On Sunday we were consolidated (for those of you that don't know this is the step right before the Peace Corps evacuates a country) and had a military escort all the way to the capital.
Dave and I did training together in the Ivory Coast. Here's a letter or two from Dave , after being consolidated due to war-in-Iraq-related unrest. Be sure to check out the pic of the funky mohawk hair-do.
Date: 29Mar03 5:54am
Dear friends,
(I 've tried sending this message a few times this week and haven't been able to get hotmail to do it so hopefully this time it'll work.)
Its been a great week (sarcasm). Last week I was walking to our training center in Savar and ran into a street protest where they were burning a dummy of GW Bush -- later that day I discovered that the war had begun. On Sunday we were consolidated (for those of you that don't know this is the step right before the Peace Corps evacuates a country) and had a military escort all the way to the capital. Originally they told us this was just a precaution and we were only going to be in Dhaka for a week but now it sounds like we'll likely be here for the duration of the war or until they decide to officially declare this an evacuation. I'm hoping that we won't be evacuated but one never knows.
It is intreseting being in a muslim country during this time and seeing the news that most people see here and understanding why people believe that this war is not just directed at saddam huessein but all muslims. Its tough to make people understand that Americans don't necessarily hate muslims and that there are muslims in America -- people here often only see the images of destruction and death that are the result of american bombing.
We are all "shocked and awed" here, a devastating thing for the safety and security of americans around the world. Unfortunately, Bush has mistaken war for peace and created a precedent that will only make the world less safe, less stable, and less free. I pray for peace, the safety of everyone in iraq, and for everyone around the world (I don't pray very often but now seems like a good enough time as any).
So, those are the details of my life at present. I hope that all of you are safe and secure. I'll work on getting caught up on my e-mails here soon.
take care.
love,
dave
Date: 25May03 6:29am
So, Bangladesh, yeah, well we're staying which is awesome. I really thought that a month ago I'd be COSing from another peace corps assignment and I'd have to go the way of Chris S -- hide out somewhere in the middle of south africa. I do like it here though and I'm excited to be staying. I think you'd love the Dahl here, its one of my favorite things. Plus they make this stuff called vorta that is sort of like mashed potatoes but they can make it out of just about anything, beans, veggies, you name it and its really good. They also have rickshaws. I should try to send you one, I think you'd get a kick out of that too. We've gotten in trouble a couple of times for pulling the rickshaws with the drivers in the back -- the police tend to pull us over to ask why a bideshi (a foreigner) would be doing so base as ride a rickshaw -- usually they get a good laugh out of it and let us go.
Take care,
dave
