In some cases, the events have fostered discussion in the classroom.
As a professor specializing in Russia and Eastern Europe, “you’re often dealing with young people whose home countries have been turned upside down,” said Timothy J. Colton, professor of government and director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. When showed a PBS documentary about the period of transition in Russia from the early- to mid-1990s in one of his classes, Colton said, one of the families portrayed in the film was that of a student in the class, Marina L. Levitina, who attends the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
When news broke of the presidential resignation in Georgia, Robert I. Rotberg, professor of Bezhuashvili’s class on politics of the developing world, gave Bezhuashvili a chance to provide a personal account to class.
“He can speak from a deep acquaintance with the turmoil and crisis and the successful resolution of the crisis in his own country,” said Rotberg, who is director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution. “There’s a rich cross-section of people who are directly involved in some of the issues we’re talking about,” he said of his course, which includes students from Venezuela, Rwanda, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, South Africa, Nigeria and China.
“It’s very diverse. That’s the beauty of the program,” said Bezhuashvili, who is completing his year of study in public administration under the Mason Fellows Program, which enrolls public officials and executives from around the world, at the KSG. “We learn as much from ourselves as from the professor.”
His classmates include the secretary of tourism from Barbados and a former U.S. legislator. In fact, the prospect of developing relationships with prominent officials and executives in countries from around the world was an important factor in Bezhuashvili’s decision to come to Harvard.
According to Bezhuashvili, a public official can conduct business much more efficiently by contacting former classmates rather than using formal diplomatic, often bureaucratic channels. “At the end of the day when the books are gone, you have the relationships,” he added.
Like many international students, Bezhuashvili intends to bring what he has learned about public management and leadership to inform policymaking at home.
“The best experts come to Georgia, but to understand what is really going on, one must be Georgian,” he said. According to Bezhuashvili, Georgians, with educations at home and abroad, will help their country more than the best foreign experts, who often bring generic packages of reform provided by the World Bank and other international organizations.
“You must be boiled in the water of your own country,” he said.
Gunawardane said the turmoil in Sri Lanka has affected her career plans.
“I will go back there for good one day because that’s where I’m from and that’s where I’m going to make the biggest impact,” she said.
And Malwatte said the reason he came to the U.S. “was simply because I wanted to use whatever I learned here to take back to my country.”
For now, though, Malwatte and other international students are mostly occupied with the daily grind of student life.
“IOP forum, problem set, pub,” Bezhuashvili said. “Life is very intense here.” Of course, the Georgian official and ambassador is still first and foremost a student.
One classmate, upon seeing the tiredness in Bezhuashivili’s face, said, “You look like you need flaming tequila shots.”
“After exams,” Bezhuashvili replied.