CHICAGO –
Farouk Karin said he drove 14 hours to see Sen. Barack Obama’s Tuesday night victory speech because of a simple similarity: They both have unusual names.
“My name is Farouk,” said the 32-year-old Montreal resident. “So the election of someone named Barack is extremely important. It’s such a huge symbol.”
Karin joined many foreign visitors among the estimated 125,000 people who descended on Grant Park for the victory celebration for the first-ever black American president-elect. Karin didn’t have a ticket for the event and instead watched the festivities from a Jumbotron screen at the Petrillo Band Shell.
Netherlands resident Eric Terpstra didn’t have a ticket either.
The 42-year-old, who traveled more than 4,000 miles to see the speech, stood outside the gates carrying a sign reading “Need guest ticket, Obama supporter from Netherlands.”
He said he was willing to pay $200.
“I think this is a historic moment,” said Terpstra, who compared Obama’s economic policies to those of a European politician. “It’s not a normal election. It will not only change America, but change the world, which is needed at this moment.”
World citizens supported Obama over rival Sen. John McCain by a three-to-one margin, according to a Gallup poll conducted before the election.
Polls in 73 countries between May and October found that 24 percent of people in other countries supported Obama, while 7 percent supported McCain. Some 69 percent were undecided.
In his speech, Obama acknowledged the international impact of his election.
“To all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared,” he said.
Each of the foreigners interviewed Tuesday said the election would have a monumental impact on the world.
“Your election affects the world,” said Scott Bedard, a 21-year-old Ontario student who drove 12 hours with two other “poli sci nerds” to see the speech.
Bedard, who also didn’t have a ticket for the main event, called the 47-year-old president-elect a “transformation leader.”
Jerry Alvarez said he drove up from Mexico for the speech because of its historical implications.
The 48-year-old, who said he received a ticket to the speech through a friend, spoke about Obama in a combination of Spanish and rough English.
“He’s going to lead (the) country in (a) different way,” said Alvarez, who spoke in Spanish about his hope for a more open immigration policy under the new president.
Some foreigners acknowledged that change might not come easily. Still, they termed the election of a minority American to the highest office in the land as meaningful.
“It’s unrealistic to say that everything’s going to change,” Karin said. “But symbols are important.”
He and others said they were surprised by the huge number of supporters who poured into the park for the celebration.
Bedard, who called himself a “huge Obama fan,” said the spectacle was part of the reason he came to the event.
“You don’t get this kind of show in Canada,” he said.
