Spending Time on Capitol Hill

As I mentioned in the last post, my tasks at CSIS were expanded into a bigger project, and I am now working on two projects concerning Obama’s speeches in Ghana and Cairo. Regarding Obama’s speech in Ghana, I am looking into the issue of governance in Africa. I am interested in learning more about the ramifications of Obama’s speech on Africa and its leaders. Right now, I am researching different publications to see the scholarly and expert analysis of the speech. Part of my research seeks to explore what the real policies towards the continent will be under President Obama when it comes to the issue of governance, which Obama made into the centerpiece of his speech. The second section of the report is to do research on Obama's speech in Cairo, which was aimed at the Muslim World. Similar to the Ghana speech, I am attempting to have a look at Obama’s policies towards the Middle East and the Muslim world, and in particular to the problem of Palestinian and Israel as well as the U.S.-Iran relationship.

This week I also had the opportunity to go to the Senate for a hearing on Sudan, where I saw some many Senators such as John Kerry and Richard Lugar. Testifiers spoke on the current situation on Sudan and the genocide in the Darfur region. What this hearing revealed to me is that, when you look at a conflict like Sudan, and try to develop a policy for it, one must examine it in terms of the bigger picture. It also taught me how the testifiers and experts can shape the opinion of policymakers and the American public.
After I finished listening to the hearing, I walked over to Capitol Hill to meet with congressman Sam Farr from California, the same congressman who helped me get my visa to come join my wife in America after waiting for a year and a half. Congressman Farr took me under his wing, and we walked from his office to Capitol Hill to the main floor, where the voting takes place. There, my host took me on a little tour, explaining to me briefly how the floor works. It was important to see how policymakers debate and work on the floor. It was very complicated and I was able to see that I still have a lot to learn!
I also had the privilege of meeting with John Lewis, the Congressman from Georgia, with whom I had abrief chat. As many of you know, Mr. Lewis is a well known civil rights icon who marched with MLK.

This last Friday, I also had the opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony of preparatory law school students at the Georgetown Law School along with my Swedish friend Daniel who introduced me to many of the professors and students. There I had a lot of fun schmoozing and thinking about the possibility of law school for the future. This graduation ceremony offered me a unique opportunity to have a taste of what law school is all about. In addition to that, I managed to network with other successful professionals who graduated from the program.