Somalia

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Review | THE MYSTICAL LAND OF MYRRH by MaryAnn Shank (Somalia)
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“Oral Tradition in Writing” by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia)
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New books by Peace Corps writers | July–August 2023
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New books by Peace Corps writers | May — June 2023
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Review | GOATS: AND OTHER STORIES by Martin Ganzglass (Somalia)
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RPCVs who made significant contributions to sports
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Review — FEEDING THE KIDS TO THE SHARKS by J.J. Martin (Papua New Guinea)
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Sixth Prize Peace Corps Fund Award: “Hyena Man” by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia)
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Review — DEAD COW ROAD by Mark Wentling (Honduras, Togo)
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“Loose Ends” by Bob Criso (Nigeria/Somalia)

Review | THE MYSTICAL LAND OF MYRRH by MaryAnn Shank (Somalia)

  The Mystical Land of Myrrh (short stories) MaryAnn Shank (Somalia 1967–69) Dippity Press February 2019 222 pages $13.99 (paperback), $3.99 (Kindle), $13.97 (audiobook) Reviewed by Eugénie de Rosier (Philippines 2006-08) • • •   MaryAnn Shank has brought us a fictionalized tale of her time in Somalia, working as a teacher of middle-school children in the rural bush country of Baidoa. The author was 50 years distant from her tour when she published The Mystical Land of Myrrh, and thanked those who refreshed her memory of life there. The tantalizing use of the word myrrh drew me in, and how appropriate, as myrrh originates from the commiphora tree of Somalia. The author unspooled her stories and vignettes with a goddess, and circled to the gripping end, when Moria, Shank’s narrator, beseeched Arawello to assist its women. Teaching is an honored profession in Somalia. Peace Corps brought English to, and built schools . . .

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“Oral Tradition in Writing” by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia)

In the News — by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia 1968-70)   Somalis are known throughout East Africa for their beauty and for their poetry. In this oral tradition, poems are used to communicate, to share news and even to settle disputes. A poet insults another clan in a poem. For example, “You have mistaken boat-men and Christians for the Prophet.” News and other communication had to be oral because the Somali language was not written even when I lived there in 1968.  This was due to a dispute over what kind of letters should be used. Religious leaders wanted an Arabic alphabet, business people wanted a modern Latin one. When Siad Barre, a military dictator, took over the county in 1969, his goal was rapid modernization under communism. He sent a delegation to China where Chairman Mao held similar views.  When Mao was informed about the dispute, he suggested the Latin . . .

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New books by Peace Corps writers | July–August 2023

To purchase any of these books from Amazon.com — CLICK on the book cover, the bold book title, or the publishing format you would like — and Peace Corps Worldwide, an Amazon Associate, will receive a small remittance from your purchase that will help support the site and the annual Peace Corps Writers awards. We include a brief description for each of the books listed here in hopes of encouraging readers  to order a book and/or  to VOLUNTEER TO REVIEW IT.  See a book you’d like to review for Peace Corps Worldwide? Send a note to Marian at marian@haleybeil.com, and she will send you a free copy along with a few instructions. P.S. In addition to the books listed below, I have on my shelf a number of other books whose authors would love for you to review. Go to Books Available for Review to see what is on that shelf. Please, please join in our Third . . .

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New books by Peace Corps writers | May — June 2023

  To purchase any of these books from Amazon.com — CLICK on the book cover, the bold book title, or the publishing format you would like — and Peace Corps Worldwide, an Amazon Associate, will receive a small remittance from your purchase that will help support the site and the annual Peace Corps Writers awards. We include a brief description for each of the books listed here in hopes of encouraging readers  to order a book and/or  to VOLUNTEER TO REVIEW IT.  See a book you’d like to review for Peace Corps Worldwide? Send a note to Marian at marian@haleybeil.com, and she will send you a free copy along with a few instructions. P.S. In addition to the books listed below, I have on my shelf a number of other books whose authors would love for you to review. Go to Books Available for Review to see what is on that shelf. Please, please join in our . . .

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Review | GOATS: AND OTHER STORIES by Martin Ganzglass (Somalia)

  Goats: And Other Stories Martin R. Ganzglass (Somalia 1966–68) Peace Corps Writers 2021 305 pages $10.00 (paperback) Reviewed by Regina DeAngelo (Ghana 2000-2002) • At age 76, Allison Murphy has found herself widowed and living at a home for retired military personnel in a suburb near Washington. In addition to the usual nuisances of aging, Allie has recently taken a fall on a throw rug. This placed her square in the crosshairs of the administration, who are monitoring her from the newly installed security cameras, as well as through the eyes of the smiley guard at reception, in case she takes another tumble. Then there’s her nemesis, Sergeant Trottman, who’d like to see her and her attitude assigned to the Memory Ward. Amid the mini dramas of life in a retirement home, Allie’s own story unfolds. Fifty years ago, we learn, Allie was flying fighter planes: “nimble P-51s and . . .

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RPCVs who made significant contributions to sports

by George Brose (Tanzania 1965-67)   There are lists of politicians, writers, CEO’s, artists, and film people, even an astronaut who were in the Peace Corps in their early or later years.  But I’ve yet to see anything about sports figures who have been PCV’s.  I personally know of a few who I would call major sports figures and in talking with John Coyne we decided that these folks should not go unnoticed for their service in the Peace Corps and their contributions on the playing fields. My area of expertise is track and field, and this sport is where I have found most of my subjects. They include an Olympic champion, a Boston Marathon champion, a famous coach, a not so famous runner but one who has been a long-time contributor to the sport, and another lesser known gem, and I’m even going to include a sportswriter who described . . .

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Review — FEEDING THE KIDS TO THE SHARKS by J.J. Martin (Papua New Guinea)

  Feeding The Kids To The Sharks: A Stay-at-Island Dad Copes with Fighting, Biting, and Feeding Frenzies in Micronesia J.J. Martin (Papua New Guinea 1989-90) Maske Publishing July 2021 340 pages $14.99 (paperback), $4.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Martin Ganzglass (Somalia 1966–68) • Feeding the Kids to the Sharks is a marvelous read on multiple levels, not only for the Peace Corps community but for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the culture of Micronesia, complete with a cast of native islanders, crazy and dedicated ex-pats, elite champion surfers, Aussie naval personal, coral harvesters, biosecurity specialists, and PCVs. In September 2007, RPCV Jeff Martin, formerly a communications and public relations employee of an NGO in Washington, D.C., and the husband of Bette, the newly appointed Deputy Peace Corps Director for the Federated States of Micronesia, arrived with their daughters, Devon and Tess, in Kolonia, the capital of Pohnpei State. Micronesia, populated by . . .

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Sixth Prize Peace Corps Fund Award: “Hyena Man” by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia)

  Jeanne D’Haem, Ph.D. (Somalia 1968-70) is currently an associate professor of Special Education and Counselling at William Paterson University in New Jersey. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia. She served as an English and math teacher in Arabsiyo and Hargeisa, and taught adult education classes and sponsored the first Girl Guide troop in Hargeisa. Jeanne was a director of special services and a special education teacher for over thirty years. As a writer, she has published two prize-winning books and numerous journal articles. The Last Camel, (1997) published by The Red Sea Press won the Peace Corps Paul Cowan Peace Corps Writers Award for nonfiction. Desert Dawn with Waris Dirie (2001) has been translated into more than twenty languages. It was on the best seller list in Germany for over a year where it was awarded the Corine Prize for nonfiction. Her most recent book is Inclusion: The Dream . . .

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Review — DEAD COW ROAD by Mark Wentling (Honduras, Togo)

  Dead Cow Road: Life on the Front Lines of an International Crisis by Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967–69, Togo 1970–73; PC Staff: Togo, Gabon, Niger 1973–77) Page Publishing March 2017 506 pages $24.93 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Bob Criso (Nigeria 1966-67, Somalia 1967-68) • Dead Cow Road is an ambitious work of historical fiction told through the eyes of a Foreign Service worker assigned to Somalia during the political struggles and famine crisis in 1992. Mark Wentling combines real and fictional events with real and fictional characters to weave an engrossing and complex tale unfolding during a chaotic time in a desperate country. With over 45 years experience living and working in Africa with the Peace Corps, USAID, US Foreign Service, Care and World Vision, Wentling is well-equipped to be writing about it. He has the rare distinction of having lived or worked in all fifty-four African countries. Ray Read . . .

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“Loose Ends” by Bob Criso (Nigeria/Somalia)

  Loose Ends by Bob Criso  (Nigeria 1966-67, Somalia 1967-68) • SUSAN STEEN AND PAUL BAUMER met on a beach in Bali. She was traveling with her friend Janice, taking a lot of pictures with her fancy camera. He was on his way home after two years with the Peace Corps in Africa. They have sex in the moonlight. It was 1970. “What was it like?” Susan asks, sitting up on the blanket and lighting a cigarette. Paul tells her about his early Peace Corps success. He and his friend Jeff “worked their asses off” and got all the latrines built for their project in only six months, thanks to a lot of help from the locals. He became fluent in Nglele. When the locals didn’t use the latrines, he learned that they use feces as fertilizer and didn’t want to waste it in the latrines. All along, the locals . . .

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