Security issues pose a concern for the visiting students, with the U.S. continuing to occupy the country after the 2003 invasion.
“They probably didn’t tell their classmates where they were going,” Kerr said. “There are still a great deal of security concerns about being associated with the U.S. or the American government.”
But despite worries, many Iraq students expressed interest in the program late last year. The U.S. embassy chose students based primarily on their English fluency, as well as interest and knowledge in international relations, Kerr said.
According to Kerr, the chosen students are well rounded and “like to read, like movies, and many of them, including the women, like sports.”
This visit to Harvard marks the first departure from the Middle East for all but one of the students. For most of the students, this trip is also the first venture out of Iraq.
HNMUN began its efforts to bring Iraqi students to this year’s conference in November by contacting the Kennedy School of Government, according to Genevieve M. Sheehan ’05, director-general of this year’s HNMUN. Although the U.S. embassy in Baghdad responded with enthusiasm, the possibility of a visit was not confirmed until after New Year, and the students only received their visas last week.
Although HNMUN does offer financial aid to help defray the cost for students that want to participate in the conference, the Iraqi students will be the first delegation to be entirely paid for by Harvard, according to Smith.
“It was a fantastic opportunity for Harvard and IRC to step up and demonstrate the diverse ways in which we try to promote awareness on international relations...It was such a fantastic opportunity that we couldn’t pass it up,” said Swati Mylavarapu, president of the IRC.
While HNMUN has constantly attracted students from abroad—with representatives from more than ten countries each year—the conference has seen increased international presence in the last few years.
According to Smith, “The ultimate goal of HNMUN is to facilitate students with different backgrounds to come together to discuss and learn about international relations and what’s going on around the world.”
—Staff writer Victoria Kim can be reached at vkim@fas.harvard.edu.