3 weeks after i got home, peace corps made the decision to evacuate all of the volunteers out of the country. within the next two weeks, all the volunteers will be leaving kazakhstan due to political and safety concerns. the volunteers just found this information out. peace corps has not yet released any information officially. they will find out more information in the coming weeks. what is known is that there have been some recent terrorist attacks in country. peace corps worked hard to provide volunteers with information about these attacks as they occurred, and they were not directed at volunteers. it has also become increasingly difficult for volunteers to work within their sites because of political influence. many volunteers had to change sites or weren't able to work at their organizations for months at a time. peace corps kazakhstan also currently has the highest rate of sexual assault and rape out of any country in peace corps. these have certainly influenced the decision to suspend the program in kazakhstan. & they certainly played a large role in my decision to leave.
Kazakhstan Peace Corps Volunteer "there rises an unspeakable desire" writes: my kazakhstan journey came to an end
Thursday, November 17, 2011
my kazakhstan journey came to an end.
Caption: The US's Peace Corps is pulling out of Kazakhstan days after a gunman killed seven people in the southern city of Taras. A police investigator examines a Kalashnikov machine gun at the site of an attack in Taraz on Nov 12. Photo: REUTERS
so i have been putting off writing this post. mainly because i am just not really sure what to say, what to leave out, and who really wants to know. i felt as though i should write something though. bring some sort of closure to this blog, and quite possibly maybe some closure to this experience for me.
as i'm sure you gathered from my last post, i had finally reached a point of comfort in my city. i was happy. i had great teachers to work with, great students to teach, and great support from friends. i moved into my own apartment (after having to help the host family kill a sheep after Ramadan) and was really feeling like i was finally getting a hold of this thing called integration.
every volunteer leaves america knowing the risks that are involved in serving in the peace corps and living overseas. we all saw the 20/20 just weeks before we left. and we all leave thinking, "that will never happen to me." unfortunately, this is not always the case...and it ended up not being the case for me either.
after months of grappling and essentially wandering around aimlessly through zhez, i came to the decision that it was time to come home. i left kazakhstan on oct. 23 through interrupted service. it was certainly not an easy decision to make. i didn't want to leave the teachers i had become such great friends with and who had come to depend on me. i was also sad to leave all my volunteer friends, especially without any goodbye.
i am truly heart broken about the way my peace corps service went. it was certainly not the dream i had for years when thinking of peace corps. for future volunteers reading this blog, do not be discouraged. i still love peace corps as an organization. i think they made some mistakes, but if given the option to do it again, i would.
3 weeks after i got home, peace corps made the decision to evacuate all of the volunteers out of the country. within the next two weeks, all the volunteers will be leaving kazakhstan due to political and safety concerns. the volunteers just found this information out. peace corps has not yet released any information officially. they will find out more information in the coming weeks. what is known is that there have been some recent terrorist attacks in country. peace corps worked hard to provide volunteers with information about these attacks as they occurred, and they were not directed at volunteers. it has also become increasingly difficult for volunteers to work within their sites because of political influence. many volunteers had to change sites or weren't able to work at their organizations for months at a time. peace corps kazakhstan also currently has the highest rate of sexual assault and rape out of any country in peace corps. these have certainly influenced the decision to suspend the program in kazakhstan. & they certainly played a large role in my decision to leave.
my experience in kazakhstan was truly life changing. i am sad that it is over, but i am so glad that it happened. i have learned heaps about my strength as an individual. i surprised myself daily, and was surprised even more often by the generosity and hospitality of the people i was living amongst. please keep the current vols in kaz in your thoughts and prayers during the coming weeks. it will be a time of uncertain plans and possibly life-changing decisions.
as for the golden question: "what are you going to do now?"
i haven't a clue. not a clue. right now i am staying with the parentals and hunting for the ever-elusive job. i will start classes in the spring to finish my master's in education. && in a couple of weeks i will be running my first 5k with my sister! (even though i'm not in kaz, i am still aiming to complete some of those goals. =))
sorry for the vague nature of this post. if you have any questions...feel free to email me.
signing out for now,
