Last year Serhat Yildirim completed his studies in medicine at Ghent University and then moved to the US to study at Harvard, where he enrolled in a two-year master programme known as the Global Health Delivery Program. What are his thoughts on the outcome of the US presidential elections?
“First of all it’s important to take into account that I am in a privileged situation. I’m studying in Boston, at Harvard. It’s a very progressive, open-minded environment that is not representative of the rest of the US. During my time here I have visited many other regions. Our perception of America is inaccurate. I laboured under the same misconceptions. The great and wealthy US... That’s simply not true. At least, not for many Americans. Just 25% of Americans can save $500 a month. The remaining 75% can’t. Trump was able to target that group specifically by talking about the economy, jobs, a higher income... Those are the topics that preoccupy the minds of ordinary Americans.”
And not healthcare? Isn’t that also a key domain for the average Joe?
“Healthcare is organised completely differently here. The first question you hear when you have to go to hospital, is whether you have insurance. That is insane. As Europeans we can’t imagine access to proper healthcare being restricted but that is part of US culture. The government should meddle as little as possible, and that includes healthcare. Americans feel very strongly about that.”
With Trump in office, the further privatisation of healthcare is on the horizon. What are your thoughts on that from your perspective as a trained medical professional?
“It’s deplorable and even downright stupid that this denies the average American access to proper healthcare. But Americans do know what Trump stands for and that he aims to continue the privatisation of the medical sector. They just don’t see it as a problem.
Trump has a great deal of power now, more than after his previous electoral win. That means he won’t hold back. I fear that ordinary Americans will suffer the consequences, also in terms of healthcare.”
Have your experiences altered the way you look at healthcare?
“When I tell Americans how healthcare is organised in Belgium they say we are communists. My time here has made me more aware than ever of how strong our system is and how important it is to maintain it. Instead of complaining when we have to sit in a waiting room for fifteen minutes, we should realise that such access to healthcare is far from evident.”
You’re studying in the US. How has Trump’s victory been received by the student community?
“There is a level of trepidation. Many students have or know someone with a migrant background. From the start of the campaign, the language used against these communities has been harsh and brutal so the outcome of the election is hard to swallow. And students are also more invested in such topics as women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights, abortion, the climate, ... Many students react emotionally or cry... but like I said: it’s a cocoon and it’s not representative for this huge country. Friends here tell me that ordinary Americans who can’t afford food at the end of the month couldn’t care less about how Trump speaks about women.”
Which America did you wake up to?
“Let’s look at it from the cliché of a divided America. Some are happy and hopeful for the future. Others feel like they’ve gone back in time and they fear for the future. The realities of those groups couldn’t be more different and they genuinely don’t understand each other. The hardest part for me is the normalisation of the discourse about some groups. Seeing how certain groups are being dehumanised... that’s really worrisome."
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