A Peace Corps Celebration of the Life and Service of Ambassador Stevens
I get the feeling the PC is more beholden to bureaucratic normalcy than to its RPCVs for whom the agency…
Marian Beil (Ethiopia 1962-64) and Tino Calabia (Peru 1963-65) set up a petition on SignOn on October 19, 2012 to rally the Peace Corps Community to ask the Peace Corps to honor RPCV and Ambassador Chris Stevens (Morocco 1983-85) at the Peace Corps Headquarters.
A month later, in mid November, the Acting Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet (Western Samoa 1981-83) said the agency would do so, and on May 2, 2013, in Shriver Hall an event was held by the agency. At the May 2, 2013 event no mention was made by the agency of the petition and call-to-action by this website that generated over 1,000 signatures for the Peace Corps to recognize the work of Chris Stevens.
The Celebration of the life and Service of The Honorable J. Christopher Stevens was a simple and touching event, with short words of rememberance from former Morocco Country Director David Burgess; fellow Morocco Peace Corps Volunteer Amie Bishop; Ambassador Stevens’ Father Jan Stevens; Ambassador Stevens’ Sister Hilary Stevens; and Ambassador Stevens’ Mother Mary Commanday.
In the days to come, we will post the remarks by the friends and family of Chris Stevens.
Photo of Stevens and his friend Abderahim Tabany that will hang at Headquarters
I get the feeling the PC is more beholden to bureaucratic normalcy than to its RPCVs for whom the agency is paid (3rd Goal) to serve. The same goes with the Returned PCVs association (NPCA). No rocky the boat…when the whole purpose of the arrival of an American is to ‘rocky the boat’ on behalf of the client…I was appalled by how both entities serve other constituencies over serving PCVs.. I guess the allure of DC bureaucracy is more compelling than I can imagine….