000 participants and cautioned the Americans to "remain alert to their surroundings, maintain a low profile and avoid any large crowds." The Department of State school recently offered teachers paid leave if they wanted to go home, Troutman said. Twelve teachers left last week. Anti-American sentiment is stronger elsewhere in the Middle East, she observed. While traveling in Morocco last year, her taxi was approached by a man on a motorcycle who began yelling at the driver for driving Western Imperialists around. Stunned in London The British have a word for President George W. Bush, says Jamie Gallagher. "They call him 'Shrub' because they think he is an idiot," Gallagher said. Since arriving in England on a study abroad program, the 22-year-old Grand Valley State University senior from Central Lake has been stunned by the growing anti-American sentiment from the country considered to be America's closest ally. The feeling has been building ever since President Bush began pushing for war and is fueled almost daily by updates on BBC political shows about events involving Iraq, the United States and Britain, he said. The president's recent State of the Union Address only raised the British ire. "Many Brits love the U.S., just hate this man, because they hate the idea of their leader, (Prime Minister) Tony Blair, being his personal 'poodle,' as they call it," Gallagher said. "When Bush issued his 'get tough' speech, many people over here just stepped up their efforts to prove him wrong, and to have faith in the international inspectors." While he does not fear for his safety, especially in the southwest London suburb of Kingston where he attends Kingston University, Gallagher does not exactly feel welcome, either. Accompanying a group of American students to Oxford, he was stunned when one was verbally assaulted in a pub, blamed for the looming war and told to go home. And when a massive anti-war rally took place in central London, advertised in posters all over campus, he checked out a book from the library and spent the day reading alone in his room. "It made me feel like many people are angry that their country can be railroaded by the power of the U.S.," Gallagher said. "I felt very small, and very, very much more polite to many people that I probably would not have been. "I know that right now is not the best time to be an arrogant American, but rather a polite student who is just trying to study in a foreign country," he said. Outnumbered in Rome Living in the shadow of the Vatican isn't always easy, even for Italians. But when you are an American whose president's call for war directly opposes the Pope's call for a peaceful resolution, it's even tougher, says Colleen Curtis. "It's hard to be supportive of a government that is so controversial in a place so opposed to war," said Curtis, a 2001 graduate of St. Francis High School in Traverse City. "Italians are usually faithful in following the beliefs set forth by the church. On this matter, all are in agreement," she said. "Unnecessary bloodshed is not supported by the church or Italy." Even before arriving in Rome in January to study at Loyola University Chicago's Rome Center, the 20-year-old says she was warned by government and college officials to remain inconspicuous. That means not wearing clothing or jewelry displaying the American flag, not traveling to current anti-American "hot spots" like Berlin and Munich, not contributing to the already unfavorable notions about American citizens derived from U.S.-imported entertainment. Now she understands why. "Pace (peace in Italian) flags can be seen everywhere in Rome," she said. "There have been many anti-war demonstrations in the city center, though mostly peaceful. Graffiti is visible throughout Rome that is anti-war and anti-Bush." On top of that, television shows repeatedly denounce the need for war and the motives of President Bush, Curtis said. "Mostly I'd say (Italians) are fearful for the consequences it will mean for Italy," she said. "Working at the Jesuit Refugee Center the reality of war refugees is all too clear. With many Iraqi and Afghani families and individuals already fleeing from the threat, a war would mean masses of Middle Easterners headed for Italy." Given the current climate in Rome, Curtis admits she sometimes fears for her safety. "It is hard to imagine being so close to where a war would take place," she said. "The U.S. is so distant from the Middle East, and Europe lies in close proximity. "It's difficult being away from the security of family and friends and so far away from home in a time when the nation is in turmoil." Coming Monday: Opinions from France, Sweden and Kuwait
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