While in Peru I was interviewed by a journalist. Unfortunately, I feel that I was misrepresented. Below is a copy of his article and the response that I sent him. (I replaced my full name with Lenni as always)
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Former volunteers upset over suspension of Peace Corps' Bolivia programIt took Lenni the better part of two years to win the trust of the people of Camargo, a farming town of 5,000 in southeastern Bolivia. The mayor agreed to partially fund the Peace Corps volunteer's proposal to have children plant fruit trees on main avenues. Lenni, 27, was about to be interviewed by a local TV crew when she got the call: The Peace Corps was pulling all 113 of its volunteers out of Bolivia. "I just started crying. I was like, I don't want to go!" recalled Lenni, a native of Monroe, N.Y., as she sat in a cafe in Lima, Peru. She is among more than 70 volunteers who quit the Corps rather than start over in a different country.
The hasty pullout came directly on the heels of Bolivian President Evo Morales' Sept. 10 expulsion of the U.S. ambassador for allegedly inciting opposition protests. Lenni was among disappointed volunteers who believe their government overreacted, hurting U.S. interests with the blanket withdrawal. True, some parts of Bolivia were dangerously unstable, but most volunteers felt no security threat, several told The Associated Press.
"Peace Corps, unfortunately, has become another weapon in the U.S. diplomatic arsenal," said Sarah Nourse, 27, of Mechanicsville, Md., another volunteer who opted out. Nourse had been developing trash management projects in a small town in the eastern state of Santa Cruz, the center of opposition to the leftist Morales. She questioned the wisdom of depriving Bolivians of a rare firsthand opportunity to weigh Morales' anti-U.S. rhetoric against real Americans.
The top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, Thomas Shannon, told The Associated Press that security was the only reason behind the "saddening" pullout. "We don't politicize the Peace Corps," he said. "Remember, the Bolivians on at least two occasions that I'm aware of said that they thought the Peace Corps was part of a larger intelligence network that they thought we had constructed in Bolivia. Those kind of statements we find very worrisome," Shannon said.
In fact, a U.S. Embassy security officer suggested to a group of Peace Corps volunteers during a briefing last year that they report any sightings of Venezuelan or Cuban activists. After the incident was publicized, the embassy said the officer had not been authorized to make such a request and he left the country.
Currently, 2,174 of the Peace Corps' 8,079 worldwide volunteers work in Latin America and the Caribbean. They are based in 21 countries in the region. Honduras and Nicaragua have the largest presence with 194 volunteers each. They are followed by:
The Dominican Republic: 193
Paraguay: 187
Guatemala: 184
El Salvador: 175
Panama: 174
Peru: 168
Ecuador: 155.
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Dear -------,
Thank you for sending me the article. I'd like to make it clear that I feel that my comments were misconstrued and that the article was negative in its portrayal of volunteers, Peace Corps as an organization and Bolivia.
I regret the use of the word "quit" in the following sentence; "She is among more than 70 volunteers who quit the Corps rather than start over in a different country." Peace Corps volunteers in this situation are officially regarded as having completed their service in good standing; the opportunity to continue service in another country is optional.
A smaller issue, but equally upsetting was the portrayal of my project. Although it sounds nice that "The mayor agreed to partially fund the Peace Corps volunteer's proposal to have children plant fruit trees on main avenues" it was not accurate. The project was to be funded through Peace Corps Partnership and the fruit trees were to be planted in an individual school.
I understand that it is too late to make any changes to the article or remove my name but I wanted to have the opportunity to express my disappointment.
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I should also add that I
don't feel that Peace Corps's decision was an overreaction as stated in the article. They warned us that if political rhetoric increased, we would have to leave. It was unfortunate that it happened and that we had to leave our projects and friends. Also, I can't believe that he kept my quote as "I was like..." I mean, like, really, like, edit it out dude. And I wasn't there two years. And I didn't live in southeastern Bolivia. And Peace Corps wasn't quoted even after giving a statement. Anyhoo, after my comments, the reporter had the opportunity to make some minor changes.
