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FOR UPDATED US ELECTION RESULTS: NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO

Change, hope, dialogue and a dream

Updated 20:50  Visit the GenevaLunch US 2008 election photo gallery: images from the American International Club, Democrats Abroad and Webster University parties.

Click on images here to view larger.

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Euphoria for many, quietness for a few: the election of Barack Obama as the next US president was marked Wednesday morning in Geneva by four words, repeated at all the events where election-watchers gathered: change, hope, dialogue and a dream.

People talked to strangers as if they were old friends and they hugged and they used their cell phones, over and over.

An elegant, tall blond woman whose mother is American and whose father is Swiss was carefully analyzing the impact of the election at the party held by Democrats Abroad when she suddenly stopped and her eyes went bright. “I keep thinking this is a dream. But it’s really happened!”

“I can’t believe it’s happened in my lifetime,” said Maryvelma O’Neill at a party for the Webster University community, in Bellevue.

Conrad Philip Mbaziira, a student from Uganda at Webster felt the same way. “Personally, I’m pleased with the results. But the election will have a big impact on the entire world – Obama gives hope to people, and hope can be one of the greatest tools.”

The long night, the American breakfast

A group of four people at Le Richemond in Geneva, eating an American breakfast at the end of the long night, said they were exhausted after staying late, going home for a couple hours of sleep and then returning early. But seeing change that will affect the world, as it is happening, was worth the trouble, they said. Like so many others participating in the election in Geneva, the four represented a mix of nationalities – British, Swiss, Madagascar, France, the US.

A Spanish woman continuing to wave the small Obama fan she had made the night before, long after others stopped cheering. “I made it myself!’ she grinned, clearly pleased with the election results.

The mood was quieter at the American International Club party at 07:00, where many stayed up late, then napped before attending a sit-down breakfast at 08:00. A member of the US Mission in Geneva said his office would have some happy people, others who would be sad, with the Mission more like the population of the US than that of Geneva. Swiss television, TSR, was there, interviewing Andy Sundberg of American Citizens Abroad (they also interviewed other Americans in their studios, post-election).

The big parties, for Democrats Abroad at Le Richemond Hotel and the non-partisan one for the American International Club of Geneva at the Ramada Park hotel, began late Tuesday evening, with only a trickle of US votes in.

Getting the rhythm of the US election night right was a problem for many people, who had not worked out what a long day election day is, covering voters in several time zones. Drinks, snacks and excitement marked the start of the parties, and then election day dead-time set in, with long waits, TV presenters droning on with statistics and nothing much happening.

And then after 03:00, results began to flow in and it became apparent that Obama was winning. At 04:30 the rumours began that John McCain would soon be calling Barack Obama to concede defeat. not long after 05:00 came first McCain’s speech, then Obama’s.

An international perspective

At Webster, where students with 97 nationalities are seeking degrees from an American university, cheers went up when McCain conceded defeat, but the cheers grew stronger as Obama talked.

“The US is a superpower, the superpower, and everyone looks up to it – if change can happen there it can happen anywhere,” said a student from Sudan, who preferred not to give his name. “We’re just blacklisted  – Bush and McCain say they won’t talk to us. And we want to talk, to discuss – and Obama is willing to listen, to have a dialogue!” He paused before asking, “Did you see Jesse Jackson? I loved how he was crying. That was really touching.”

Two Iranian students and one from Mongolia looked weary but happy as plates with pancakes and syrup, bacon and eggs paraded past them, from a buffet. “We’re really excited,” said Namuun Ganbold, who has been following the election closely since August. “It shows that the US is a truly democratic country. For my country – Mongolia is one of the youngest democracies – I think McCain would maybe have been a good president. But personally, I think Obama will be better for the US.”  Her companions say that what impressed them most during the campaign was that Obama “has been a real inspiration to people.”

“What he said is that we have to have hope, until we are able to agree,” said one young woman. The others nodded. “I think he can bring about change.”

Eugene James is a Christian from India, a minority that has recently been persecuted in some parts of his country. “I think there’s a revolution taking place. A taboo has been broken! Who would have said three to four years ago that an African-American could have made it? I’m very pleased.”

For James, Obama’s election is as significant as the 1989 Berlin Wall falling. “I think this might be an even bigger event. I think America has shown that people there do care about the rest of the world.”

In the end, it was the Americans who seemed in a daze, pleased to be supported and hearing positive things from the international crowds around them. Bob Spencer, president of Webster, reflected on the man who will become president of the US in January. “I’d say I find Barack Obama to be perhaps the most inspirational and transformational president in my lifetime. I can’t remember ever feeling more excited about a president-elect, or more hopeful. One of the reasons I find him so attractive is that I can honestly believe his desire to change things.

“I believe he will bring back an America we love, we believe in.”