World leaders are looking to Pennsylvania to save the world from dictators and despots | Social Views

Prague, Czech Republic — From Ukraine to Venezuela to Poland to Taiwan, world leaders are focused on Pennsylvania. In fact, at an international conference that just ended in Prague, democracy advocates were clearly dumbfounded that the fate of the free world may rest on a few million voters in Pennsylvania.

That’s how European Parliament member Alexandr Vonda put it. He moderated a discussion on the “Future of Transatlantic Relations after the U.S. Elections,” and he was clearly befuddled that our commonwealth could hold such power over the universe.

So were the small group of Pennsylvanians who journeyed to Prague for the conference that attracted some of the world’s most influential people. Petr Pavel, president of the Czech Republic, welcomed them. And they joined international dignitaries in applauding Russian dissident Vladmir Kara-Murray, recently released from Putin’s prison.

Tsai Ing-Wen, former president of Taiwan, shared with them the determination of her people to resist Chinese domination. And Venezuelan democracy leader Maria Corina Machado joined the conference via Zoom to stress the importance of having world leaders reject authoritarians like Nicolas Maduro who refused to accept the results of free and fair elections in her country.

Maduro has threatened the lives of both Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, who actually won the presidential elections. But Maduro has refused to turn over the reins of power.

That’s why world leaders who care about democracy are now looking so intently at the United States, and particularly at Pennsylvania. And it’s why the members of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg in Prague were peppered with questions:

Who’s leading the polls in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? Who do you think will win? Will there be violence after your elections?

Will the United States leave NATO? Abandon Europe? Stand with Ukraine? Let Putin win?

Do Americans care about the rest of the world? Do Pennsylvanians care?

Only Mechanicsburg resident Hagir Elsheikh braved some answers, albeit to different questions. She spoke on a panel about the war in Sudan, offering a poignantly personal story about the torture many refugees like her endure before they find freedom and safety in Europe or the United States.

Sudanese are suffering some of the world’s worst human rights atrocities, with thousands of people killed and almost eight million people displaced since war broke out in April 2023 between the army and fighters with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

But even before that conflict erupted, women were subjected to beatings, rape, and torture in what Elsheikh said were “ghost houses” set up by the dictatorial regime of Omar al-Bashir. That’s why she fled, eventually finding safety in Pennsylvania.

America is indeed the land of promise and hope, Elsheikh told world leaders at the conference. Good people in Pennsylvania welcomed her more than a decade ago as they have welcomed thousands of refugees for centuries, opening their homes and hearts to people fleeing famine, war, and persecution.

In exchange, Pennsylvania benefited. Today, Elsheikh is a successful businesswoman who is a member of HACC’s board of directors and founder of several nonprofits that help our community. She also well represents America’s ideals abroad.

Elsheikh’s story clearly moved many of the world’s most dedicated democracy activists. It reassured many of them about America’s commitment to freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

Whether Pennsylvanians know it or not, the world is watching what we do on Nov. 5. Nothing less than the fate of the free world hangs in the balance.

Joyce M. Davis is PennLive’s Outreach & Opinion Editor. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @byjoycedavis. She is also President/CEO of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg.

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