Dear Students, Prospective Students, and Families,

We live in challenging times, particularly for those of us involved in programs for American students in the Middle East and North Africa. I recognize that some of you have significant concerns about issues surrounding health, safety and security for American education abroad students in the Middle East and North Africa and specific concerns about your own safety or that of your child who is thinking about participating in one of our programs.

At AMIDEAST, we take these issues very seriously and are doing everything in our power to assure that students on our programs have a healthy, safe and secure environment in which to study and develop their understanding of the peoples and cultures of this important region. AMIDEAST was established in 1951 to build bridges of understanding between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa.  This region is the cradle of civilization and birthplace of the three Abrahamic faiths. Today’s conflicts in the region make it critically important that people in other parts of the world learn more about its peoples and cultures as we work to build a more peaceful future. 

AMIDEAST has field offices in 12 countries throughout the region, some of which have operated for more than 50 years, and each of which is headed by an American director. This longstanding physical presence in the region has enabled us to develop an extensive network of contacts with local educational and other institutions, organizations, government offices, and civil society.

AMIDEAST’s country directors also maintain close ties to the Regional Security Officers at the U.S. Embassies in the countries where they are resident and are included in the U.S. Embassy warden network in each of those countries. AMIDEAST is a member of the Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council and also taps numerous other sources of information from international organizations, news media, and our informal networks within the region.  Most of the staff in our field offices are host country nationals, many of whom have worked for AMIDEAST for many years. They are a vital part of our local networks and contribute to our understanding of the ongoing and developing situations on the ground.

The health and safety of our students is our first priority. When AMIDEAST offers an Education Abroad Program in one of the countries where it has a field office, it does so only after a rigorous assessment of the health, safety, and security environment and its ability to respond effectively to emergencies in the country and city where the program will be based.

While neither AMIDEAST nor any other institution or program provider can guarantee that accidents won’t happen or that unexpected security situations won’t arise, we do take these matters very seriously and continually monitor the local environment.  We also continually update our safety and security procedures and have contingency plans in place that allow us to respond effectively should unforeseen events occur. Finally, we have a superb communications infrastructure linking AMIDEAST headquarters in Washington, DC, with each of our field offices, and key staff members are available around the clock to respond to emergency situations.

Members of the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World staff will be pleased to speak with you about any specific questions or concerns you may have. Please feel free to contact us at EdAbroad@amideast.org.

Sincerely,

Jerome B. Bookin-Weiner, Ph.D.
Director of Study Abroad and Outreach