2007.01.13: January 13, 2007: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Privacy: Lincoln Journal Star: Jim Keyser writes: The line between privacy and isolation
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Kenya:
Peace Corps Kenya :
Peace Corps Kenya: Newest Stories:
2007.01.13: January 13, 2007: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Privacy: Lincoln Journal Star: Jim Keyser writes: The line between privacy and isolation
Jim Keyser writes: The line between privacy and isolation
Summer before last, my wife and I traveled in Kenya during the month of July. We visited our oldest daughter, who was a Peace Corps volunteer in the remote village of Birongo (no running water or electricity!). We returned from Kenya, got off the plane in Omaha, drove into our east Lincoln neighborhood, then simultaneously looked at each other, and in a synchronized duet we both exclaimed, “Where is everybody?” In Kenya we had been immersed in a country and a culture where people are visible everywhere almost all of the time. From Nairobi to Meru to Kisii to Lake Victoria to Birongo, there were always people and more people … walking along the highway, standing in the crowded marketplace, working at a job site, sitting near their homes, lying in a field next to cattle grazing, or talking with friends in the countryside. Kenya is a third world country, and, for the most part, a large percentage of Kenyans literally “live on the edge.” They are forced to depend upon each other in times of need, so I don’t want to overly romanticize Kenyan togetherness. But our own Lincoln neighborhood was in stark contrast to the bustling Kenya villages and neighborhoods and, though it helped me to appreciate all we have in Lincoln, it also made me wonder what we might be missing. Granted, there is a lot of neighborliness in some Lincoln neighborhoods … but none can match what I saw in Kenya. With the advent of TV, air conditioners, computers, automatic garage door openers (where we disappear into our houses), the demise of front porches and the “busyness” which consumes so much of our lives, ours has become a culture of privacy where people can live right next door for years and never become acquainted.
Jim Keyser writes: The line between privacy and isolation
The line between privacy and isolation
BY JIM KEYSER
Saturday, Jan 13, 2007 - 12:16:19 am CST
Summer before last, my wife and I traveled in Kenya during the month of July. We visited our oldest daughter, who was a Peace Corps volunteer in the remote village of Birongo (no running water or electricity!).
We returned from Kenya, got off the plane in Omaha, drove into our east Lincoln neighborhood, then simultaneously looked at each other, and in a synchronized duet we both exclaimed, “Where is everybody?” In Kenya we had been immersed in a country and a culture where people are visible everywhere almost all of the time. From Nairobi to Meru to Kisii to Lake Victoria to Birongo, there were always people and more people … walking along the highway, standing in the crowded marketplace, working at a job site, sitting near their homes, lying in a field next to cattle grazing, or talking with friends in the countryside.
We found Kenyans to be wonderfully gracious and hospitable. As we walked the mile and a half dirt road from our daughter’s house to the nearest paved highway, people sat or stood near their homes and regularly ventured out to greet us with a hearty Kenyan handshake and warm welcome.
Even the cheap “matatu” (14-passenger van) puts you thigh to thigh and shoulder to shoulder with other travelers, because often there were more than 14 people aboard!
Kenya is a third world country, and, for the most part, a large percentage of Kenyans literally “live on the edge.” They are forced to depend upon each other in times of need, so I don’t want to overly romanticize Kenyan togetherness. But our own Lincoln neighborhood was in stark contrast to the bustling Kenya villages and neighborhoods and, though it helped me to appreciate all we have in Lincoln, it also made me wonder what we might be missing. Granted, there is a lot of neighborliness in some Lincoln neighborhoods … but none can match what I saw in Kenya.
With the advent of TV, air conditioners, computers, automatic garage door openers (where we disappear into our houses), the demise of front porches and the “busyness” which consumes so much of our lives, ours has become a culture of privacy where people can live right next door for years and never become acquainted.
On a trip to Spain a few years ago to visit another daughter (if it weren’t for our kids, we’d never get out of the house!), we were walking from our hotel to dinner quite late one night in Granada. What we witnessed and experienced was a moonlight paseo, or a stroll often arm in arm, of young, old and in between with busy toddlers fascinated by outdoor fountains, and babies being wheeled in stylish buggies by proud young parents.
It was obviously a regular evening gathering in the city square where people came to eat at outdoor restaurant tables, but also to leisurely sit, walk and talk into the night. We were surprised at the late hour for small children, but it was obvious the babies, along with their parents, were being lauded and affirmed by grandmotherly and grandfatherly passers-by who oohed and aahed at the smiling children.
My experiences in Kenya and Spain reminded me of growing up in a small Nebraska town where life was not so private, where people knew and talked to their neighbors, where folks pitched in to help out, and where we kids knew there were more adults than just our parents keeping an eye on us.
It’s easy to idealize life in other countries or in small town Nebraska “way back when,” but occasionally I wonder if we’ve lost some of the peculiar connections and solid bonds which hold us together as human neighbors and city dwellers.
When does privacy become isolation? Where do we engage each other in friendly, neighborly, relaxed conversations? Where do we find opportunities to learn about and care about those who live in close proximity to us? If there are no front porches (and I don’t mean those faux front porches in my neighborhood), then where can we sit and debate politics, religion, football, teenagers and the city budget? Without these shared conversations, how will we fulfill the dream of Jefferson and Madison who both regarded lively public discourse vital to thriving democracies?
It’s ironic in America that we can live so close to each other and yet not always be friendly or talkative, while people on Oprah, YouTube, or myspace.com will share the most intimate details of their private lives with millions of perfect strangers.
I’m as private as anyone else, and my work, which is filled with people, can cause me to withdraw into my cocoon (house) for privacy. I know the lure and pull of the private, and certainly privacy is a necessary part of our lives. But sometimes I wonder if we’re stretching at the very human fabric that holds us all together when we become distant to even our closest neighbors. I keep remembering Kenya and Spain, where privacy seemed to be more public.
Dr. Jim Keyser is pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: January, 2007; Peace Corps Kenya; Directory of Kenya RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Kenya RPCVs; Nebraska
When this story was posted in March 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Lincoln Journal Star
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kenya; Privacy
PCOL35921
28