2011.01.20: January 20, 2011: Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "Life in a Hut" writes: I never expected that I would be writing my farewell to Niger post only three months into my service, but some things are beyond my control.
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Niger:
Peace Corps Niger :
Peace Corps Niger: Newest Stories:
2011.01.17: January 17, 2011: Peace Corps Suspends Program in Niger; All Volunteers Evacuated Safely :
2011.01.17: January 17, 2011: Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "This Anasara Life" writes: This morning, at 5:30 a.m., I boarded a plane to Morocco and say goodbye to Niger, potentially for forever :
2011.01.20: January 20, 2011: Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "Life in a Hut" writes: I never expected that I would be writing my farewell to Niger post only three months into my service, but some things are beyond my control.
Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "Life in a Hut" writes: I never expected that I would be writing my farewell to Niger post only three months into my service, but some things are beyond my control.
"Receiving the phone call that I would have to leave my village only 10 days after arriving was a hard fact to swallow. My 10-week training session had come to a close, I had sworn-in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and I was ready to live on my own and start my personal volunteer work and village life adventure when without warning it was all taken away from me. Soon after receiving the phone call I walked around my village and did my best to explain to my villagers in Hausa why I had to leave so soon after my arrival. It is hard to explain in English why I had to leave Niger so putting the words in Hausa was even more difficult! I felt horrible leaving the village as my presence there was a huge deal for the villagers. As I mentioned in my last blog post they haven't had a volunteer since 1990 and I was the first white person that many of the villagers had ever seen aka to them I was a celebrity!"
Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "Life in a Hut" writes: I never expected that I would be writing my farewell to Niger post only three months into my service, but some things are beyond my control.
Peace Out Niger
January 20, 2011 by dpiccinini
Caption: Two French citizens who died after being kidnapped from this restaurant in Niamey, the capital of Niger, on Janaury 9, 2011 were probably killed by their captors. French troops were attempting to rescue them when they found the bodies.
I never expected that I would be writing my farewell to Niger post only three months into my service, but some things are beyond my control. Everything is fine and I am perfectly safe, but I was emergency evacuated from Niger last Thursday, January 12th 2011. Although I was excited to bring in the new year with my new village adventure, Al-Qaida had different plans for me. On the day before I was to be evacuated I received a phone call from a Nigerien Peace Corps staff member who informed me that a kidnapping of two Frenchmen had occurred in Niamey, the capital of Niger. The victims were innocent aid workers who were relaxing at a local bar just blocks away from the Peace Corps hostel and bureau. These kidnappings have been an ongoing occurrence in Niger over the past few years as Malian Al-Qaida members have successfully attempted kidnappings of various Westerners in Niger.
Although Americans were not directly threatened, Peace Corps decided that the risk was too great to keep volunteers Niger. Since Westerners are very rare in Niger Americans are often mistaken for Frenchmen due to the white color of their skin. I have never been anywhere in Niger where people didn't automatically start conversation with me in French before I would shock them with my "local" Hausa skills!
Receiving the phone call that I would have to leave my village only 10 days after arriving was a hard fact to swallow. My 10-week training session had come to a close, I had sworn-in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and I was ready to live on my own and start my personal volunteer work and village life adventure when without warning it was all taken away from me. Soon after receiving the phone call I walked around my village and did my best to explain to my villagers in Hausa why I had to leave so soon after my arrival. It is hard to explain in English why I had to leave Niger so putting the words in Hausa was even more difficult! I felt horrible leaving the village as my presence there was a huge deal for the villagers. As I mentioned in my last blog post they haven't had a volunteer since 1990 and I was the first white person that many of the villagers had ever seen aka to them I was a celebrity!
Even though this is a very hard situation for me I can only imagine how much worse this is affecting the innocent people of my village as well as the numerous villagers that the 98 Peace Corps Niger were serving. It just isn't fair as Niger is probably one of the safest countries in the world and that terrorists from Mali could ruin Western work and aid for the Nigerien people. I mean what is going to happen to Niger when all the Westerners pull out of the country for fear of kidnappings? How will development progress and the necessary aid get to the Nigerien people?
Basically as you can probably imagine I have been on an emotional rollercoaster all week. After evacuating Niger all 98 PCVs were flown to Morocco for an evacuation conference. The best part about my "vacation" is that I have running water, electricity and a real bed…all things that I only dreamed of a week ago! On the down side I am absolutely freezing as I am used to the perpetual summer Nigerien weather! Luckily for me, I packed the night before leaving for Niger and without realizing that "cold season" in Niger was really 90 degrees I packed my fleece jacket as well as numerous sweatshirts and long sleeved shirts! The conference has been pretty crazy as I've been in constant meetings and medical action since my arrival. On top of that I just received word that I somehow managed to get parasites from the water in Niger…what a nice little souvenir from my adventure!
Aside from all the medical madness we are all trying to figure out the next step. All I know as of now is that I am not going back to Niger, which is very sad as I was really getting used to life there and I was pulled out before I could be completely settled. It is also upsetting that at the end of this week I will be separated from all the friends I made during my 3 months in Niger, both Nigeriens and fellow PC volunteers. This sad reality of everything is just starting to set in and is making my transition a difficult one.
The interesting reality of my situation is that I could literally be anywhere at this time next week! I could still be here in Morocco awaiting decisions, in a different country beginning a new service, in Spain enjoying tapas and sangria or back in America with my family and friends. I am not ready to end my service as a Peace Corps volunteer, as I am still very passionate about grassroots development so I sincerely hope that a new assignment opens up for me in the near future.
Thank you so much for all the support you have given me over the past three months. The numerous emails, blog comments and letters have really helped me through my transition to African life! My time in Niger was not easy (I will never forget the first time I had to use a latrine), but it was an amazing experience and I will greatly miss my life there and the relationships I built. Although I hate the unknown and am upset that I will not be returning to Niger I am excited for what the future holds. I promise to update my blog with my future destination as soon as I have that information. As they say in Hausa, "sai hankori" (have patience)!
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: January, 2011; Peace Corps Niger; Directory of Niger RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Niger RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Evacuation; Blogs - Niger
When this story was posted in January 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| How Volunteers Remember Sarge As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge." |
| Support Independent Funding for the Third Goal The Peace Corps has always neglected the third goal, allocating less than 1% of their resources to "bringing the world back home." Senator Dodd addressed this issue in the "Peace Corps for the 21st Century" bill passed by the US Senate and Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter proposed a "Peace Corps Foundation" at no cost to the US government. Both are good approaches but the recent "Comprehensive Assessment Report" didn't address the issue of independent funding for the third goal at all. |
| Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams |
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: Personal Web Site
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Niger; Safety; Evacuation; Blogs - Niger
PCOL46508
92