"Many volunteers, myself included, thought that Peace Corps would activate the “Emergency Action Plan” and consolidate us all, if only for information sharing. PC says that they had every reason to believe that this was an isolated incident so consolidating us wasn't necessary, but I tend to agree with other volunteers that in a case like this you need to consolidate, if only for emotional support. (We also found out later that volunteers near her village on the Togo side were consolidated...) Peace Corps always says that our safety is their number one priority, and lots of volunteers felt a bit betrayed. On the other hand, PC Benin did the best that they could considering this situation, and I am guessing that none of us have ever dealt with a situation like this before."
Peace Corps Volunteer Bisous from Benin! writes: On Thursday March 12 at about 1pm, I got a phone call from my boss informing me that one of my friends, a fellow English teacher from the training class ahead of me, had passed away
Monday, March 23, 2009
Our darling Kate
[Excerpt]
On Thursday March 12 at about 1pm, I got a phone call from my boss informing me that one of my friends, a fellow English teacher from the training class ahead of me, had passed away. She said that more information would be shared with us as it became known. Judging from the way in which she shared all of this, I assumed that the death was either an accident or something medical, and sat in my yard crying for an hour or two.
Later that night, a fellow volunteer called me saying that he had heard from two separate sources that the death was in fact a murder. I did not know what to think because I assumed that if the death had been of that nature that Peace Corps would have informed us and consolidated us, so I was not sure whether or not to believe that information. Nonetheless, I was invited to sleep at my neighbors' house that night, and took them up on the offer. After a miserably hot night with no fan and crowded sleeping space, I was awoken at 6:30am by a call from the local priest saying that she had definitely been murdered and that he would be over soon to tell me details.
When he arrived, he told me that she had been brutally murdered with a machete and some other gruesome details that I will spare you. Obviously, I was shaken, shocked, and sick to my stomach, so I had to sit down and try to sort things out. When the tears started coming, the priest immediately told me that I wasn't allowed to be upset because “God wanted this”, and then began lecturing me on how it's not good that I don't come to church very often. This was about the last thing that I needed, so I decided to head to Lokossa to be with some other volunteers.
Before I left, I heard on the radio that the manner of death wasn't quite as gruesome as the nasty rumors had been saying, thank goodness. I also received a phone call from my boss confirming that it had been a murder, and saying that we could do whatever we needed to be comforted, and that there would be a memorial service on Monday in Cotonou.
I spent the weekend relaxing in Lokossa. On Sunday Michelle and I headed to my village because I needed to pack up my things, and on early Monday morning we came to Cotonou. That morning we had an informational meeting between volunteers and staff. Here is what we have learned so far: Kate was sleeping outside on her front porch because it is hot season now and it is too hot to sleep indoors.
At some point during the night, someone came into her porch and killed her. Her body was found on her mattress the next morning, and she was wearing ear plugs. Her dog was shut inside her house. There is an official investigation underway by American, French, and Beninese police (and I think the FBI), and so far there are several people in custody undergoing questioning.
But, as of yet, they can't say anything official and therefore neither can I. Kate lived in a small village right on the border with Benin and Togo. I wanted to give you all of this information to squash any rumors that you may have heard, and hopefully to reduce the fear factor back at home.
The meeting was a bit tense, both because we were obviously all on edge and in shock and because many people were quite angry over how Peace Corps had handled this situation. Many volunteers, myself included, thought that Peace Corps would activate the “Emergency Action Plan” and consolidate us all, if only for information sharing. PC says that they had every reason to believe that this was an isolated incident so consolidating us wasn't necessary, but I tend to agree with other volunteers that in a case like this you need to consolidate, if only for emotional support. (We also found out later that volunteers near her village on the Togo side were consolidated...)
Peace Corps always says that our safety is their number one priority, and lots of volunteers felt a bit betrayed. On the other hand, PC Benin did the best that they could considering this situation, and I am guessing that none of us have ever dealt with a situation like this before. One volunteer decided to leave Benin after this incident.
