Archive - 2020

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Marnie Mueller (Ecuador 1963-65)   • The Peace Corps Cuts and Runs  I taught teenagers in southwest China about the Bible and the stock market. by Michael Meyer (China 1995-97) Wall Street Journal, Jan. 24, 2020   Amid fanfare at the White House, the U.S. and China signed an agreement pausing the trade war. The next day, the U.S. quietly terminated its Peace Corps program in China. The news didn’t merit a presidential tweet, or even a Peace Corps press release. An explanation is in order, because the program is one of the greatest diplomatic success stories in the history of both the Peace Corps and U.S.-China relations. The program began in 1993, delayed a few years because of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Mao Zedong had slandered the Peace Corps as a tool of American imperialism, so his more pragmatic successors changed its . . .

Is the Peace Corps a Failure? That’s the title on the cover of a front-page story in the January 1, 1966 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. It was written by RPCVs Arnold Zeitlin and Marian Zeitlin. It was written after his book To the Peace Corps With Love was published in 1965. Marian and Arnold were from Pittsburgh. They met in Peace Corps Training and were married in Ghana. They served with the first Peace Corps project–teachers–in Ghana from 1961 to 1963. This two-page article for the Saturday Evening Post appeared in the Post’s “Speaking Out”column where readers could have their say on issues of their own. It was entitled: The Peace Corps isn’t doing its job Arnold and Marian wrote in the second paragraph of their article: We believe that the Corps has sold the public a bill of goods. We believe that it is failing to fulfill its . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Glenn Blumhorst (Guatemala 1988-91) Peace Corps’ China withdrawal highlights fight for independence By Michael Igoe from Devex News  22 January 2020 WASHINGTON — On Friday, U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in China awoke to learn that their country program will be closing, after the agency made a formal notification to Congress that it would begin withdrawing volunteers in June. “We are ending a program that provides an essential human link between these two countries and offers a unique space for mutual understanding and positive cooperation.” — Steve Hess (China 2006-08) Among the first to break the news was Republican Sen. Marco Rubio from Florida, who voiced his support for the decision in a statement. “Today’s decision by the Peace Corps to withdraw its volunteers from China confirms what we all know — China is no longer a developing country,” Rubio wrote Thursday, adding that “Beijing has fooled organizations such as the World . . .

Development Is Down This Road by Abigail Calkins Aguirre (Cameroon 1987-90) In July 1992 we published this essay by Abigail. It remains one of my favorite essays by an RPCV writer. Note: JC  FEW RECOGNIZE ME without my trademark Suzuki. Now I have this red Yamaha DT they gave me to replace it. I’m still white, though, or so they keep insisting as I pass by the shouting voices trying to get me to stop to do a favor, chat, or taste the latest in palm wine. I know I have a bike, but how do you say “I’m not a taxi” in the local language? I’m late, I’m in a hurry, I’ve got to help a women’s group plant rows of plantains and pineapple in their community farm. This road could jostle my insides right out of me. My thighs are sore from being abused as non-stop shock absorbers. . . .

It Ate One Hundred By Bill Sugrue (Ethiopia 1969-73) Self-Published 223 pages May 2019 $8.99 (paperback)       My first night in Wajifo, a snake killed my next-door neighbor. Four years later, when I left Wajifo, a village in Ethiopia, I’d had some close calls with snakes myself. Also with lions, baboons, hippos and a very possessive leopard. But my most meaningful interactions were with the people of Wajifo, farmers for the most part. From them I’d learned a lot about poverty, bravery, honor, loyalty and humor in the face of profound adversity. Lessons I’ve carried with me ever since. Many believed that cars were powered by Satan, that reading was a trick, that the Emperor ruled the world, and that rabies could be cured by drinking tea made from powdered bat. I saw these deeply held beliefs challenged by the advent of cars, mirrors, matches and other technologies . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana 1961-63) Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement after the Peace Corps formally notified members of Congress it will be withdrawing its volunteers from China beginning in June 2020: “Today’s decision by the Peace Corps to withdraw its volunteers from China confirms what we all know — China is no longer a developing country. For too long, Beijing has fooled organizations such as the World Bank and the World Trade Organization into believing otherwise so it could exploit our global institutions. It is time for these organizations, both U.S. and multilateral, to change the way they deal with China.     *     *     * From the Peace Corps The Peace Corps formally notified members of Congress this week that it will withdraw volunteers from China starting in June, according to a statement from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Glenn Blumhorst (Guatemala 1988-91) John Rothchild, 74, Dies; Wrote About Personal Finance With Wit (Ecuador) By Brian X. Chen New York Times January 10, 2020 John Rothchild (Ecuador 1968-70), a prolific journalist who used humor to turn books about personal finance into engaging reads, including several in collaboration with the successful investor Peter Lynch and one titled A Fool and His Money died on Dec. 27 at a care facility in Virginia Beach. He was 74. His daughter Sascha Rothchild said the cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Rothchild began his journalism career in the 1970s as a political editor at Washington Monthly before becoming a freelance writer for outlets like Time, GQ and Outside. He wrote about Florida, where he was raised, as well as mountain climbing and cycling, hobbies he adopted later in life, and personal finance. He picked up the personal . . .

In the CT weekly, Hartford News, there is an article, also titled, “Justice for Pidgie D’Allessio,” written by Anne Goshdigian. The piece is entirely Goshdigian’s journalistic point of view, describing the travesty that befell Pidgie, and still taunts her almost 70 years later: Goshdigian focuses on the rich, Republican, CT, blue-bloods, two former governors, John Davis Lodge, who offered the reward claimed by Pidgie for information that would lead to the apprehension of the killer of my fifth-grade classmate, Irene Fiederowicz, and Judge Raymond Baldwin, who denied Pidgie the reward in legal terms that Paul Theroux deemed “disgusting.” Ms. Goshdigian includes a sidebar, with contact information for the State Senator and Assemblymen, who represent West Hartford, where Pidgie now lives, and also the Assemblymen who represent the districts where Pidgie was raped, and Irene was raped and murdered, when children, and also contact information for present Governor, Ned Lamont. I . . .

  Arnold Zeitlin and his wife Karen at the Sandstone Falls on the NewRiver in West Virginia last fall Paul Stevens, a retired former bureau chief for the Associated Press, edits a daily listserv item mostly for AP retirees. Several weeks ago, he sent Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana 1961-63) a list of questions for a profile that he wanted to use in his column. he published the profile Monday,  which happened to be on Arnold’s 88th birthday. What are you doing these days? At age 88, I get up most mornings thrilled to be alive with a loving wife and children who are good friends. We live in Virginia in the Washington DC suburbs, so I get into DC from time to time to attend sessions at think tanks devoted to subjects of my interest, mostly China and South Asia. These meetings give me a chance to lunch with friends at . . .

  by Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967-69 & Togo 1970–73)   The central purpose of my sixth book, Africa Memoir, 50 Years, 54 Countries, One American Life, 1970-2020, is to share my lifetime of firsthand experiences in Africa. I also attempt to communicate my views about the many facets of the challenges faced by each of Africa’s 54 countries. At the same time, I provide some basic information about each country. This memoir is a reference book that can be read in its entirety or by selecting a chapter on an individual country. I have followed the alphabet in presenting a chapter on each African country. Therefore, I begin with Algeria and end with Zimbabwe. There are also beginning ‘Forward and Overview’ sections, and I end this long book with an ‘Epilogue’ about my dream for Africa. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned about Africa and its development . . .

My name is Griffin Marie Francis Smith, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda from 2011-2013, currently serve on the board of the Chicago Area Peace Corps Association and am a proud member of the RPCV Health Crusade!  RPCV Health Crusade is a newly formed volunteer group of RPCVs who came together to focus on the health and well-being of PCVs and RPCVs. In the spirit that drew us to service, we came together to see how we can make a difference within our own RPCV community.  We believe that there are volunteers currently serving in the Peace Corps that could have better health experiences and also believe there is very little in place to support the health of RPCVs after service. We created a health survey (https://surveys.rpcvhealthcrusade.org/682425) with the following goals in mind: to give the PCV and RPCV community a voice in identifying our own health needs; . . .

A bi-partisan group of ten former Peace Corps directors are unified in their opposition to Senate legislation that would place #PeaceCorps operations under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of State, ending the agency’s independent status. Their letter, addressed to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, aims to keep the #international perception of Peace Corps’ independence and ensure the agency’s non-political status in order for its continued success. As part of NPCA’s upcoming National Days of Action, advocates will meet with lawmakers to take action on this legislation. Learn more and read the full letter: January 7, 2020 Chairman James Risch Senate Foreign Relations Committee 423 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Ranking Member Bob Menendez Senate Foreign Relations Committee 423 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Chairman Risch and Ranking Member Menendez, As former directors of Peace Corps, we are writing to respectfully request that . . .