As part of the 2018 Fall Lecture Series on Migration Stories, Wendy Pearlman spoke at the University of New Mexico Oct. 1 about her journey told in her newest novel “We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled.”
Pearlman is an award-winning Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and author of three books and more than a dozen publications focusing on sharing the causes of political violence and the aftermath as told by the people.
To expand her studies of comparative politics of the Middle East, Pearlman has traveled to over nine countries and interviewed with more than 400 displaced Syrians since 2012.
“I was watching from afar like many other specialists, but I really wanted to know what it felt like for those Arabs across the region participating in these protests and revolutions, and I thought there would be no better way to figure out what it felt like than to ask the people themselves,” Pearlman said.
The interviews, varying in extensiveness, explore the reality of living through war, experiencing a revolution many believed would never come, and the journey of being displaced and becoming refugees, through the eyes of those who have actually experienced it.
“Her lecture was so interesting, I was already somewhat familiar with the topic but hearing the personal stories was really eye-opening,” said Isaiah Guerra, a sophomore studying English at UNM.
In the lecture, Pearlman addresses the information she obtained through the interviews as well as the history of the war and the chain of events that lead to the revolution and displacing of over 11 million Syrians.
“Large slots of the country fell under rebel control, various rebel forces were effectively governing large portions of the region. Regime forces then withdrew from the ground, though they continued to bomb from above, in effort to get those rebels to collapse,” said Pearlman, as she summarized the various complicated stages of the war in Syria.
Pearlman wrapped up her time by stating the importance of her lecture and the topic in three points: the importance of putting current events in context, infusing policy stances with empathy and respecting survivor’s courage to speak.
“It’s so cool that she was able to come to our school and share those stories, she had a lot of interesting things to say and I appreciated that we were able to hear the voices of those experiencing something we all hear so much about in the media,” said Valentina DeForti, a sophomore studying international studies at UNM.
Because of this experience, Pearlman said was able to share aspects of the war that wouldn’t have otherwise been heard as well as give survivors a platform to share their stories.
“We should approach the subject not with pity, but with respect,” Pearlman said at the end of her lecture. “Syrians have gone through a long, dangerous, painful and courageous journey to be able to tell their courageous stories.”
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The 2018 Migration Story Series will host speakers every Monday until Nov. 12.
Hazel Simmons is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached by email at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @hazsimmons.
