February 26, 2003 - Amazon.com: "Gift of the USA" blows the lid off Peace Corps Kazakhstan

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Headlines: Peace Corps Headlines - 2003: 02 February 2003 Peace Corps Headlines: February 26, 2003 - Amazon.com: "Gift of the USA" blows the lid off Peace Corps Kazakhstan

By Admin1 (admin) on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 - 11:29 pm: Edit Post

"Gift of the USA" blows the lid off Peace Corps Kazakhstan





Read and comment on this review from Amazon.com on RPCV Ruth Moss's non-fiction book set in the former Soviet Union six years after its collapse where inexperienced and often self serving volunteers cause many hardships for the people they are sent to serve, mainly by taking the jobs of wage earners in areas of vast unemployment. This and other imprudent actions of these well educated but inexperienced volunteers give rise to resentment and animosity towards the US instead of imbuing the good will the American taxpayer thinks he is getting for his tax dollars. This is the story of the suffering caused by Peace Corps volunteers in the former Soviet Union and the resultant anger felt by the local people towards America. Read the reviews at:

Gift of the USA*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Gift of the USA

This is a non-fiction book set in the former Soviet Union six years after its collapse. The United States has for years sent sacks of flour to impoverished countries stamped Gift of the USA. But the people in those countries can t read that. They don t know that the food they are receiving is a gift from the people of the United States. The US also sends Peace Corps volunteers to needy countries to spread the good will of our people. The American taxpayer tends to consider the Peace Corps to be the equivalent of motherhood and apple pie not knowing that the inexperienced and often self serving volunteers cause many hardships for the people they are sent to serve, mainly by taking the jobs of wage earners in areas of vast unemployment. This and other imprudent actions of these well educated but inexperienced volunteers give rise to resentment and animosity towards the US instead of imbuing the good will the American taxpayer thinks he is getting for his tax dollars. This is the story of the suffering caused by Peace Corps volunteers in the former Soviet Union and the resultant anger felt by the local people towards America.

About the Author

Ruth Moss served in the Peace Corps in the former Soviet Union shortly after its collapse. She wrote and taught Economics of the Free Market System: Capitalism, at Taraz State University. A former teacher of English and English as a Foreign Language, she founded the Rose Kaplan English Language School in Taraz, Kazakhstan, in 1998.

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5 out of 5 stars Reality of Peace Corps life in Kazakhstan, February 16, 2003

Reviewer: A reader from Seattle, WA United States

Though many readers may not be happy to hear this, Ms. Moss did give a true reflection of what Peace Corps volunteers were really accomplishing in Kazakhstan. All of these characters are real characters. As one of them, I could easily identify the true names of the PCVs.

First of all, the story of the Taraz PCVs Taraz stealing the English Resource Center did occur. It split the entire Peace Corps volunteers of Taraz into two groups, those supporting Sherman and Tim and those supporting Ann. In the long run, Ann gained more respect by the local school teachers and students for opening up the Rose Kaplan School. The other volunteers were well known for their parties and "rigged" English competitions. To show you what the Peace Corps thinks of Ms. Moss, the current Peace Corps staff in Kazakhstan considers the Rose Kaplan School as one of the most successful projects initiated by PCVs.

The book is not complete. Readers do not know about how PCVs continued Ann's work after she left. They also do not know about Ann's return trips to Taraz to help run the Rose Kaplan School.

It will be easy to criticize Ms. Ruth Moss for making some cultural mistakes in her book. Let the reader be forewarned, she may have intended to do that to protect some of her close Kazakh and PCV friends.

Expect this to be a popular book in the future. Ruth Moss should be praised for openly questioning the work of the Peace Corps around the globe. Unfortunately you do not hear these stories since many RPCVs do not have the same resources or influences such as Ms. Moss to get the word out.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1 out of 5 stars ...Impression of Peace Corps and the Region, February 4, 2003

Reviewer: A reader from Minneapolis, MN USA

Having spent a great deal of time in the region and working with Peace Corps I thought this might have some insight into how a good organization could be better. But unfortunately it reads like a bad romance novel (which I should have surmised from the cover).

Every comment and critique sounds like the culture shock first impressions that some business people have coming into Kazakhstan. The cultural descriptions are inaccurate, her facts are wrong, and overall this sounds like a bitter commentary that someone wrote in response to being excluded by cultures--American, Kazakh, and Russian--to whom she condescends.

I confess that as much as I wanted to I couldn't get to the end of this ... account. It's just not worth the time to finish, or even begin for that matter.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2 out of 5 stars No Gift To The Reader, January 30, 2003

Reviewer: A reader from Washington, DC

What could have been an interesting letter home describing the difficulties of being a Peace Corps Trainee and Volunteer or perhaps a letter to the Editor of a magazine or newspaper about the tremendous cost of each Peace Corps Volunteer overseas, is instead a 430 page novel explaining point by point the superiority of the heroine "Ann" to everyone involved with the United States Peace Corps from the Director down to the receptionist at the front desk of her host country

Although this book is well written and fast paced, it is difficult to read page after page of the main character "Ann" correcting fellow Volunteers' grammar, correcting the Country Directors mis-pronounciation of a difficult and long name, and basically attempting to correct everything and everyone around her.

It is interesting to note that the author and heroine "Ann" quit the Peace Corps half way through her two year commitment.

There are many books and essays written by former Peace Corps Volunteers that would give a more balanced picture of the organization through the years. I would suggest reading "From the Center of the Earth" or "Going Up Country" for quality stories by former Peace Corps Volunteers on their experiences.

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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Kazakhstan; Writing; PCVs in the Field

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By George Wunder (dhcp-11-195.harvard.edu - 128.103.11.195) on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 10:43 pm: Edit Post

Like most PCV experiences, the individuals involved largely dictate the success or failure of the work done. Speaking as a PCV assigned to Taraz later (I was there 2004-06 in NGO Development), none of the soap opera obviously was occurring and we got quite a bit accomplished. As for taking jobs away, that's nonsensical, as there's only a few volunteers assigned to any location at one time - certainly less than ten. We had 2-4 at various times, and actually created a few jobs within up-and-coming NGOs that sought sustainable business models.

To assume that some sort of irrevocable damage was done by their experience is to place little faith in the locals' ability to distinguish people beyond their nationality. One thing that constantly amazed locals who met more than one PCV was just how different we all were.

It also helped that we were a geriatric group (at 32, I was the youngest for awhile, go figure). A lot of the problems PCVs bring on themselves during service do in fact come from youth and inexperience. Unfortunately, most PCVs are basically fresh out of college and for some, but certainly not all, the environment of Peace Corps work can be overwhelming. That's why a fair number of folks quit early - something like 30% I think.

Truth be told, no one from my group worked with Rose Kaplan, but it wasn't any sort of deliberate snubbing - I wasn't even aware of the problem until after returning and having someone send this link to me. I do know that that school still exists, which is certainly a testament to the good that came out of whatever relationship those PCVs had. The school is currently colluding with most of the other English schools in town to fix prices... only in Kazakhstan...

By all means, do Peace Corps work there. The people there are wonderful and your capacity to impact lives is limited only by your desire to help. However, volunteers who are naturally confrontational, or who are type-A, or particularly stubborn, or unwilling to understand the local culture... don't bother - if you can't measure your success in terms of helping other people, Peace Corps work is not for you.

-George Wunder
RPCV Kaz-14, Taraz

By Charlene ,RPCV Kaz-17 (ip68-8-216-30.sd.sd.cox.net - 68.8.216.30) on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 10:24 pm: Edit Post

I have yet to read "Gift of the USA", but upon reading the book summary I feel it doesn't fairly convey the potential Peace Corps volunteers have in Kazakhstan. Having just returned as an English teacher/PCV in Kazakhstan, I can say that I never took a job away from anyone. If anything, the local teachers I worked with evidently felt a lot more confident in their English skills as they easily infused conversations with idioms and the like.

As for being 'inexperienced and young', that all depends on an individual's intentions and level of maturity. I came a year after univeristy, but I believe being culturally sensitive and focused on integrating into a community will be more success than one can begin to imagine.


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