May 28, 2005: Headlines: Figures: Coyne Column: Writers: COS - Ethiopia: COS - Afghanistan: Writing - Afghanistan: PCOL Exclusive: The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Afghanistan: Peace Corps Afghanistan: The Peace Corps In Afghanistan: May 28, 2005: Headlines: Figures: Coyne Column: Writers: COS - Ethiopia: COS - Afghanistan: Writing - Afghanistan: PCOL Exclusive: The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-245-37.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.245.37) on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 6:01 pm: Edit Post

The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan

The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan

The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan

John P. Coyne




Love and War in Afghanistan


 Love and War in Afghanistan

Husband and wife team, Alex Klaits and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits present a unique collection of true stories of Love and War in Afghanistan.
Husband and wife team, Alex Klaits (Kyrgyz Republic 1995-97) and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits have just published Love and War in Afghanistan, (Seven Stories Press) a unique collection of true stories of fourteen ordinary men and women living in Northern Afghanistan. These are tales of young lovers who elope against the wishes of their kin; a mullah whose wit is his only defense against his armed captors; a defector from the Soviet army; a woman who is forced to stand up to gangsters in Tajikistan.

Among the praises for the book, Haleh Esfandiari, Director Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, writes on the blurb, "Alex Klaits and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits have woven a beautiful, moving and haunting tapestry of individual lives in war-torn Afghanistan?. This is a must read for anyone who cares about and wants to grasp present-day Afghanistan."

Klaits knows Afghanistan and the problems of development there. Back in May of 2003 he spoke at an event sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, and said that nongovernmental relief organizations such as Child Fund Afghanistan (where he was program manager) oppose the provisional reconstruction teams, which were established in several Afghan regions earlier this year, because they put military forces in charge of relief work.

"Many of the NGOs are going bankrupt but the military has lots of funds," he said. "We believe the NGOs are capable of doing this work." More practically, Klaits said that the military teams, which are made up of Army special operations soldiers, regular ground troops and Army personnel trained in reconstruction, have failed to tap local resources and have botched construction projects. The teams have hired Afghan construction companies to rebuild schools and hospitals, he said, but don’t have engineers on staff capable of overseeing the work. "The schools being built are already falling down."

In addition, he said, the teams have wasted money by failing to call for community volunteers and for allowing the Afghan construction firms to overcharge for their services."

Spoke like a true RPCV.


 Love and War in Afghanistan









John Coyne is the Editor of the Peace Corps Writers web site.

Hugh Pickens contributed the visual design.






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


Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
The Peace Corps Library Date: March 27 2005 No: 536 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 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

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May 7, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Date: May 7 2005 No: 583 May 7, 2005: This Week's Top Stories
"Peace Corps Online" on recess until May 21 7 May
Carol Bellamy taking the reins at World Learning 7 May
Gopal Khanna appointed White House CFO 7 May
Clare Bastable named Conservationist of the Year 7 May
Director Gaddi Vasquez visits PCVs in Bulgaria 5 May
Abe Pena sets up scholarship fund 5 May
Peace Corps closes recruiting sites 4 May
Hill pessimistic over Korean nuclear program 4 May
Leslie Hawke says PC should split into two organizations 4 May
Peace Corps helps students find themselves 3 May
Kevin Griffith's Tsunami Assistance Project collects 50k 3 May
Tim Wright studied Quechua at UCLA 2 May
Doyle not worried about competition 2 May
Dodd discusses President's Social Security plan 1 May
Randy Mager works in Blue Moon Safaris 1 May
PCVs safe in Togo after disputed elections 30 Apr
Michael Sells teaches Islamic History and Literature 28 Apr

May 7, 2005:  Special Events Date: May 7 2005 No: 582 May 7, 2005: Special Events
"Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30
"American Taboo" author Phil Weiss in Maryland on June 18
Leland Foerster opens photo exhibition at Cal State
RPCV Writers scholarship in Baltimore - deadline June 1
Gary Edwards' music performed in Idaho on May 24
RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000  strong Date: April 2 2005 No: 543 Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong
170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.


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Story Source: PCOL Exclusive

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; Coyne Column; Writers; COS - Ethiopia; COS - Afghanistan; Writing - Afghanistan

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By raul peralta (c-66-177-4-178.hsd1.fl.comcast.net - 66.177.4.178) on Thursday, June 30, 2005 - 10:10 pm: Edit Post

I am looking for Joel horton (orton) he is fron Oregon. He was in Panama 20 years ago.
thanks
raul


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