2011.01.20: January 20, 2011: Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "zot in Niger bush camels" writes: The last couple of weeks have been truly chaotic
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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 "zot in Niger bush camels" writes: The last couple of weeks have been truly chaotic
Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "zot in Niger bush camels" writes: The last couple of weeks have been truly chaotic
"Almost exactly two weeks ago two men were kidnapped from a bar in Niamey, Niger. The bar is close to volunteer houses and to the hostel. In the first days following we were given a curfew but otherwise heard little. It is now apparent that Peace Corps Washington was busy during those days conferring on what to do. They decided to evacuate Niger, and I received a call at work Wednesday morning telling me to pack two bags and that I would be leaving in the next two days. The resulting race to be ready by the time our flight left was a whirlwind. I rushed to say goodbye, see people I needed to see, close my bank account (and the hostel account), give away things from my house, see someone from my village, and pack my two bags. Evidence of the muddled hurry is given by the things that I decided to pack. A sealed package of Earl Grey tea. Another package of tea. Random other things. I slept 5 hours in three days, like many volunteers not sleeping at all on the night before we left. We left with a security detail early in the morning, and were stunned by the green beauty of Moroccan fields. In our sleep-deprived minds everything was new and vibrant. We arrived at a very nice hotel and promptly had to sit through a ‘cross-culture' session on Morocco, which, while normally interesting, seemed only barely relevant to us at the time."
Niger Peace Corps Volunteer "zot in Niger bush camels" writes: The last couple of weeks have been truly chaotic
A Near-Final Chapter
0 comments By potterzot Filed in in service, niger
January 20th, 2011 @ 10:29 am
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.
The last couple of weeks have been truly chaotic. Almost exactly two weeks ago two men were kidnapped from a bar in Niamey, Niger. The bar is close to volunteer houses and to the hostel. In the first days following we were given a curfew but otherwise heard little. It is now apparent that Peace Corps Washington was busy during those days conferring on what to do. They decided to evacuate Niger, and I received a call at work Wednesday morning telling me to pack two bags and that I would be leaving in the next two days.
The resulting race to be ready by the time our flight left was a whirlwind. I rushed to say goodbye, see people I needed to see, close my bank account (and the hostel account), give away things from my house, see someone from my village, and pack my two bags. Evidence of the muddled hurry is given by the things that I decided to pack. A sealed package of Earl Grey tea. Another package of tea. Random other things. I slept 5 hours in three days, like many volunteers not sleeping at all on the night before we left.
We left with a security detail early in the morning, and were stunned by the green beauty of Moroccan fields. In our sleep-deprived minds everything was new and vibrant. We arrived at a very nice hotel and promptly had to sit through a ‘cross-culture' session on Morocco, which, while normally interesting, seemed only barely relevant to us at the time.
Then we started a transfer conference, in which 97 volunteers struggled to figure out what they would like to do in the midst of being ripped from their old life.
The week has involved tears from almost everyone. We wander through the halls desperately trying to finish what needs to be finished, to claw out some tiny island of stability into the sudden emptiness of our lives, but lost and fragile, at times staring into the distance or laughing all too loudly. So little is in our control.
In the end I was offered two possible posts, one to Rwanda and one back to Guinea. In both cases the time commitment desired is more than I feel I can give, so I have decided to COS and head home.
It is a decision fraught with fear of the irrevocable nature of leaving Peace Corps. It is a decision full of the sudden tearing away of my life in Niger. It is a decision with a vast wasteland of future plans. This can be liberating, but also sad.
I am truly grateful for the support of everyone throughout the past couple of weeks. Please forgive me if I have seemed distant, I have been too drained to really talk about much.
As of tomorrow I will no longer be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I will stay in Morocco for a few days, and then I am off to Spain and Portugal..
I'll have a few more posts about Peace Corps related things, but for the most part, this chapter of my life is finished.
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 |
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Niger; Safety; Evacuation; Blogs - Niger
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