Dear Ann Landers - In 1963 and '64, I was administering a Peace Corps project in Northern Somalia...
Peace Corps ordered to pay victim ... in camels
Dear Ann Landers: I read your column every day in Newsday. You have printed several letters about unusual judicial decisions, and I would like to submit the following amazing example.
In 1963 and '64, I was administering a Peace Corps project in Northern Somalia, a semi-desert area where camels were extremely important to the people. One day, a Somali employee who was driving a Peace Corps jeep struck a young Somali man and broke the poor fellow's leg.
Under Somali law, the owner of the vehicle was legally responsible, so the victim sued the Peace Corps for damages. The judge ruled in favor of the victim and decreed that the Peace Corps pay the victim 80 camels.
Since we had no camels, the victim agreed to take money instead. The problem: How much is a camel worth? None of us had anticipated that hurdle, but we were perfectly willing to pay the price of 80 old, broken-down male camels, figuring it would not be very much. The victim, however, had other ideas. He insisted on the price of 80 young, healthy, pregnant female camels.
The negotiations dragged on for several weeks, and finally, we settled on $10 per camel, which would give the victim $800. This was a very large sum of money in Somalia at that time.
That settlement was much greater than any Somali would have been forced to pay, and we knew it, but we were helpless. Of course, because of that huge overpayment, we became the laughingstock of Northern Somalia, and the transaction was thereafter referred to as "American compensation."
-- George in Wantagh, N.Y.
Dear George: It was a good move, in my opinion. Better to have overpaid and been laughed at than to have cheaped out and damaged the image of our great country, which has always been one of generosity. Consider the overpayment your contribution to protecting that image of America.
