Peace Corps Week and NPCA National Day of Action
March 1st, 2008 by dece.Peace Corps and NPCA are encouraging PCVs and RPCVs to share the third goal. The problem here is that this is really contrary to what Peace Corps and NPCA allows. NPCA’s blog will not post comments it doesn’t like. For example, it will post a negative comment about Peace Corps spying and State Department or the military, but won’t allow explanations. Peace Corps won’t tell anyone that several countries are consolidating because of constitutional unrest. They do not respond to emails.
Peace Corps bloggers are sharing on their blogs, something that is monitored daily by Peace Corps and discouraged. PCVs share the nice stories Peace Corps likes to keep their jobs and can’t really express themselves or they are threatened.
Peace Corps and NPCA encourage blind following, especially when it’s the budget, anti State Department or military. PCVs should be asking themselves questions before blindly following. Yes, you can’t express yourself and expect a job with Peace Corps, but be anti US government and they hire right away.
The latest issue is spying. Peace Corps quoted the agencies charter, but wouldn’t mention the contract and changes that have been made when you sign up. NPCA sells off it is paid by Peace Corps to lobby against the military on behalf of Peace Corps. All this is strange considering Peace Corps has memorandums of understanding and country agreements with dictators that have been put in power by military coups and destroyed the native Fijian democratic government. All other aid, except for military aid and Peace Corps aid is cut off. Peace Corps just got 10 million from the foreign military aid budget. Thailand and the Philippines are the same and perceived as countries that have military coups all the time, so we might as well stay. These militaries work closely with Peace Corps. The spying issue might start right there.
So, we went and shared anyway. I got to solve Bolivia, but Peace Corps doesn’t like the answer. It’s a training issue. If you keep files and report on people to your program manager in your site as Peace Corps requires, you are spying. An HCN trainer is just going to accuse you of spying and then you have to accuse them of spying and the US government is probably just going to say they probably spy for another country. Either way it’s espionage and your guilty. So, when this happened in training we agreed never to file reports. They threatened to fire us allot.
We are at the height of Peace Corps expansion. There is pressure to stay in countries. There is pressure to expand in countries. It has become too dangerous for PCVs. Their clearances change. They end up in areas where they are not trained and cannot do the job. In some countries the State Department pays danger pay. We might take a look there.
As Peace Corps and NPCA lobby Congress for money and legislation during Peace Corps Week and NPCA’s National Day of Action, RPCVs and PCVs should know all the issues. You can bet those Congressmen do.
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
I appreciate that you have a right to express your own opinions. I understand some, but not all of what you are saying. I read your post twice, but your writing is a little confusing.
It seems more like a rant than a fully developed critique. I did not pick up any concrete, positive, or realistic suggestions. I have worked for numerous government agencies. Things are not always to everyones liking, but that is the nature of any large organization.
April 5th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I have to agree with the previous comment. I read this post last night and again today (2x) and somehow I find myself still very clueless as to what exactly you are trying to say. I suggest that next time you write a much shorter essay so that you are able to keep up with your own ideas. Quality is always better then quantity. But hey, here I am ranting as well!