The land of opportunity has become the source of ridicule to the rest of the world with this year’s presidential election. International students in Canada have been watching closely and have weighed in on the two major parties’ candidates: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, American citizens made their way to the polls. Rain drizzled against the walls of the U.S. Consulate where passerbys, bundled in their jackets, were trying to get home in time to catch the live viewing of the American election.
To many people, this year’s election may have seemed like the choice between the lesser of two evils. In reality, the decision made in this election impacts people far beyond those who have a right to vote.
Fosa KC Obano, a fourth year international student from Nigeria studying Strategic Management at the University of Toronto (UofT), followed the election closely and was surprised by the debates between the two major parties.
“Everybody accepts America as the self-proclaimed greatest nation in the world so you would expect the debates to be more dignified,” Obano said. “It’s embarrassing. I don’t know how these are the two best candidates America has to offer.”
Karan Shah, a fourth year Kenyan international student majoring in Public Policy and minoring in Public Law and Economics at UofT, said, “(Donald’s) appealing to voters who don’t really want to integrate the U.S. and (Hillary) appeals to many different groups and is more open to dealing with other countries.”
Amirrah Musa-Bello, a fourth year Nigerian international student studying Environmental Science at UofT, feels Africa is moving forward while America, the leader of democracy, are moving backwards.
“Nigeria has the politicians acting childish and you think, ‘that will never happen in America’ and now you have Trump insulting everyone and everyone is making jokes,” Musa-Bello said.
This election has raised many eyebrows, revealing that issues such as racism, xenophobia, rape culture, inequality and islamophobia still exist in America.
“I feel like it’s important for people to now notice that we have these issues despite the fact that we think these issues don’t exist anymore,” Obano said.
“These issues never really went away,” Musa-Bello said, “Every time you bring up an issue of, say, racism in America, the elites tell you keep quiet and work harder, but we can’t actually ignore this anymore.”
Despite who Americans vote for, it is important for the nation to be united. Everything is at stake in this election.
“I hope Americans can come together after this because they have been so divided,” said Musa-Bello as a final remark. “It’s been funny to watch them practically be at the brink of civil war.”
By Fatima Al-Sayed
Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
