[Jack Niedenthal's first six years in the Marshall Islands were all spent in the isolated jungles of the outer islands. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer on Namu Atoll from 1981 to 1984. He then contracted to work with the Bikini Council on Kili Island from 1984 through late 1986 teaching English to the adults, teaching in the elementary school and working with the Kili/Bikini/Ejit Local Government Council.

 In 1987 he assumed the duties of the Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini, which includes the management and coordination of the funds allocated by the United States government to compensate the Bikinians for their suffering and to facilitate the radiological cleanup of Bikini Atoll. He acts as a liaison for the Council to the media, the U.S. government and its various agencies, the scientists who work on Bikini, the Bikini Council's attorney, trustees, money managers, construction companies, engineers, project managers, auditors and business associates. The Trust Liaison also coordinates travel schedules, is used as an advisor and translator, manages the Bikinians' scholarship program, and is responsible for the Bikini Council's accounting.

 The government of the Marshall Islands awarded him an honorary "Public Benefit" Marshallese citizenship in December of 2000.

 Along with his book about the people of Bikini, For the Good of Mankind(2001), he has published a number of articles, academic papers and photos about the Bikinians in The Guardian (United Kingdom), World View, The Health Physics Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle and others. He also published a chapter about Bikini Atoll in the book, Everything You Know is Wrong, compiled by Russ Kick.

 In 2008, while with his 10 year old son, Max, in a local video store surrounded by the typical Hollywood-based fare, his son asked,

Jack and his son, Jukulius

 ”Why are there no movies in Marshallese?”  Realizing what a tragedy it was for the children of the Marshall Islands to grow up without seeing a film in their own language, set in their own country and dealing with issues unique to their own culture, Jack decided to venture into filmmaking.  At the age of 50 with no filmmaking experience whatsoever, he founded Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands, bought some filmmaking equipment and, along with co-director and co-producer Suzanne Chutaro (the daughter of a former RMI Peace Corps Volunteer Joe Murphy), made a Marshallese children’s movie, a fairy tale about a mythical Marshallese sprite, entitled Ña Noniep(I am the Good Fairy, 2009).   This film was followed by 3 more feature length films in the Marshallese language, Yokwe Bartowe(Poor Bartowe, 2010), Lañinbwil’s Gift (2011, a film that won numerous awards including “Best of Festival” at the Guam International Film Fest and “Best Foreign Film” at the Hawaii Ocean Film Festival), and now, Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ(The Sound of Crickets at Night), a narrative feature film about the people of Bikini Atoll that has already won the Atlantis Award for Foreign Feature Films at the 2012 New York based Moondance International Film Festival, the 2012 Grand Jury Award for Achievement in Acting at the Guam International Film Festival, and was an Official Selection at the prestigious 2012 Hawaii International Film Festival.  The film has been submitted to numerous high profile film festivals in the US, Europe and Australia.

 The members of Microwave Films are currently at work on their 5th feature film.]

A recent review of The Sound of Crickets at Night:

Islands-based filmmakers Jack Niedenthal and Suzanne Chutaro have created a provocative and moving drama that weaves three stories of loss and rue into a memorable work of art.

The elderly Jebuki is the patriarch of a fractured family. Forcibly evacuated from Bikini Atoll prior to the atomic weapons testing in 1950s, he has lived in an uneasy exile on Ejit Island in the Marshall Islands. In his old age, he finds himself in financial straits and with recurring chest pains.

Jebuki is also the custodian of Kali, his 10-year-old granddaughter. Kali’s bickering parents have separated, with her father moving away to find work while her mother immigrates to the U.S. with Kali’s beloved sister. Kali’s sorrow causes her health to deteriorate, and Jebuki desperately tries to revive her well-being by summoning Worejabato, an ancient deity from Bikini Atoll.

Then there is an amnesiac American who fell overboard from a private yacht and washes up on the Ejit Island beach. Unable to recall his name, he is dubbed “George Bush” by Kali. But what connection does this stranger have to Jebuki’s call for Worejabato’s help, and why are yacht owners who lost this man at sea so eager to see him put in the local jail?

Niedenthal and Chutaro brush across profound emotional issues - family disintegration, isolation, loss of self-identity and homeland, and the embrace of faith when man-made solutions fail - and plumb their territory with a low-keyed sensitivity that echoes the classic works of Satyajit Ray. Although the cast is made up of nonprofessionals, the ensemble is first-rate, with standout work by 10-year-old Salome Fakatou as Kali and Banjo Joel as Jebuki.

The film does have a few wobbles - particularly in a weird fantasy sequence involving Worejabato and a pair of unpleasant conjoined twins - but, on the whole, this small and remarkable film is one of the year’s most engaging under-the-radar gems.

Read more: http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/57310/#ixzz2ASMVVbgX

Below is a message that Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Acting Peace Corps Director asked us to pass along in response to the petition “Honor RPCV Ambassador Chris Stevens”
————————————————————

Thank you all for your outpouring of support and concern for honoring U.S. Ambassador and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) Chris Stevens.  You have reminded me of how close a family we are at the Peace Corps.  We have informed the Stevens family that hundreds of you (more than 888!) share their loss and are interested in honoring Ambassador Stevens — and they were very touched.

The tragic death of Ambassador Stevens was a tremendous loss for our nation, and a loss that was keenly felt within the Peace Corps community.  After extending our condolences to the Stevens family, we contacted them to begin a conversation on the most appropriate manner to honor the life and memory of Ambassador Stevens.  There are a number of ideas on the table, and that conversation is ongoing.  However, we have committed to placing a photo and/or plaque of Chris Stevens in History Hall in the lobby of the Peace Corps headquarters, dedicated with a ceremony open to RPCVs and the Stevens family.  With the family, we are considering other ways to honor and remember Ambassador Stevens as well.  I will keep you informed as our plans become more clear, including dates for a dedication in History Hall.

Sadly, over our 51 year history, a number of RPCVs have died while in service to our country.  I ask that you continue to remember Ambassador Stevens and all RPCVs and Peace Corps Volunteers who gave their lives in service to the cause of peace.

Thank you again.

Warm regards,

Carrie

Carrie Hessler-Radelet
Acting Director
Peace Corps
RPCV Western Samoa 1981-83

[Note to sign the petition, go to:  http://signon.org/sign/honor-rpcv-ambassador?source=c.url&r_by=5761851]

In late 1962 a guy from Peace Corps Washington arrived in Addis Ababa to visit the first PCVs in-country. We Volunteers were getting a lot of ’official’ visitors in Ethiopia then. I mean, Shriver came to Ethiopia, came right into my classroom at the Commercial School in Addis Ababa with a big grin and a handshake and said, “Hi, I’m Sarge Shriver.” I remember responding with something stupid, like, “No, kidding!”

But this other guy was different. First, he was young. He was our age.  He had a camera.  And he had a real professional job.  He was travelling all over the world for the Peace Corps.  He was the official Peace Corps photographer….Wow! But I want you to know, we treated him like, well, you know how we treated him. He hung around for weeks in Addis Ababa, eating our food, drinking our beer, telling great stories. And then he went all over the Empire, just another guy taking photographs of PCVs doing what we all were doing, teaching, hanging out, being PCVs in town and villages in the middle of nowhere. He was a nice guy. We liked him. He even bought the beer. Hey, he was getting a real salary.  A few of the girls, I know, developed crushes. He was good looking in that quiet, sullen James Dean sort of way. 

Well, after all of these years,  he is still around. And he is still taking photographs. Besides the photos he took of us PCVs around the world in 1961-63, he took every famous people photos from the ’60s and ’70s and published them in magazines like Life and Look, and Newsweek and Times. You name it. You’ll find  his credit under a photo of Dylan and Joan Baez and JFK and Sarge Shriver. You name the famous person (or not so famous) from the 1960s and 1970s, and Rowland has a photo. 

Well, now Chris Szwedo has made a movie of Rowland Scherman’s life and you are in with Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and JFK and Bobby, and, of course, Shriver, if you were part of the Peace Corps in the early 60s, or if you attended the 50th reunion in Washington, D.C., last September. Chris Szwedo was in D.C. shooting film all that weekend. He has some great images of the march back from Arlington Cemetary.

The movie title is “Eye on the Sixties: The Iconic Photography of Rowland Scherman” though, I understand Bill Moyers said it should be called, “The Kid With The Camera”  for that is how Rowland got his job at the Peace Corps in the spring of  1961.

Here is the back story, as Chris Szwedo explains it:

“In 1961, Rowland Scherman followed the inspiring words of President Kennedy and boarded the train from New York to Washington, D.C. to offer his services as a “photographer” for the upstart “Peace Corps”, an idealistic and seemingly radical idea. Despite no apparent Peace Corps need for photographers, Scherman hung out in the lobby for three days charming the staff and hoping for an opportunity. Finally a stroke of luck arrived–he was asked to photograph Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver at work with a visiting dignitary. All it took was that one moment to shine. Within days Scherman was asked to be the first “official photographer” for the Peace Corps– a post he held from 1961-1962. His time with the Peace Corps provided wonderful opportunities to travel the world, and to gain a portfolio.These scenes offer a great glimpse into not only the beginnings of his photography career, but also into the very beginnings of a respected national government agency. Source of Photographs: National Archives and Records Administration/College Park, MD. Events in Washington filmed at the 50th Anniversary of The Peace Corps week of celebration. Special Thanks to Peace Corps Volunteers John Coyne and Kenneth Hill. Additional Thanks to Joan Thornell. Original Music and Videography: Chris Szwedo This scene is one of many in “EYE ON THE SIXTIES: The Iconic Photography of Rowland Scherman” copyright Chris Szwedo, LLC.”

Rowland in China

What Chris is trying to do is raise money, via kickstarter to show the film. You can help. But first look at these two excepts from the fillm. And look for yourself. I spotted my old roommates in Ethiopia, Ernie Fox and Sam Fisk, and Patty and John Garamendi, Harris Wofford, Aaron Williams, Ken Hill, several staffers from the NPCA, Bill Moyers, and even myself. My God, it must be a great film!

Here are two links to the film:http://vimeo.com/52034042

and

<http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1526078859/eye-on-the-sixties-rowland-scherman?ref=email

You are going to love it!

 

The Chicago Humanities Festival began in 1989 by a group of Chicago’s cultural leaders eager to extend the riches of the humanities in the Mid West and around the world.

Under the aegis of the Illinois Humanities Council the notion of a humanities day was proposed and then expanded into a festival. The first Chicago Humanities Festival, a one-day affair, was held on November 11, 1990 at the Art Institute of Chicago and Orchestra Hall before an audience of 3,500 people and included a memorable keynote address by playwright Arthur Miller, and inaugurated one of Chicago’s most culturally rich annual events. Founding co-sponsor institutions included the Art Institute, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera Chicago, and the University of Chicago.

Since that first year, some of the world’s most interesting thinkers, artists and performers have come to Chicago each fall for a festival that celebrates ideas in the context of civic life. Each festival brings together novelists, scholars, musicians, archaeologists, historians, artists, performers, playwrights, theologians, poets, architects, policy makers, and others - both established and emerging talents - to offer performances, screenings, exhibits and discussions on a theme of universal interest.

Michale with his student in Fiche in 1966

This year, next month, the Festival have two RPCVs addressing the crowd: Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66), and Michael McCaskey (Ethiopia 1965-67). They will present the Doris Conant Lecture on Women and Culture. The title of their presentation is: What Can You Do for Your Country?

Michael McCaskey was the president of the Chicago Bears from 1983 to 1999 and as that organization’s chairman until 2011. He is an alumnus of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and taught at the business schools at UCLA and Harvard University prior to becoming president of the Bears.

Maureen Orth is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, and author of Vulgar Favors and The Importance of Being Famous. She is the founder of the Marina Orth Foundation which helps support 1,200 school children in Colombia, where she served. She is the producer of www.PeaceCorpsPostcards.com, an interactive website created for the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps that highlights the influence of the Peace Corps on the lives of past and present volunteers.

The Festival is presenting Maureen and Mike “in conversation.” They will tell stories about their time in Colombia and Ethiopia, give their perspective on what the Peace Corps has meant to the world and to themselves, take questions, and give their take on how far the Bears will get in the playoffs, whether Obama will get a second term, and what is happening in their host countries, as both Maureen and Mike have been back to their sites several times within the last few years.

The lecture/conversation takes place on Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 4  p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Diane and David B Heller Auditorium in the Francis W. Parker School at 2233 N Clark Street. General Admission is $10.00 and for teachers and students, $5.00.

Tino Calabia studied at Georgetown, Columbia, and the University of Munich, was a Peace Corps Volunteer (Peru, 1963-65), then headed a Bronx antipoverty agency. He directed planning projects with residents of New York’s poverty neighborhoods, and authored numerous federal studies with topics ranging from the rights of female offenders to bias on college campuses. He has served on national Asian American boards, and presented seminars in former Eastern bloc countries for exchange students he had mentored while they lived in the U.S.

Tino wrote Marian and me this note, and responding to it, Marian has established a petition at SignOn.org that we hope you will sign.

•

This is what Tino had to say:

Last month’s tragic deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens (Morocco 1982–85) and three American colleagues in Libya have been turned into fuel for the firestorm of partisan attacks during the closing national campaigns to win the White House and Congress. After the first shocking days following the heavy weapons destruction of the U.S. compounds in the coastal city of Benghazi, the media’s focus seized on questions suddenly raised by one side in the campaigns: What really happened in Benghazi on September 11th? Who knew what and when? And who must pay the price for the outcome?

Lost in that babble is the story of the exemplary life of Chris Stevens who worked for peace throughout his career. Thirty years ago he effectively brought his natural talents and skills to his work as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. He then built on that experience to become a highly respected U.S. diplomat specializing in U.S./Mid-East affairs serving in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Israel and Libya. During the time of the Libyan uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Chris served as the American Envoy to the Libyan Transitions National Council in Benghazi — he was our man in Libya during that dangerous time. In May of this year, Chris was named U.S. Ambassador to Libya.

Fortunately, the “gotcha” gamesmanship confronting us every day ends in less than three weeks, and the partisan wrangling will fade away like the horrible dream it is. Perhaps as time goes on, the lessons to be learned from Chris’s wonderful career can be shared for more to admire.

Meanwhile, I call on members of the Peace Corps community — the 200,000 of us who have served and are serving around the world — to join together in a call for a lasting way to honor our fallen fellow Volunteer. Much as I would like, it would take an act of Congress to change the name of the Peace Corps building, so I am suggesting that within HQ, a space of significance be named after Ambassador Chris Stevens. Would  you be in favor of naming the senior staff conference room or the lobby of the Peace Corps building in Washington in Chris Stevens’ name?

If you agree that doing so might lead to one enduring way of honoring the model RPCV that Chris was, please sign this petition “Honor RPCV Ambassador Chris Stevens“, and also urge your fellow RPCVs and PCVs to consider doing so as well. Thanks for considering the idea.

• • •

See: “Ambassador Stevens Memorial” page - http://www.facebook.com/ChristopherStephensMemorial?fref=ts

Elias Wondimu is the Publisher & Editorial Director of Tsehai Publishers that is located independently within Loyola Marymount University in Southern California. This is a wonderful publishing company and he is launching an Ethiopia Coffee Table Book. It is a project you might want to support. Elias writes:

The book is an attempt to change global perception of Ethiopia by focusing on the many accomplishments of successful younger Ethiopians living throughout North America and Ethiopia today. These individuals are the sons and daughters, and younger siblings of those who lived through the 1970s Ethiopian political turmoil. By focusing on these individuals, we want to tell their parents’ story of resilience and share with the world the proud heritage that they commonly inherit as Ethiopians.

This book presents the life stories of dynamic achievers from all walks of life. Some are scholars, scientists, artists, chefs, singers, models, and executives. Few you’ll recognize and some you may even know, but I guarantee you that all of them are people you’ll want to meet.

It took us four years to narrow down the list and to get to this stage. I know that many long hours of work await us ahead; however, with your pledge and active participation, we will publish this book for the world to read. I hope you will help us reach as many people as your network will allow.

Check out this video (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/394846288/coffee-table-book-flowers-of-today-seeds-of-tomorr) to get a sense of what we strive to achieve by publishing this coffee table book.

If you support the efforts to bridging the gap in Ethiopia’s historical context by filling in the void, shedding light on the struggles and successes of Ethiopian immigrants, and by fostering the development of a self-aware, cultured generation that is firmly pivoted in proud history, then I urge you to pledge to support “Flowers of Today, Seeds of Tomorrow”.

Together, we will tell this important, yet untold story to the world, and at the same time, inspire a new generation of achievers that will serve humanity.

Akbariwo,

Elias Wondimu

Elias

Elias Wondimu
Publisher & Editorial Director

Tsehai Publishers
Loyola Marymount University
One LMU Drive, UH 3012
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Cell: 323.533.7626 | Office: 310.258.5460
Email: ewondimu@tsehaipublishers.com
URL: www.tsehaipublishers.com

from  ctpost.com

by Michael P. Mayko

Jesse Osmun, a former Peace Corps volunteer from Milford, CT. charged with abusing several young girls in a South African HIV/AID encampment preschool, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012.

HARTFORD — A former Peace Corps volunteer from Milford admitted Wednesday he “tarnished” his country and the organization by sexually molesting young girls between the ages of 3 and 6 years old while working in a preschool at an HIV/AIDS camp in South Africa.

“The victims in South Africa did nothing, absolutely nothing to deserve the conduct that came upon them,” a contrite Jesse Osmun told Chief U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson moments before he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by 10 years of U.S. Probation Department supervision. “They were completely innocent but they will live with the scars for the rest of their lives.”

Osmun, a 33-year-old Milford resident and the son of the Rev. Andrew Osmun, who until recently served as minister at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in that city’s downtown, pleaded guilty to traveling overseas to engage in sex with a minor. Additionally, at the request of Osmun’s lawyer, Richard T. Meehan, Jr., Thompson recommended the defendant be sent to a federal prison which offers sex offender treatment.

The chief judge also told Osmun that once he is released from prison he will be required to pay a yet-to-be determined portion of future salaries to the victims.

Already, the Rev. Osmun has contributed $10,000 to the restitution fund, which the Peace Corps is also funding.

Thompson’s sentence was less than the minimum 17 1/2 years recommended by federal sentencing guidelines.

But the judge explained he had never had a defendant so contrite, who admitted guilt as soon as he was arrested, and recognized his problem began with child pornography and has taken steps to deal with it.

“Your response … is highly atypical,” Thompson told Osmun as about a dozen members of St. Peter’s Episcopal church sat listening in the audience. The judge said he could not think of any defendant who made “such efforts to purge themselves of the demons.”

The chief judge particularly cited sentences in a letter Osmun sent him.

In that letter, Osmun wrote “One of most awful aspects of being addicted to child pornography is that after a while, it begins to normalize acts which can never be normalized or accepted as harmless and healthy. When I could not get my fix from pornography, I moved on to hands-on offending, as many sex offenders can probably attest.”

“Almost no sex offender who stood before me has attested to that,” Thompson said.

Thompson’s sentence “sends a clear message to those who prey on the vulnerable,” said Weziwe Thusi, a member of the South Africa Department of Social Development’s executive council in KwaZulu-Natal. “Jesse Osmun betrayed the trust of the children he was supposed to protect. His evil acts dealt the children a double trauma and therefore people like him deserve to be removed from society.”

At the Umvoti AIDS Centre, where the abuse occurred, Joan Dutton, an official there, accused Osmun of researching the childrens’ files and singling “out those that were most vulnerable who would do anything for a sweet.”

U.S. Attorney David Fein and Assistant U.S. Attorney Krishna Patel previously charged that Osmun bribed little girls to perform oral sex on him by offering candy.

“The very little children that we were nurturing were being abused in the most heinous way,” Dutton wrote the judge. “These children have so little, but Jesse has taken the very fundamentals of their lives away … The children are going to counseling but he has ruined their little lives.”

Ros Visagie, founder of the Palm Tree Care Centre in KwaMakhutha, on the outskirts of Amanzimtoti, which takes care of children affected by HIV/AIDS, believes the sentence was inadequate and ridiculous.

“Those girls are changed; they will never be the girls they were born to be,” said Visagie, who added the children in her center are never left alone with volunteers.

Osmun has been in custody since his Aug. 4, 2011, arrest by Special Agent Rod Khattabi from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division.

Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of Homeland Security’s ICE Boston office, said his “agency will go anywhere in the world to investigate” this kind of incident.

Just how this case impacts the future of the Peace Corps in screening volunteers could not be determined. Calls to the agency resulted in the release of the following statement from Acting Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet: “The Peace Corps has no tolerance for abuse of any kind, and our deepest sympathies are with all the victims involved.” However, the prosecution said that if Osmun’s “prior instances of his misconduct” had been properly reported, “he would not have been accepted as a volunteer … and the abuse to these children would have been avoided.”

About a month after Jesse’s arrest, his brother Seth Osmun was arrested by police in Austin, Texas, for allegedly possessing child pornography. Police there found pictures on his computer of a young girl, between 7 and 9 years old engaging in intercourse and oral sex with an adult male, according to an affidavit submitted by Sgt. Robert Sunley, of the Southern Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Seth Osmun is scheduled to appear Oct. 18 in 390th District Court in Austin.

Melanie Kondrat (Morocco 2012-14) is working in Youth Development in Morocco. From Tacoma, Washington, she graduated from Gonzaga University in 2011. She blogs about her Peace Corps tour at www.postgradmel.com. Melanie gave me permission to reprint her touching account of her trip back to Ouaouizerth where Chris was a PCV.

Remembering Chris Stevens: My Journey to Ouaouizerth

by Malanie Kodrat (Morocco 2012-14)

I like to think that if I had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco in the early 80’s Chris Stevens and I might have been friends.

Maybe we would’ve bonded over our mutual love for the Tadla-Azilal province. For the mountains that surround us. For the red dirt that threatens to stain our clothes every day. For the generous culture of the Amazigh people who’ve inhabited this region for ages.

Or maybe we would’ve bonded over a love for the West Coast (Best Coast). We might’ve compared notes on our favorite hiking trails. I probably would’ve tried to convince him that Mt. Rainier is far superior to any mountain they have in California.

Perhaps our time would’ve been spent trying to make sense of some of the more amusing, at times ludicrous aspects of life as a Peace Corps volunteer. The cultural mishaps, language woes, highs, lows, ‘Aha!’ moments, etc.

Nearly 30 years have passed since Stevens began his service in Morocco. 30 years is a long time. But I also like to think that some aspects of service in the Peace Corps transcend time and technology. He might not have been able to relate to the magic that is an external hard drive loaded with TV shows and movies, but he would’ve related to the magic that is a hot shower. He would’ve understood how meaningful it is to master certain aspects of Darija because 30 years doesn’t change the fact that it’s still not a written language. He would’ve understood the intricacies of Moroccan culture; standard greetings, eating with the right hand only, sticking to your triangle in a tagine, etc.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is that Stevens was human. That prior to his days of law and Foreign Service, he was someone like me (or like a lot of volunteers) trying to figure out a little about himself and the world in the midst of this adventure. When I found out via other volunteers that Stevens served in a town relatively close to mine I felt compelled by his story. Compelled to find out more about this man, his service, his community, etc. in the hopes of shedding a little bit more light into the root of his passion for North Africa.

The plan was to travel to Ouaouizerth via taxi with my sitemate Emily and my counterpart Aziz. I pitched the idea to Aziz the week before and he enthusiastically agreed to accompany us in the role of translator. Aziz was integral to the plan. He was the one who suggested we start at the high school and go from there.

Of all the acronyms, sayings, and mantras that the Peace Corps attempts to impart on its volunteers one of the most important is: Never work alone.

Counterparts are essential to sustainability and success, not to mention getting in the door.

The road to Ouaouizerth winds through the Middle Atlas Mountains. It’s hard not to feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere as you ascend higher, for to look out is to see nothing but green. If it sounds cliché to say it was a beautiful day, then so be it. It was a beautiful day. I snagged a front seat next to the window, enabling me to enjoy a gentle breeze and gaze with content at my surroundings. The closer you get to Ouaouizerth, the view opens up. Ouaouizerth is settled in a valley of sorts, surrounded 360 degrees by mountains and rolling hills, nestled a few kilometers from the shores of the region’s lake Bin El Ouidane. The descent into Ouaouizerth is tree lined like out of a storybook and it’s not difficult to imagine why Stevens would’ve loved this area so much.

We arrived midafternoon while the town was sleepy. It’s a quaint town, equipped with the usual sights of mountain towns in Morocco. Cafés, pharmacies, hanuts, all-purpose stores, etc. Curiously there are remnants of French colonialism left over, noticeably homes with sloped roofs and windows with crown molding. After lunch, we meandered over to the high school which exists on the far edge of town.

Here’s where things got interesting.

I had planned getting to Ouaouizerth. I had thought about questions I might ask people who knew Stevens. But I hadn’t actually thought about what would happen when we showed up at the high school. For all the informality that exists in Moroccan culture, the Moroccan education system makes up for it. The affairs of education are very formal. Often just getting into the building requires various signatures, clearances, stamps, etc.

This little caveat is something I am well aware of, given my hopes to teach at the high school this fall. Somehow however, it slipped my mind. Better to ask forgiveness then to ask permission, right? Worst case scenario they’d send us home.

Thankfully, Aziz was able to work a little magic. By which I mean he spoke Darija and explained to the administrators that we weren’t tourists, but are Peace Corps volunteers like Stevens. Once we were able to communicate this idea, the doors opened up- literally and figuratively.

We met with the principal, teachers who worked with him, people who knew of him; nearly everyone we met had something to say about him. They lauded him as a great man, excellent teacher, beloved by the community, and everyone expressed deep sorrow at learning of his passing.

Where Chris taught

The most compelling and in depth recount of Stevens came from an English teacher at the high school, Lahcen, who was one of Stevens’ students.

Much has been said about Stevens’ work as a diplomat, but little has been said about his work as a Peace Corps volunteer. Which left me to wonder, just who was Chris Stevens? With the help of Lahcen, I was able to find out a bit more.

Chris Stevens was always smiling. Never in a bad mood.

He was not interested in himself. He devoted all his time to teaching and learning Moroccan Arabic.

He was the kind of guy who carried a notebook in his back pocket and would write new words down and practice them; a fact which endeared me to him since I do the same.

Stevens was a model teacher. He provided extra hours after the school day was finished to his most dedicated English students.

He was personable. Always listening. The kind who made you feel like what you have to say is important.

Stevens was inspirational. Lahcen cited Stevens as the reason he became an English teacher. He remembers uttering his first English words at the request of Stevens. ‘What’s your name?’

Also according to Lahcen, “Any qualities that were good- he had it.”

He was active. Always on foot. Fond of hiking and jogging. Every afternoon between five and six Stevens would jog along the dirt path to the village right outside Ouaouizerth and would often stop by Lahcen’s house. He would drink tea and practice Tamazight with Lahcen’s mother.

On Friday’s he liked to play basketball with his students. Afterwards they would sit around and talk. They were always talking about different things.

Stevens was interested in Moroccan culture. Described as being tolerant. He showed respect to the standards of the community by jogging in track suits as opposed to shorts.

From a volunteer standpoint, Stevens was smart. He lived close to souk.

He was the kind of teacher who gave back tests outside of class, so as to save embarrassment.

Lahcen also pointed out that Stevens always wore the same khakis, track jacket, white polo, and tennis shoes. A fact which Emily and I found particularly amusing as most volunteers have a disdain for laundry and often wear many of the same clothes day after day.

Lahcen provided us with an incredibly rich portrait of the kind of person and volunteer Stevens was. As our time at the high school drew to a close, we were blessed with the opportunity to visit the home where Lahcen grew up, where Stevens spent many afternoons. We met with Lahcen’s brother, Ali, who being close in age to Stevens considered him a friend. Over tea and bread, we were able to learn more about Stevens, view some photos, talk about the Peace Corps, and more. It was with great hope and satisfaction that I left Ouaouizerth that afternoon.

I wish I could better describe how meaningful this experience was. I wish my words and images were capable of explaining why that day was the best day I have had thus far in my service. But I’m afraid they fall too short. But I will say this:

The legacy of Chris Stevens speaks to what service in the Peace Corps is all about; it’s proof that the Peace Corps is relevant. Opponents of the Peace Corps might argue that it’s a money drain, that its results aren’t quantifiable, that it’s resume padding for overachieving post grads who aren’t ready to enter the “real world,” etc.

Chris in the Peace Corps

All to which I respond, how? How can money be wasted in the spirit of diplomacy and fostering peace between nations? How can you measure the extent to which you’ve changed someone’s life? How do you define the “real world?” And who’s to say that Peace Corps volunteers aren’t living in it?

It means something that nearly 30 years after Stevens served in Ouaouizerth people still talk about him. That when I met with counterparts last week the first thing they expressed to me was their condolences for his death. That when word got out about his passing the entire community of Ouaouizerth mourned, even people who never knew him. And moreover, that every single person who knew him lauded him as a great man with a compassionate heart.

Stevens was a model Peace Corps volunteer, ambassador, and citizen. But more than that, Stevens was a model human being. Someone with a passion for service to others and an inclination to leave this world a little better than it was before.

Well done sir.

[Ambassador Chris Stevens was a PCV in Morocco from 1983-85.  He served twice in Libya in three different Foreign Service capacities, first, as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2007-09;  then as Special Representative to Libya's National Transitional Council from March 2011 to November 2011; and  finally as Ambassador from June 2012 until his death on September 11, 2012.]

Learning of Chris Stevens’ Death While Reading The Aeneid

by Tino Calabia (Peru 1963-65)

What intel the White House should have known/acted upon before the 9/11 attack and killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens and his colleagues in Libya is triggering partisan arguments sullying the memory of Stevens’ sacrifice.  Or so the current gamesmanship seems to this former Peace Corps Volunteer.

Lots of the 200,000 Americans who, like I, have served as Volunteers never knew, prior to the violence in Benghazi, that the Peace Corps first sent young Chris Stevens to Morocco.  Later the State Department assigned him as a Foreign Service Officer to other Arabic countries and, last year, to liaise with Libyans during their struggle to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.  Chris subsequently became Ambassador to the new Libyan government.

Many of us initially learned about Chris’ Peace Corps service upon reading of his death after a mob protest at a U.S. compound in Libya’s coastal Benghazi.  At the time, I had just started reading the epic poem “The Aeneid” for a Columbia University book club discussion but stopped upon hearing about Chris.  I discovered that he served as a Volunteer in Morocco, learned the language, and grew to love the people there and in other Arabic lands where he worked as a State Department diplomat.

Early accounts of Chris’ career reported that he enjoyed mixing with Middle Eastern peoples, ever on the job building local relationships until . . . .  Until that fateful day in Benghazi when the riot broke out, and he was later found dead.

Eventually restarting The Aeneid, I came upon this Book One passage: ” . . . [W]hen a crowd of people is rocked by a rebellion, and the rabble rage in their minds, and firebrands and stones fly fast - for fury finds its weapons - if, by chance, they see a man remarkable for righteousness and service, they are silent and stand attentively; and he controls their passion by his words and cools their spirits. . . .”

A few lines later, I read that Aeneas and his crew finally could turn their ships “toward Libya’s coast.”

How ironic - Stevens, Ambassador to 21st Century Libya, was one of our finest diplomats.  Already fluent in Arabic, he loved mingling with the people, reportedly much more so than most of our diplomats do wherever they serve.

I mentioned to book club members that, from the earliest news accounts, one might conclude that the Libyan protesters who killed Chris didn’t appear to see him as “a man remarkable for righteousness and service.”  Nor in their rage did they grow ”silent and stand attentively.”  Instead, they killed him.

But days later, a member cited accounts reporting that some Libyans, who protested anew in Benghazi, carried placards decrying the killing of Chris Stevens.  Many went on to demand that militias such as the militia that had launched heavy-weapons attacks on U.S. compounds in Benghazi be put under the control of the Libyan government, an unexpected demand placed on the fledgling government.  More surprisingly, the government acted on the demand with some success.  It thus appears that the tragic killing of Chris Stevens led to at least one unforeseen positive result.

How sad.  This turn of events is now being spun into a partisan football during the final throes of the Presidential and Congressional campaigns.

Tino Calabia began as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Peru 1963-65) then headed a Bronx antipoverty agency, directed planning projects with residents of New York’s poverty neighborhoods, and authored numerous federal studies ranging from the rights of female offenders to racial discrimination on college campuses.  He has served on national Asian American boards and also held seminars in former Eastern bloc countries for exchange students he had mentored while they lived in the U.S.  One son has served as a Foreign Service Officer in three South American countries, Iraq, and now in Japan.  His wife and another son are both members of the Council on Foreign Relations.

I have been writing lately how RPCVs continue to serve the world long after their tours. Here is another example, and another RPCV from Ethiopia, Phil Lilienthal (Ethiopia 1965-67), who returned home and worked for the Peace Corps for five years as a lawyer in the General Counsel Office, then from 1969-74, Phil was a Regional Director and Deputy Director in Thailand.

While a PCV in Ethiopia Phil worked in one of the government ministries and for his ’second project’ he started a summer camp on the shores of Lake Langano down in the Rift Valley. This was the first such camp started by a PCV in Ethiopia.  Camps for kids have always been in Phil’s blood, his family has one in Maine, but about 9 years ago, in retirement, Phil turned the family business over to his son (who was also a PCV) and established a new one, this time in South Africa.

Global Camps Africa today has had 38 camps for 4,600 children in the last decade. There are 3 camps a year with 140 different children at each. Added to that are the Kids Clubs where children, who have come to camp, have a continuing source of support and information after they have attend.

Phil’s camps are designed to provide HIV/AIDS information to the children of Soweto and the Johannesburg area. (South Africa has the most number of HIV infected people, despite its small (under 50 million population) in the world.

Phil’s camp and the clubs are free to the children and over 170 international volunteers have been camp counselors. Today, Phil says, “many PCVs in South Africa also volunteer during their school holiday.”

The counselors at Global Camps Africa are between the ages of 23-31 and work as camp counselors at Camp Sizanani.

Recently, Phil traveled for two weeks with five of his South African counselors who had worked in US camps this past summer.  And tomorrow, Friday, September 28, 2012, Global Camps Africa will be featured at 12:35 on the NPR program, “Here and Now.”

One of Phil’s South African counselors, Lindiwe, joins Phil on a program which was taped in Boston. You can hear it live or on line at http://www.wbur.org/listen/live. And see what this RPCV has done with the rest of his life after the Peace Corps. http://www.globalcampsafrica.org/