For the 100-odd Americans in permanent residence in Pune, the general feeling is that the winds of change have started to blow the right way.

Barack Obama’s win is a defeat not only for the Republican Party but also for all racial prejudices, said Arthur Mauser (45), an engineer who works for Suzlon. He feels there is now a new hope for change and prosperity.

Mauser, who has been in the city for three months now, said that he did not vote this year as he was traveling but everyone in his family in Ohio voted for Obama. “The victory of Obama is a proud moment for all of usWe are looking up to him as a man of potential who has the knack of making and executing the right decisions.”

He praised Obama’s emphasis on health issues. “There are many Americans who still don’t have a health insurance; all of them would get one now!”

Architect Christopher Benninger, of Christopher Charles Benninger Architects Pvt Ltd, who has been in Pune since 1971, was another American who could not vote this year. Yet he too is celebrating.

“I have been following the results since morning. There are around 100 Americans with a permanent address in Pune, but I am in contact with only one. I can’t have a get-together but will celebrate the victory with my friend. After eight years of a deceitful Presidency, we feel we are getting a straight-shooting, honest man in the White House. We are looking forward to a leadership not beholden to special interests like oil and Wall Street, but a leadership loyal to all the people of America,” said Benninger (66).

... contd.