In September, the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus participated in an exchange student program with Kabul University in Afghanistan. The program, announced last spring, was open to any UT student who wanted to participate. Hopeful candidates submitted their applications, complete with a 500 word essay about why they wanted to go to Kabul, to the review board. Five of those students were selected over the summer.
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| Kabul University |
Mike Summers, Barry Watson, Ernie Jenkins, Bo Reagan, and Mullah Muhammad Aziz Jones left for Kabul on September 3rd to begin their studies. The students are to stay in Kabul until December, but they have not been heard from since they left.
On September 4th, Mullah Muhammed Obed, Abdullah Abdullah Muhammed Omar, and Muhammed bin Muhammed arrived in Knoxville. They will be studying nuclear physics, chemical engineering, and aerospace engineering while visiting the university.
According to Obed, the group is really enjoying their stay in Knoxville. “We like it here. You have great access to website not allowed in Kabul, and university has much good equipment. We are learning many good things to help us in our fight against the Imperialist, I mean to help us with our studies,” explained Obed. “Praise Allah,” added Omar.
When asked why they thought the American students have not been heard from, Obed replied, “The internet and phone access in Kabul is very bad. That is probably why. I doubt very much they were captured.”