Sofia Javed, linguist and cultural advisor for the Army’s 33rd Area Support Group, who recently spent the past two and a half years with the Peace Corps living and working in a village outside of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, said she spent most of that time in the company of local women and girls



Sofia Javed, linguist and cultural advisor for the Army’s 33rd Area Support Group, who recently spent the past two and a half years with the Peace Corps living and working in a village outside of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, said she spent most of that time in the company of local women and girls

Soldiers meet with Uzbeks for Women’s Day

By Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol

March 8, 2005

U.S. Army Pfc. Korin Denman with the 847th Personnel Support Battalion poses with an Uzbek woman during an early International Women's Day event March 5. Photo: Tech Sgt. Emily Green

KARSHI-KHANABAD AIR BASE, Uzbekistan (Army News Service, March 8, 2005) – Two female Soldiers and six Air Force women participated in a social event marking International Women’s Day here March 5.

The four-hour social in Karshi at the home of an Uzbek family, said Sofia Javed, linguist and cultural advisor for the Army’s 33rd Area Support Group, was a cross-cultural social gathering with two main goals.

“The first goal was to show respect to host nation women who support the Uzbek military – wives, mothers, sisters of soldiers, officers, and others,” Javed said. “The second goal was to allow American military women to experience a little bit of Uzbek culture and the lives of their host nation counterparts.”

Javed, who recently spent the past two and a half years with the Peace Corps living and working in a village outside of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, said she spent most of that time in the company of local women and girls.

“I found them to be incredibly welcoming, caring, loving, respectful and generally fun to be around,” Javed said. “With this event, I wanted to provide a similar experience for the women of K-2.”

Private 1st Class Korin Denman, an Army personnel specialist with the 847th Personnel Support Battalion deployed here from Jackson, Miss., said visiting the family home provided some insight into how the women of Uzbekistan really live.

“The women were as interested in learning about our culture as we were in learning about theirs,” Denman said. “They were really impressed with how independent American women are. I had a great time and I really enjoyed talking to the women and sharing about our differences in our cultures.”

Chief Warrant Officer Jody Remakel, host nation liaison officer with the 33rd ASG deployed from the Illinois National Guard in Chicago, said the women in Uzbekistan enjoy the simpler things in life.

“Family comes first and is very important,” she said. “In America, we enjoy so many freedoms, that sometimes the family is forgotten, or we fail to appreciate our happiness because there is so much available to us. The women of Uzbekistan know they don’t have the same things as Americans, but yet they find a way to find happiness and enjoy life.”

Angella Crane, also an interpreter with the 33rd ASG and a Quincy, Ill., native, said Uzbek women are very generous and they would give their guests anything.

“After our meal, we all danced together, and the women are beautiful dancers,” Crane said. “Despite the differences, though, it is amazing how many things in Uzbek culture are just like American culture. We think about many of the same issues, we enjoy many of the same activities, and we are proud of the same things.”

“The Uzbek women are extremely friendly and full of heart,” added Tech. Sgt. Emily Green, NCO in charge of transient alert for the 416th Air Expeditionary Group deployed here from McChord AFB, Wash. “We brought them gifts to show our hospitality for allowing us to come and socialize with them. In return, they gave us fellowship and fun and provided a flower arrangement for each one of us. It was so touching that it almost made me cry.”

Senior Airman Jessica Burns, a 774th EAS information manager deployed from Delaware ANG at Newcastle, said the experience here was an unforgettable one.

“Before we left the house, I stopped and actually cried,” Burns said. “This family and their friends were so polite to us, and just wanted us to experience this wonderful day with them. This event, I think, touched everyone in a little way. I wish everyone can experience an event like this one while they are over seas. It is a great way to see the host country’s way of life.”

International Women’s Day is celebrated every year worldwide on March 8, according to the United Nations. The date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday.

“When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development,” states a fact sheet at the UN Web site – www.un.org.

(Editors note: Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol serves with the
416th Expeditionary Group Public Affairs Office.)

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

---

---

RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

---

March 5, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Alaska RPCVs speak for dividend 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Maryland RPCVs lobby their Senators for Peace Corps 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs hold fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar Charles Baquet speaks at Louisiana PC Breakfast on March 4 28 Feb RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

---

March 5, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Senate FR Committee approves $345 M PC budget 4 Mar RPCV's "Kennedy's Kitchen" records second CD 4 Mar Sam Farr asks Army to reconsider burial policy 3 Mar Bayanihan jewelry designed by Philippines RPCV 2 Mar Todd Vetter receives calling during PC service 2 Mar Sargent Shriver still on Washington's A-list 2 Mar Photographer Bill Owens publishes new book 2 Mar Crisis Corps to open new program in Sri Lanka 28 Feb PC wants new stories for "The Great Adventure" 28 Feb Ukraine PCV asks "Is Bush right on Iraq?" 28 Feb Carol Bellamy defends "feminism" in aiding children 28 Feb John Bridgeland discusses role as Bush assistant 28 Feb Paul Theroux recalls high times with Hunter Thompson 28 Feb Elaine Chao Leads Delegation to Uruguay 28 Feb RPCV reunites with friend after 40 years 27 Feb Kay Muldoon-Ibrahim's photography on exhibit 27 Feb Jim Doyle displays political brilliance on tax cuts 26 Feb

---

March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory.

Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

Read the stories and leave your comments.

By Anonymous (217.219.78.28) on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 8:28 am: Edit Post

privet kak vash dela . y ochin rad katori moxet ghovarit s vam .

paka

mohammad