Alumni Spotlight: Trevithick on Syria Research
Matthew Trevithick (CGS’06, CAS’08), who graduated with a degree in International Relations in 2008, spoke about how his experience studying at the Frederick S. Pardee School for Global Studies led him abroad to do research, study language, and take humanitarian action during a webinar on April 14, 2016.
Trevithick, a recipient of BU’s 2014 Young Alumni Award, focused on his service through his efforts to bring rowing to war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, and through the non-profit organization he co-founded– the organization where he is back safely working after the major misunderstanding that resulted in him spending 41 days detained at Evin Prison in Iran.
You can listen to the entire webinar here:
Trevithick is the co-founder and Director of Research at SREO Research in Turkey and has previously worked at the American University of Afghanistan and the American University of Iraq. He is also the co-host of Sources and Methods, a bi-weekly podcast that interviews leading writers and researchers and discusses their research strategies and tools.
During the webinar, entitled “From East Campus to the Middle East: Higher Education, Humanitarian Action, and a Major Misunderstanding,” Trevithick discussed his efforts at the Syria Research and Evaluation Organization and said setting up shop in Turkey made the most sense to his team as there seemed to be a lack of analysis on the refugee crisis from Turkey despite the fact that a large percentage of Syrian refugees ended up in Turkey.
“Three years ago when we started looking at the Syrian conflict, we took a look at where the analysis on the conflict was coming from,” Trevithick said. “It was mostly coming from Amman, Jordan, and Beirut, Lebanon. It didn’t make sense with most of the refugees heading North to Turkey.”
Trevithick also said to truly understand the Syrian refugee crisis, researchers must commit to longer periods of time spent in the region analyzing the crisis.
“To this day you see a lot of the analysis is published by folks who went on a five-day fact-finding mission to Turkey,” Trevithick said. “What can you understand about a place in a few days? You need a few years really, or at least a few months.”
Asked about his favorite place he’s traveled to, Trevithick said his time in Afghanistan has always been the most memorable, and that the country has a magical quality despite decades of turmoil.
“Afghanistan does it for me — it’s utterly captivating,” Trevithick said. “It’s not just the romantic thought about kind of an emotional attachment to a place. It definitely happens in Afghanistan, you get that feeling very quickly.”