Peace Corps Worldwide – Page 84 – promoting Peace Corps writers since 1989

Review — EVERY DAY SINCE DESENZANO by Patrick Logan (Thailand)

Apr 03 2022

Every Day Since Desenzano: A Tale of Gratitude Patrick Logan (Thailand 1984-86) Peace Corps Writers 150 pages September, 2021 $9.35 (paperback), $6.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Donald Dirnberger (Eastern Caribbean/Antigua 1977–79) • It is not the road chosen but rather the life one lives upon the journey taken. (An understanding of the poem by Robert Frost.) Every Day Since Desenzano, A Tale Of Gratitude by fellow RPCV Patrick Logan is a book written about a father and a son living their lives through their words and their gift of giving and sharing through service to others. Learning the importance of family often takes many years, and carries each on different journeys, but in time we come to cherish those who, with gratitude, understand us, even when we did not. In his book, Patrick Logan recounts, through his father’s, his mother’s, his family’s and his own searching and seeking, and . . .

INDIA BY RAIL AND ROAD by Steve Kaffen (Russia)

Apr 03 2022

India is the epitome of a continent-in-a-country. It is a living museum of ancient towns, moated forts, colonial hill stations, desert outposts, and frenetic cities. It is the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism and with Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, and Christians playing important spiritual roles. Indeed, opportunities for spiritual awareness, including group and individual meditation, exist throughout the country. India’s extremes stretch the emotions. Its economic and social issues of poverty and wealth assault one’s sensitivities, while its natural beauty — the Himalayan mountains, Rajasthan desert, forested northern hill towns, and sprawling beaches and winding canals of the southwest — is visual overload. The energetic and uninhibited lifestyle of the residents — never a dull moment — seems to transform the country into an improvisational stage show. Using some 400 representative pictures complemented by descriptions and narrative, Steve takes us on a grand tour of the best of India: its . . .

Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row,” and A Rat in the Kitchen (Ethiopia)

Apr 03 2022

by Karl Drobnic (Ethiopia 1966-68) March 31, 2022 • Bob Dylan, head slightly cocked, stared at me from the wall of my Peace Corps home, a dirt and wattle hut in a remote Ethiopian village. Highway 61 Revisited flickered, hanging on a thread I’d snaked through the the album cover, glossy in the candlelight of my little house that had no electric, no water, and most of all, no record player. “Stupid situation,” I imagined Dylan saying, an abrupt harmonica wail highlighting the “stupid”. A friend had gifted me the then-new album while I packed for two years in the African back-country. “Stay in touch,” she said. “Lots is happening in America, too.” A few days later, I was in my village, two miles up on the high escarpment of southern Abyssinia. Just behind the town, mountains jutted skyward another 4,000 feet, catching fluffy clouds that drifted above thorny acacia trees and . . .

Barry Rosen (Iran), who was held hostage by Iranian militants 1979–81, went on hunger strike in January

Apr 01 2022

As a hostage held for 444 days in Iran I know Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s joyful family reunion is complex Barry Rosen (Iran 1967-69) was held in appallingly brutal conditions by Iranian militants, subjected to mock executions. He tells Kasia Delgado about the reality of returning to his wife and children, and why he feels such anger at Boris Johnson. By Kasia Delgado, inews.com March 31, 2022 • The joyful photographs of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe being reunited with her husband, Richard, and daughter, Gabriella, showed a family back together, her horrendous six years being held hostage in Iran finally over. Yet those gleeful images of a homecoming are not the end of the story. For hostages, resuming ordinary life after the homecoming can be an immense challenge. Learning how to live with his hostage experience has been a long, difficult process for Barry Rosen, who was one of 66 Americans seized inside the US embassy . . .

Richard Lipez (Ethiopia), who reimagined the gay detective novel, dies at 83

Mar 30 2022

Under the pen name Richard Stevenson, he sought to correct crime fiction’s portrayals of gay characters as freaks or villains with an entirely relatable protagonist. New York Times, March 30,2022 Richard Lipez, the author of a series of crime novels centered on an openly gay detective who, unlike the one-dimensional depictions common in the genre in the 1980s and ’90s, is not a tortured soul or a freak but a relatable character who is content with his life, died on March 16 at his home in Becket, Mass. He was 83. The cause was pancreatic cancer, said his husband, Joe Wheaton. Under the pseudonym Richard Stevenson, Mr. Lipez (pronounced leh-PEZ) wrote 17 mysteries in the series. His protagonist, Donald Strachey (pronounced STRAY-chee), worked the underside of Albany, N.Y. He was named after Lytton Strachey, the early 20th-century English biographer; the name appealed to Mr. Lipez because Strachey, a gay . . .

The inspiring life of the hero of the 1998 Nairobi bomb blast who died recently

Mar 29 2022

UK Time News March 27, 2022 On Friday, August 7, 1998, Kenya woke up to horrific scenes after terrorists linked to the Al-Qaeda network struck the United States Embassy in Nairobi. A hero, who was caught in the chaos, refused to let the thugs win and did everything he could to save and help those trapped inside the building to safety. Joseph Martin (Guatemala 1977-79), an American national, who had survived the explosion, returned to the building three times to try to help those trapped. Martin had officially moved to Nairobi in 1996 to head the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) office based in Kenya. At the time, he was responsible for conducting interviews with refugees across Africa to help with their resettlement. From 1996 to 2002, he headed the INS office in Nairobi, Kenya, from where he traveled across Africa to interview refugees for resettlement in the United . . .

PCV travelers making a difference

Mar 28 2022

For many travelers, a desire to see the world also fosters a desire to change it, to help people in countries and cities both near and far away, to make a connection, to make a difference. For some that means going on voluntourism trips – organized trips specifically designed to incorporate volunteer projects in a specific place, which are fully planned by an agency that handles travel, accommodations, and even medical evacuation insurance. For others it means seeking out opportunities in the place they happen to be visiting. Both can make a significant impact, both on the traveler and on the communities where he or she volunteers. Others though, are looking for more long-term volunteering opportunities – the chance to stick with one project over the course of weeks, months, or years, and see how dedicated service can make a difference in the long term. One popular long-term service option is the Peace . . .

In 2016 Peace Corps Volunteers were invited to serve in Vietnam — by Sweet William (Peru)

Mar 27 2022

If you didn’t try to stop the Vietnam War you can join the Peace Corps today and show your apologies to the Vietnamese people personally. By William Evensen (Peru 1964–66) Sweet William © 2016 • Anyone who knew anything about warfare, from Gen. MacArthur to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, knew it was foolhardy to wage a land war in Asia where you had to travel 11,000 miles to fight and all the enemy had to do was to walk across the street. We stood out and they blended in. Many saw LBJ’s escalation in Vietnam as a military disaster, morally indefensible, and politically repugnant in its propping up of a dictatorship. Few, though, stood up for truth, justice, and the American Way. In 1966 Muhammad Ali was only 24 when he courageously voiced his opposition, “I ain’t got no quarrel against them Vietcong.” In the Spring of ’67 . . .

RPCV Mary Stephano (Ethiopia) Passed Away

Mar 27 2022

Mary Winslow Stephano, of Oswego, N.Y. passed away Friday evening February 18, 2022 at her home. She was 86. She was born in Oswego, a daughter of the late Charles and Frances O’Connor Stephano. Mary Winslow was a 1958 graduate of Le Moyne College with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities. She joined the second class of the Peace Corps in 1962, and was stationed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She earned a Ph.D. in Economics, Public Administration and Planning from Syracuse University in 1970. Over her 30+ year career she served with aid agencies such as the United Nations, USAID, and the Near East Foundation, providing expertise in the planning, design, management, and evaluation of Ministry-level human resources and economic development programs. While in public service, she travelled to every continent except Antarctica and spent years living in Paris, Botswana, Malawi, Iran, and Papua New Guinea. While advising the . . .

NBC WORLD NEWS salutes the return of PCVs on air Saturday night

Mar 26 2022

Peace Corps returns to duty abroad after pandemic forced sudden evacuations The organization is recruiting volunteers as it promises to focus on issues such as diversity, transparency and sexual assault. March 3, 2022, 2:00 PM EST By Julia Jester The Peace Corps will begin redeploying its volunteers later this month after suspending all operations and evacuating its 7,000 member force from more than 60 countries at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic — a first in the organization’s history. Nearly two years later, Peace Corps volunteers will re-enter service in a phased approach, with Zambia and the Dominican Republic receiving the first cohorts, including new and previously evacuated volunteers, Peace Corps CEO Carol Spahn said in prepared remarks Thursday. The organization is actively recruiting applicants for 24 countries, which must clear a final approval check a month before receiving volunteers, she said. In addition to their primary assignments, all volunteers . . .

Peace Corps Volunteers Arrive in Dominican Republic and Zambia

Mar 24 2022

Press Release Peace Corps Volunteers Arrive in Dominican Republic and Zambia for First Time since 2020 Evacuation 3/24/2022 7:30 PM WASHINGTON – Today, the Peace Corps announced that 35 Peace Corps volunteers have arrived in the Dominican Republic and Zambia, and are among the first volunteers to return to overseas service since the agency’s unprecedented global evacuation in March 2020. The Peace Corps suspended global operations and evacuated nearly 7,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a historic moment at a pivotal time in the world. We are witnessing the largest vaccination effort in history, ongoing concerns about COVID19 and a war that is expected to broadly impact food security,” said Peace Corps CEO Carol Spahn. “The return of Peace Corps volunteers to the Dominican Republic and Zambia is just one step in returning volunteers to countries around the . . .

Reviews — ANGELS OF BASTOGNE by Glenn Ivers (Liberia)

Mar 24 2022

I think Angels of Bastogne: A Remembrance of World War II by Glenn Ivers is a terrific and unusual World War II story. Its drama and characters are, in my view, riveting. Ivers weaves a complex structure with third person observation and commentary, a history lesson, and a first person set of interactions and dialogue. The result is a completely engaging experience that teaches, provides human context, and puts the reader in the middle of the narrative. Owen Shapiro, Professor Emeritus in Film, College of Visual and Performing Arts Syracuse University; Co-founder and Artistic Director, Syracuse International Film Festival; Co-founder and Emeritus President, International Filmmaking Academy, Bologna, Italy. • I normally don’t spend any time with historical fiction. Then, I read the first few pages of Angels of Bastogne and didn’t stop until 100 pages! The writing about life going on amid the horror of war is intriguing. The psychology of maintaining sanity amid insane . . .

LIFTING EVERY VOICE by William Robertson (CD/Kenya)

Mar 24 2022

Bill Robertson (staff: Kenya 1976-77) was one of our greatest pioneers and a tireless advocate for racial justice. One of his final acts was the completion of his memoirs. Lifting Every Voice reveals how the advances made during his lifetime were no foregone conclusion; without the passionate efforts of real people, our present could have been very different. The survivor of a traumatic childhood in the Green Book South, and the witness to his father’s rage over racial inequity, Robertson rose above an oppressive environment to find a place within the system and, against extreme odds, effect change. He was the first Black man to run for the Virginia General Assembly, and as a teacher, the first to help integrate a white school in Roanoke. He became the first Black decision-maker in any southern governor’s office, appointed by Virginia governor Linwood Holton in 1970. In a state controlled by . . .

Peace Corps Volunteers leave for the Dominican Republic

Mar 23 2022

https://www.facebook.com/peacecorps The first group of Volunteers to serve in Dominican Republic in two years left for the island of Hispaniola this morning! During service, they will focus on supporting communities to overcome the educational and economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned to follow their journey with us! #PCVolunteersReturn #PeaceCorps #BacktoService 154154 7 Comments 4 Shares

The Volunteer who went on to be a leading Congressional Representative — John Garamendi (Ethiopia)

Mar 23 2022

A Profile in Citizenship by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) • In the early 1960s, John Garamendi earned a B. A. in Business from the University of California, and then an MBA from Harvard Business School. Afterwards, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968. In 1974, John was elected to the California State Assembly, serving a single term before moving on to being elected in 1976 to the California State Senate. Here, he served four terms until 1990, including a spell as Majority Leader. While in the Senate, John chaired the Joint Committee on Science and Technology, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, and the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. He first ran for Governor of California in 1982, losing to the very popular Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. In 1990, John became the first elected California Insurance Commissioner, serving from 1991 to 1995. . . .