A U.S. government program, Youth and Exchange Study, brought Afghan high school students to the United States for temporary study. Its purpose was to educate Afghan youth and awaken a desire to return with fresh ideas for their own country, but the program was terminated. More than half the students fled to Canada for asylum rather than return to Afghanistan when their schooling ended. (Canada has an asylum program for minor children.)

http://blog.sojo.net/2011/07/21/afghan-exchange-students-flee-to-canada/?continue

Surely the temptation for young people not to go back to trouble-haunted Afghanistan is tremendous. What if I were a young woman facing a return to a part of Afghanistan where I had to cover even my face before I went out? Where marriages are arranged and women risk death or disfigurement for the slightest whisper of misconduct?

For several years, I served as a visa officer with the U.S. government in countries with large numbers of citizens from poverty-stricken countries, often suffering from brutal conflicts. Citizens of those countries regularly applied for any kind of temporary visa, including student visas, as a chance to go to the U.S., hoping to stay, if they could find a way, or flee to Canada to apply for asylum. I hated turning down people I felt sorry for but who were obviously unsuited for those visas.

Even if such programs like the Youth and Exchange Study are not feasible at this time, we Christians can at least pray for the day when the situation is not so dire. In the meantime, we can use the tools of the Internet to learn about other countries and possibly connect with others who share our interests in growing our knowledge. The much-touted social media often centers around self, but it is available for deeper pursuits as well.