The Foreign Service Journal, April 2011.Pdf

A FULBRIGHT SCHOLARIN YEREVAN I LIGHTINGTHE YAHRZEIT LAMPS

$4.50 / APRIL 2011 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS

POWER AND PEACEBUILDING Why Women’s Involvement Matters

OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S CONTENTS April 2011 Volume 88, No. 3

F OCUSON Women in Security and Development

WHY WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN PEACEBUILDING MATTERS / 17 For the world to move forward on security issues in an effective manner, women will need to play a greater role in the process. By Kathleen Kuehnast

CONGO’S REAL CURSE / 22 As in many societies, women are the core and fabric of Congolese society. Damage that fabric and the foundation starts to fall apart. By Maggie K. Fleming

THE EMERGENCE OF ISLAMIC FEMINISM / 27 Cover and inside illustrations Just as conservatives have used Islam to hinder women’s empowerment, by Ben Fishman Muslim feminists are using their faith to promote it. photos courtesy of iStockphoto.com By Isobel Coleman

COOK STOVES: FROM BANE TO BOON / 33 Today, Indian women have a real chance to improve their lives, PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 thanks to the Global Cook Stove Alliance. Revolutions Test Diplomacy By Satinder Bindra By Susan R. Johnson UNSCR 1325: SLOW PROGRESS, UNCERTAIN PROSPECTS / 36 Women in civil society organizations have done much more than PEAKING UT S O / 13 governments to advance U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325’s goals. Out with the Old, In with the New By John Tirman By Bruce K. Byers

REFLECTIONS / 76 The Lights F EATURE By Lee-Alison Sibley AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR IN ARMENIA / 41 There’s never a dull moment during a semester spent teaching at a university in Yerevan. By Rochelle Parks-Yancy LETTERS / 7 CYBERNOTES / 9 MARKETPLACE / 11 BOOKS / 59 IN MEMORY / 61 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS / 74

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 OREIGN ERVICE CONTENTS FJ O U R N A L S

Editor STEVEN ALAN HONLEY A F S A N EWS Senior Editor SUSAN B. MAITRA Associate Editor AFSA RELEASES USAID MEMBER SURVEY RESULTS / 47 SHAWN DORMAN AFSA LAUNCHES ITS NEW WEB SITE! / 47 AFSA News Editor AMY MCKEEVER NEWS BRIEFS / 48 Ad & Circulation Manager ED MILTENBERGER AFSA OFFICER ELECTION NOTICE / 48 Art Director CARYN SUKO SMITH VP STATE: GOOD SUPERVISION LEADS TO A GOOD EER SEASON / 49 Editorial Intern DANIELLE DERBES VP USAID: DIVERSITY AT USAID: WHY SHOULD WE CARE? / 50 Advertising Intern SUSANNE BRANDS VP FAS: FOREIGN SERVICE BUMPER STICKERS / 51 EDITORIAL BOARD TED WILKINSON AFSA ANNOUNCES SINCLAIRE LANGUAGE AWARD WINNERS / 54 Chairman KELLY ADAMS-SMITH THIS MONTH IN DIPLOMATIC HISTORY / 55 JOSEPH BRUNS STEPHEN W. BUCK EVENT CALENDAR/CLASSIFIEDS / 56 JULIE GIANELLONI CONNOR MARY E. GLANTZ GEORGE JONES KATE WIEHAGEN LEONARD LYNN ROCHE RACHEL SCHNELLER JAMES P. SEEVERS

THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly with a combined July-August issue by the American Foreign Service Associa- tion (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal sub- scription: AFSA members – $13 included in annual dues; others – $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045 FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.afsa.org; www.fsjournal.org © American Foreign Service Association, 2011. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to: AFSA Attn: Address Change 2101 E Street N.W. Washington DC 20037-2990 Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste.

4 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 PRESIDENT’S VIEWS Revolutions Test Diplomacy BY SUSAN R. JOHNSON

Shortly after the crisis in Americans expect diplomacy, But military interventions must remain Egypt began to unfold, News- the primary tool of foreign pol- the option of last resort. week magazine asserted that icy, to be equally dynamic and Given the dilemma intrinsic to the President Barack Obama had transformational. divergent pulls of the values we es- blown it, alienating President The overarching consider- pouse, the interests we protect and the Hosni Mubarak and his sup- ations for U.S. diplomacy must various international constraints under porters on one side and the always be our values and our which we operate, the controversy over Egyptian people on the other, espe- interests, but these are sometimes in the American approach to the Egypt- cially the dissatisfied and restive youth. conflict. So it is crucial to balance the ian crisis, and now the Libyan one, is Other analysts hailed him as astute for two elements properly. An increasingly understandable. So is the challenge maintaining a balanced position and important question is how intrusive to and test that our diplomacy faces. not trying — or appearing — to take be in promoting democracy and human Surely, whether in “normal” circum- credit for change that belongs entirely rights, especially in countries that are stances or during crises, we cannot to the Egyptians themselves. These not democracies, whether friendly to us abandon balance and sensitivity to in- two opposing assessments exemplify or not. Can we overstep longstanding ternational norms in our diplomatic how severely revolutionary situations diplomatic norms that proscribe inter- practice. Yet from a broader perspec- test American diplomacy. ference in the internal affairs of other tive, our diplomacy must not stray from There were times when popular up- countries and emphasize respect for our core values, which remain the risings against colonial occupation of- sovereignty? And should we encourage essence of the American vision and our fered a clear choice — side with the destabilizing forces in the name of our global role. This should be the lode- colonial power or support national as- values? There are no simple answers stone for our diplomacy in a fast-chang- pirations for freedom and self-determi- to these questions. ing world where the rules of inter- nation. The moral position was This dilemma becomes sharper in national conduct are also undergoing a unequivocal. As a country itself born of times of crisis, when the arguments for definite, albeit slow, change. revolution, the United States wel- an interventionist approach gain Take, for example, the principle of comed decolonization. But when peo- strength, as the debate over the Libyan national sovereignty. There is dimin- ple rise against authoritarian or dicta- situation demonstrates. We have al- ishing international tolerance for mas- torial systems now, the choice is often ready pushed successfully for United sacres of civilians, and the issue of less clear, and more controversial. Nations sanctions, but what next? intervention in such situations is the Many countries, including Russia, Even if we ultimately favor a military subject of ongoing discussions in inter- China, India, Brazil and some Euro- measure such as a no-fly zone, it will national fora. The very concept of sov- pean states, take the easy way out, have to be preceded by diplomacy to ereignty itself is evolving under the maintaining that these are internal mat- garner international support — the ap- pressures of globalization, information ters and invoking the principle of non- proach President George H.W. Bush flows, democratic aspirations and sup- interference in the internal affairs of pursued so skillfully before launching port for human rights. other countries. But American foreign Operation Desert Storm during the I invite your contributions and com- policy aspires to be proactive, and first Persian Gulf War 20 years ago. ments at [email protected]. I

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 5

LETTERS

A Pool of Talent I would add that my grandfather ice officers from 31 to 59. The result is I read with great interest AFSA and father may well be the only father- embassy staffs with few or no diplomats President Susan Johnson’s article, son team to be declared persona non even close to the ages of this fast-rising “Time for the Foreign Service Reserve grata, a distinction often referred to as “successor generation” in the Middle Corps,” that appeared in the January the Order of the Raspberry — at least East, Africa, Latin America and much issue of the Foreign Service Journal. in Chapin family dinner-table conver- of Asia. I have long felt that we have a gi- sation! The Foreign Service should be a ca- gantic waste of talent in this country be- Edith C. Chapin reer service, as is the military, with offi- cause of not using the professional skills Washington, D.C. cers entering in their 20s and gaining, of people who are retired — often all by the time they are 45 to 50, the too early. I once made a proposal to Justly Complimentary breadth of geographic and professional rectify this that would operate on a gov- I just read your FS Heritage profile experience required of our senior ernmentwide basis, but I would heartily of my grandfather, Selden Chapin, and diplomats. Officers who are already subscribe to something that dealt only am thrilled by it. Jack Binns’ article was middle-aged when entering the For- with the State Department. complete, well-written and justly com- eign Service will only rarely gain com- George P. Shultz plimentary. Thank you so much for parable experience. Former Secretary of State doing it. We have long had an astute com- Hoover Institution Roger Kirk mitment to greater diversity in our Stanford, Calif. Ambassador, retired diplomatic corps. But a Foreign Serv- Washington, D.C. ice with few men and women younger Remembering Selden Chapin than 30, or even 35, is not diverse. Nor I thoroughly enjoyed your feature Don’t Trust Anyone Over 31 is it likely to be able to cultivate frank, about my grandfather, “Selden Chapin: Every serious analysis of the current productive (or enjoyable) relationships Father of the 1946 Foreign Service turmoil in the Middle East points out with this rising tide of youth worldwide. Act,” in your February issue. Sixty-five that there are some 100 million people It will take years to correct this prob- years after that legislation was enacted, (to use Thomas Friedman’s figure) in lem. But a maximum entry age of 31 it is wonderful to know that history has the Arab world between the ages of 15 for career Foreign Service officers not relegated events to mere family leg- and 29. All Foreign Service Journal should be restored immediately. end. readers understand how challenging it C. Robert Dickerman Thank you also for noting the family is for our embassies to work with this FSO, retired service of my grandfather, my father, demographic. Swoope, Va. my great-uncle and his son. Among The two issues are related. Twenty- them, they held more than a dozen am- nine years ago, compelled by then- Giving Locally Employed bassadorial posts. They were proud Representative Claude Pepper, D-Fla., Staff Their Due public servants; proud to share family the State Department raised the maxi- In both my overseas Foreign Serv- and the Foreign Service. mum entry age for new Foreign Serv- ice assignments, I have seen firsthand

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7 CHANGE OF ADDRESS L ETTERS

the benefits of keeping Locally Em- year at grade 9 before being promoted Moving? ployed Staff at post for years. These to 10. The Bureau of Human Re- dedicated employees provide continu- sources tells me that I can apply for a ity and institutional memory and use waiver of the minimum waiting period, their contacts to enable Foreign Serv- which we will do. But this policy makes Take AFSA ice personnel to carry out our mis- no sense. It simply punishes local staff sions. Indeed, many visitors to post who are already employed at post. With You! express appreciation for their contri- After all, if we had selected an out- butions. side candidate for the position, that But while we publicly praise our person would join the mission at the Change your address LES colleagues, we do them a great advertised grade of 10 right away. Or online at: disservice when it comes to career ad- if the Locally Employed Staff member www.afsa.org/ vancement. I recently went through were to resign his current position be- address_change.aspx the long process of creating a new Lo- fore accepting our offer, he could start cally Employed Staff position within at the 10 level. To log in, use your my office here in Nairobi. After I What possible justification could AFSA membership number drafted the position description and there be for penalizing exemplary em- on the mailing label of your conducted the standard Computer ployees who are trying to better them- Foreign Service Journal. Aided Job Evaluation, the job came out selves, and help their post, by assuming The number is on the top left at grade 10. We then interviewed ap- more responsibilities? Our Locally corner of the label, right above plicants and made our selection, a cur- Employed Staff members deserve to your name. It may be rent LES at the grade of 8. be promoted and paid just like any 2 digits or up to 7 digits. Only after we completed all the pa- other employee in the federal govern- perwork to hire and promote the new ment. I The password is your last name. employee to the designated rank of 10 Steven D’Angelo It is not case sensitive. did we learn that the Foreign Affairs Diplomatic Security Manual (3 FAM 7576.1, to be precise) Special Agent Or requires him to serve at least one full Embassy Nairobi

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8 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 CYBERNOTES

potential human rights To counter this, state-owned Tele- Shashank Joshi of the Royal United A catastrophe is unfolding in com Egypt, which owns most of the Services Institute, a British defense Libya as protesters brave live fiber-optic cables that transmit infor- think-tank, notes that social media pro- gunfire and death for a third day mation, flipped the “off” switch on Jan. vided a conduit for young people who running. Libya is trying to 28. This severely inhibited the opposi- stand outside formal institutions. As impose an information blackout, tion’s ability to use Facebook, Twitter the region’s large youth population but it can’t hide a massacre. and other social media to organize searches for ways to participate in so- gatherings. As James Glanz and John ciety, social media are a useful, highly — Sarah Leah Whitson, Markoff report in a Feb. 15 New York visible tool. Joshi also credits the role Middle East and North Africa Times article, similar telecommunica- of social networks in accelerating the director at Human Rights tions monopolies exist across the Mid- circulation of imagery and testimony to Watch, speaking on Feb. 20, dle East and North Africa, making it fuel international support and draw in www.afronline.org. relatively easy for governments to halt the uncommitted. the flow of information, at least tem- On the Feb. 14 edition of “PBS Social Media as a porarily. Even so, the shutdown in NewsHour,” Al-Jazeera’s Abderrahim Revolutionary Force Egypt lasted barely a week. Foukara explained how the marriage The future of the uprisings that re- Meanwhile, as Tina Rosenberg ex- of television with new media makes it cently overthrew the leaders of Tunisia plains in a Feb. 16 Foreign Policy com- possible to spread messages and gather and Egypt, and threaten to do the mentary titled “Revolution U,” the information from citizens on the same in Libya, is still uncertain as we Egyptian youth movement had already ground. Appearing on the same pro- go to press in mid-March. But one learned an important lesson from the gram, Washington State University’s thing is already clear: they have already botched protests of April 6, 2008: No Lawrence Pintak hailed the Egyptian demonstrated the power of social group can succeed without a strategy opposition’s communications strategy media to shape revolutions. and a clear message, regardless of the as a “one-two punch.” Social media On Feb. 22, the Carnegie Endow- number of fans it has on Facebook. helped the youth groups coordinate ment’s Michele Dunne spoke to the That said, the sheer popularity of their protests, while television dealt the Women’s Foreign Policy Group on the the Facebook pages for the April 6 knockout blow by broadcasting their topic of “Egypt: How a Virtual Revo- Youth Movement and We Are All protests around the country. lution Became Actual.” In her analysis, Khaled Said (named for an Alexandria During the second week of protests Tunisian President Ben Ali’s Jan. 14 businessman who was dragged from an in Egypt, meanwhile, a Feb. 5 Wash- overthrow inspired many different ele- Internet café by police and beaten to ington Post editorial sharply criticized ments of Egyptian society to join forces death in the street last summer) helped the State Department for not using the against President Hosni Mubarak. break the barrier of fear in Egypt. $30 million that Congress allocated for This transformed “virtual” activism, That support, in turn, gave revolution- support of global Internet freedom in which had been slowly gathering force ary groups the confidence to mount in- the Fiscal Year 2010 budget. In fact, there since 2008, into mass protests. creasingly effective protests. over the past three years, the State De-

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9 C YBERNOTES partment has awarded $20 million in entails waste,” the report says. “But the poses an array of legislative, regulatory grants to fund Internet freedom in var- scale of the problems in Iraq and and budgetary measures. Key recom- ious countries. In a Feb. 15 speech at Afghanistan also reflects the toxic in- mendations include: George Washington University, Secre- terplay of huge sums of money pump- • Growing the federal government’s tary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ed into relatively small economies.” organic capability to perform critical reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Commission Co-Chair Michael functions and developing a deployable Internet freedom and announced that Thibault, a former deputy director of contingency-acquisition cadre; State plans to spend more than $25 the Defense Contract Audit Agency, • Restricting reliance on contrac- million to support it this year. comments: “When it comes to over- tors for security functions; We will continue to report on this sight of contingency contracting, we’ve • Strengthening enforcement tools lively debate, both in upcoming edi- been driving beyond the reach of our that hold contractors and government tions of Cybernotes and elsewhere in headlights. Reforms are badly need- officials accountable for performance; the Journal. ed.” • Establishing high-level positions — Danielle Derbes, Editorial Intern After explaining the budgetary and at Defense, State and USAID, and a policy reasons for America’s over-renew “dual-hatted” policy position in Controlling an Army liance on contractors, the study pro- the exective branch with responsibili- of Contractors On Feb. 24 the Commission on Sites of the Month: www.girleffect.org and www.girlup.org Wartime Contracting (www.wartime To change the world, invest in girls: This is the simple but powerful concept being contracting.gov) issued its second re- promoted and spread online in two major campaigns, The Girl Effect and GirlUp. port to Congress detailing 32 ways to • When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, eliminate billions of dollars in waste as- she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. sociated with the federal government’s • An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20 per- unprecedented use of contractors in cent. An extra year of secondary school: 15 to 25 percent. Iraq and Afghanistan. • When a girl gets a chance, she will reinvest her income and knowledge back Titled “At What Risk? Correcting into the community and can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Over-Reliance on Contractors in Con- These notes from www.girleffect.org are part of a global campaign to help girls in the developing world help themselves and their communities. The idea is that tingency Operations,” the report esti- when a girl reaches adolescence, she is at a crossroads. mates that Uncle Sam has spent $177 The Girl Effect campaign — “the unique potential of 600 adolescent girls to end billion since 2002 on contractors oper- poverty for themselves and the world” — seeks to raise awareness and support for ating in the two countries. Currently, girls in the developing world. The message is spreading primarily through social about 200,000 of them work there, a media via a short, inspiring video that illustrates the way things go for many girls in force roughly equal to the combined the developing world after age 12, depending on the opportunities they have. The number of U.S. civilian and military Web site offers toolkits for raising awareness, starting clubs and fundraising. These forces currently assigned to those war can be used to raise money for the Girl Effect Fund or for any other organization that zones. Yet even as the use of hired seeks to assist girls in the developing world. hands has become a “default option” A related campaign — GirlUp — launched by the United Nations Foundation is de- for the Defense Department, State signed to engage and connect American teens to efforts to improve the lives of girls Department and U.S. Agency for In- in the developing world. Specifically, the aim is to mobilize 100,000 American girls ternational Development, vigorous to raise money and awareness to fight poverty, sexual violence and child marriage in oversight and management are too the developing world. And in the process, they gain leadership and advocacy skills. often an administrative after-thought. The GirlUp site, www.girlup.org, is friendly, and pink, and includes material to in- The commission says that contrac- spire American teens to get outside their own personal worlds and get involved. tors have generally performed well in GirlUp uses Facebook, Twitter and other social media, blogs and teen representa- Afghanistan and Iraq. But bribes, kick- tives to get the message out. backs and money laundering have tar- — Shawn Dorman, Associate Editor nished their image. “War by its nature

10 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 C YBERNOTES

WWW.FSJOURNAL.ORG 50 Years Ago... Click on the Marketplace tab on the marquee he policy formulation process is badly served if only those ideas are entertained that happen to correspond with the pre- Tvailing climate of opinion. Let there be, then, within the limits AFSA Insurance Plans of loyal service to the United States, a free play of ideas in the Foreign Service. hirshorn.com/afsa [This] is only possible, however, if the president and Secretary of State will actually defend those of their subordinates who may some day, with the benefit of hindsight, prove to have been wrong. In giving our best judgment we cannot al- AFSA Legacy ways be right, particularly since politics involves constant change, and a judgment afsa.org/FAD made two years ago may look foolish today even though it was quite reasonable at the time it was made. AKA Hotel residences — Editorial, “Daring and Dissent,” FSJ, April 1961. stay-aka.com

Arlington Court Suites ties at both the Office of Management shot and killed two armed men in La- and Budget and the National Security hore back in January. Davis’ connec- arlingtoncourthotel.com Council; tion to the spy agency has seriously • Creating a “J-10” position at the complicated the Obama administra- Clements International Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide a focus tion’s efforts to free him from jail, and clements.com on contingency contracting, which is continues to strain relations between currently subsumed under the Joint the U.S. and Pakistan. Diplomatic Automobile Sales Chiefs’ logistics organization; Created by Congress under Section diplosales.com • Increasing competition among 841 of the National Defense Authori- contractors to promote savings; and zation Act for Fiscal Year 2008, the Inside A U.S. Embassy • Ensuring that training for military eight-member Wartime Contracting afsa.org/inside/ and civilian officials who manage and Commission has broad authority to ex- oversee contingency contracts is made amine wartime spending, including ProMax Management Inc. more consistent and effective. military support contracts, reconstruc- promaxrealtors.com Commission Co-Chair and former tion projects and private security com- Representative Chris Shays, R-Conn., panies. The new report is the panel’s SDFCU says, “If our proposals are enacted, we fifth to date. The commission is slated can save billions of dollars, not only in to disband after issuing its final report sdfcu.org Iraq and Afghanistan but in the next this July. contingency operation.” — Steven Alan Honley, Editor TetraTech In a Feb. 23 Washington Post arti- tetratech.com cle about the commission’s findings, Stake Your Claim! Associated Press reporter Richard The Internet address system is WJD Lardner notes an additional facet of currently based on 21 “generic top- wjdpm.com the issue that was not part of the com- level” domains, of which the top two — mission’s mandate. U.S. intelligence .com. and .net — account for about half agencies also employ contractors, an of the world’s 202 million Internet ad- arrangement that in recent weeks has dresses. (Many of the rest are named produced a serious diplomatic head- for countries; e.g., .fr for France.) ache. Since 2000, the list of generic do- Raymond Allen Davis was working mains has expanded only twice, and When contacting an advertiser, kindly as a Central Intelligence Agency secu- the new options (e.g., .biz, .jobs) have mention the Foreign Service Journal. rity contractor in Pakistan when he not attracted huge audiences. But that

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 11 C YBERNOTES

is about to change with the addition of oping countries and individuals. They a whole array of Web sites with more also charge that the main purpose of subject-specific, sometimes contro- the expansion is to make money for versial suffixes. As Ian Shapira reports ICANN and the winning applicants, in a Feb. 7 Washington Post article, even if that causes aggravation for the impending expansion of the Inter- trademark holders and confusion for net’s domain name system has already the average Internet user. spurred thousands of “Web wildcat- Many organizations and companies ters” to stake their claims on poten- are competing for the same domain tially lucrative new territories. names, in disputes that will likely have The Internet Corporation for As- to be settled either via an ICANN- signed Names and Numbers (www. sponsored auction or a board decision. icann.org) is the body charged with as- For instance, two companies vying for signing the new domain names, part of the environmentally friendly .eco do- its mission to keep the Internet secure, main have competing endorsements: stable and interoperable. Formed in one from a nonprofit chaired by former 1998, the California-based nonprofit Vice President Al Gore; the other from approved the expansion of the current a group founded by former Soviet naming system three years ago, but is Union President Mikhail Gorbachev. still working out the details. ICANN hopes to start accepting ap- As part of that effort, hundreds of plications this spring, but has given no investors, consultants and entrepre- timeline for instituting the new do- neurs converged in San Francisco for mains. the first-ever “.nxt” conference, a — Steven Alan Honley, Editor three-day affair (Feb. 8-10) featuring seminars on ICANN’s complicated Libya’s Next Leader? application procedures. The confer- Cybernotes seldom dabbles in pop ence’s Web site features a banner culture, but an item in the March 1 reading “Join the Internet land rush!” edition of The Guardian persuaded us But unlike the 1889 race to claim to make an exception. Blogger Rich- land in Oklahoma, which was open to ard Adams makes a compelling case all comers, participants in the 2011 that if rambling, narcissistic rhetoric is competition have to pony up $185,000 a prerequisite for being a successful just to submit an application — and dictator, then Libya may have found a that is on top of the $25,000 annual worthy successor to Muammar al- dues all domain operators have to pay Qadhafi in bad-boy Hollywood actor ICANN. (Unsuccessful applicants will Charlie Sheen. have some of their application fee re- (For those of you overseas: Sheen’s turned.) decidedly colorful remarks on a whole ICANN says this requirement will range of topics recently drove CBS to ensure that only well-financed organ- fire him from its hit sitcom, “Two and izations operate the domains, and pro- a Half Men.”) tect against cybersquatters who ac- Skeptical? Take the quiz (www. quire domain names not to operate guardian.co.uk/world/quiz/2011/m them but to be bought out. But critics ar/01/muammar-gaddafi-charlie- complain that the process cuts out sheen-quiz) and see for yourself. I many grassroots organizations, devel- — Steven Alan Honley, Editor

12 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 SPEAKING OUT Out with the Old, In with the New

BY BRUCE K. BYERS

n her December 2010 President’s completed Quadrennial Diplomacy Views column, “Thinking About Washington and Development Review is just the Ithe Unthinkable,” Susan Johnson policymakers latest example of this approach.) In focused on some important implica- addition, countless think-tanks and tions for the future of the Foreign continue to rely on nongovernmental organizations regu- Service found in Joshua Cooper Ramo’s old methods and larly issue studies full of ideas for ad- 2009 book, The Age of the Unthinkable. outdated views of the vancing our diplomatic objectives Her comments were particularly timely role of diplomacy. more effectively. in regard to Ramo’s observation that Occasionally, an individual — the American governmental and corporate late Richard Holbrooke comes to mind institutions, including our diplomatic — has such charisma that he or she can apparatus, are locked in an outdated vi- singlehandedly change perceptions sion of the world. perceptions about the other. (Ambass- and attitudes for the better, at least In his 2010 book, Magic and May- ador John Limbert explores this phe- temporarily. But the usual fate of rec- hem: The Delusions of American For- nomenon in his excellent 2009 book, ommendations for systemic change to eign Policy from Korea to Afghanistan, Negotiating with Iran: Wrestling the an institution, however worthy, is sink- Derek Leebaert goes a few steps fur- Ghosts of History.) ing without a trace beneath the en- ther, illustrating how a pattern he calls trenched bureaucracy that Ramo and “magical thinking” has warped Ameri- The Power of the Familiar Leebaert describe so well. can foreign policy for many decades Ramo and Leebaert concur that Making matters worse, the re- now. He points out that every govern- people tend to revert to what is most sources that our foreign affairs agen- ment has its own illusions — its own known to them through their personal cies and the Foreign Service receive magical thinking in which leaders and experience, rather than relying on ab- are woefully inadequate for keeping their advisers often suspend reality and stract arguments. In addition, most of abreast of fast-breaking developments overestimate their capabilities and re- us follow the leader in any hierarchy. around the world. So Washington pol- sources. As a result, contrary thinkers tend to be icymakers continue to rely on old Our government’s traditional sys- branded as eccentrics and marginal- methods and outdated views of the tem of staffing senior positions with ized. role of diplomacy, rendering them ever political appointees tends to lock in For many years now, Congress has less effective at reacting to crises — let such illusions and can lead to a greater formed special commissions to study alone foreseeing and defusing im- focus on immediate crises, at the ex- the foreign policy process after major pending challenges. pense of developing strategies for ad- failures like the 9/11 attacks, while suc- Just a few months ago, a young dressing longer-term problems. cessive presidents and agency heads Tunisian’s self-immolation and the Typical of what such disconnects have charged blue-ribbon groups to beating death of a young Egyptian by can produce is our current 30-year make recommendations for improving police triggered popular uprisings schism with Iran, founded on and re- cooperation and efficiency among against dictatorial regimes that had inforced by each side’s myths and mis- competing factions. (The recently long been allies of the United States.

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 13 S PEAKING O UT

derstanding of diplomacy and our foreign policy goals that can lead to calls In the long run, for a new isolationism. To counter this, the department should take steps to the leaks may prove to explain foreign policy initiatives to our citizens through local world affairs be a gift to diplomacy, councils and chambers of commerce, on college campuses, and via blogs and if State Department social media.

leaders can figure out A Challenge and an Opportunity how to use it. WikiLeaks’ unauthorized publication of thousands of State Department documents last fall produced a media spectacle. Many of our political lead- What drew hundreds of thousands into ers have contented themselves with the streets in Tunis, Cairo and else- shrill calls for Julian Assange’s head, or THE NEW EDITION OF where had nothing to do with anti- action against the Web sites and media Inside a American provocations by al-Qaida, outlets that have published the leaked U.S. Embassy however. It came from young people materials. Others deny the leaks have demanding a greater chance to partic- done us any real damage. IS NOW AVAILABLE. ipate in the affairs of their govern- All these reactions are part of the ments and societies. conventional Washington way of cop- Visit www.afsa.org/inside Washington policymakers and leading with the unexpected and the em- for details. ers missed this point completely, until barrassing. Yet in the long run, the it became too obvious to ignore. Such leaks may prove to be a gift to diplo- failures, in turn, make Congress even macy, if State Department leaders can Looking for Additional more skeptical about allocating ade- figure out how to use it. For one thing, Reading Suggestions? quate resources to diplomacy. the leaks revealed how easily self-se- You can find the AFSA Before the Foreign Service can lecting individuals and groups can un- adopt new strategies in pursuit of leash an element of chaos onto the and State Department global diplomatic initiatives, State and international stage in the name of reading lists in our online the other foreign affairs agencies need “transparency.” bookstore, offering a wide to do much more to educate the Amer- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham selection of books on the ican public and win its “buy-in” to Clinton and other administration fig- Foreign Service. forge ahead in a dangerous world. This ures could use the disclosures to shed will require sustained efforts to explain light on the flaws in Assange’s thinking AFSA earns a royalty for to audiences throughout the country, as about international relations. Specifi- every purchase you make on well as decision-makers on Capitol Hill, cally, his claim to be advancing “trans- Amazon.com when you enter just how the resources they appropri- parency” by exposing alleged criminal via the AFSA Bookstore. ate for our foreign affairs agencies help acts by Washington and other govern- their constituents back home. ments is a deliberate attempt to disrupt Visit www.afsa.org/ Right now most Americans react political elites by forcing unplanned fs_reading_list.aspx negatively to reports of international change. developments. The news is often bad State should also use the leaks to il- and leaves them with a superficial un- lustrate how often the efforts of U.S.

14 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 S PEAKING O UT diplomatic personnel have improved conditions on the ground. Apart from the WikiLeaks revelations, there have long been individual embassy initiatives that reflect conditions in host countries and produce unexpected, positive results. In 2009, for example, after assessing a decline in favorable views toward the U.S. among Argentine elites, the U.S. embassy held an open house at which local NGOs were invited to meet with potential American funding sources. This event proved so popular that it was repeated and expanded in 2010, shifting perceptions of American diplomacy and sending a clear message that the U.S. is genuinely concerned about the needs of Argentina’s people. Today, State’s Bureau of Interna- tional Information Programs produces a variety of electronic journals on specific themes, tapping the views of many experts. These are disseminated via open Web sites to our embassies and foreign audiences. Although more research needs to be conducted to determine the impact such e-publications have on foreign audiences, it seems reasonable to see real potential. However, these publications need to tackle more controversial themes, such as public attitudes toward Islam in American communities, as well as the persistence of racism and poor educational results among U.S. minorities in rural and inner-city schools. Other topics might include the current dysfunc- tions in state governments dealing with budget and other crises and the record levels of prison incarcerations, and how these affect state and federal budgets. The work of NGOs and charitable organizations in helping victims of abuse, home foreclosures, natural disasters and business failures might also be subjects for online journals.

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By addressing such subjects head- U.S. policies. Yet many of them still thinking. In fact, many of them al- on, warts and all — unconventional as like to be engaged by American diplo- ready do so every day, all around the that may seem — we could gain cred- mats, whether in person, via videocon- world. But much of what they are ibility and cultivate a broader under- ferences or in Internet Web chats. learning and experiencing goes un- standing of social and economic ten- Some don’t trust their own media and heeded back in Washington — partic- sions in America and how we are ad- government spokespersons, while oth- ularly among the hundreds of political dressing them. Such efforts would also ers believe our policies support and appointees who manage our foreign help foreign audiences appreciate the abet the corruption of their govern- policy establishment. How can we complexity and diversity of our society. ments. But even they rely on Ameri- “think the unthinkable” and adopt such To communicate our values abroad, can reporting, because it is factual and approaches if conventional thinking re- we must immerse ourselves in the verifiable. jects the contrarian? thinking of people from other cultures Outreach efforts to such groups and We can begin by realizing that our and learn how they view the world. individuals should be a prominent ele- ideological enemies, many of whom Successfully engaging our adversaries ment of a new, more effective U.S. are non-state players, are busily in- in public debates on international is- diplomacy. venting ways to use our more orthodox sues will require creative approaches approaches against us. One way they to public diplomacy — not simply the Time to Act do this is through dissemination of as application of new technologies. In her December column, Susan much disinformation as possible across It is undeniable that certain foreign Johnson challenges foreign affairs pro- the galaxy of Web sites that appeal to audiences and opinion makers hate fessionals to move beyond traditional young, poorly educated and unemployed people. Their goal is to per- suade their followers that the United States is the “Great Satan.” The more widely we counter such claims with relevant, reliable information, the harder it becomes for such regimes to deceive their citizens. It will not be easy to develop a new language for diplomacy and dialogue with foreign audiences, to be sure. But earlier generations of U.S. diplomats succeeded in meeting similar challenges. And now it is our turn. I

Bruce K. Byers is a retired Foreign Service officer with more than 30 years of service in the U.S. Information Agency and the Department of State in cultural and informational affairs. He was the USIA vice president of the American Foreign Service Association from 1995 to 1996 and later served as acting president of the Coalition for American Leadership Abroad. He writes widely on foreign affairs and the role of public diplomacy in advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives.

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WHY WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN PEACEBUILDING MATTERS Ben Fishman

FOR THE WORLD TO MOVE FORWARD ON SECURITY ISSUES IN AN EFFECTIVE MANNER, WOMEN WILL NEED TO PLAY A GREATER ROLE IN THE PROCESS.

BY KATHLEEN KUEHNAST

s carrying a gun the only way for women to get a place at the peace table? This provocative question was posed by one of the participants at the Women and War Conference held in Washington, D.C., last No- vember. Indeed, most peace negotiations are dominated by men, many of whom were once active combatants in the conflict being settled.I Isn’t it time for the negotiating table to be set for those who are going to build the peace, including women?

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In October 2000, the United Na- As it stands now, we are peacebuilders or bystanders, women tions Security Council passed Reso- must play a role in the transition from lution 1325, which recognizes the losing half of the world’s war to peaceful development. critical role that women can play in creating regional and global security creative potential by What Women Bring structures. With an eye toward to the Table translating the promise of this reso- not including women This is not just a moral issue or a lution into reality, the Women and question of equality; it is a matter of War Conference commemorated its in all aspects of global efficiency. As things now stand, we tenth anniversary by convening an are losing half of the world’s creative extraordinary coalition of national problem-solving. potential by not including women in and international participants from a all aspects of global problem-solving. range of sectors, including international organizations, gov- When it comes to settling conflicts, we know that there ernments, civil society, the diplomatic community and the are many more approaches than simply picking up a gun military. By underlining women’s involvement in peace- and threatening our enemy. There are countless exam- making as a security issue, the conference aimed to increase ples of women who have intervened in conflicts, but most the participation of women in all aspects of international of their stories have never been recorded, and their ef- security, as well as inspire an agenda for action over the next forts are not counted. We see the value-added that decade and beyond. women have brought to peacebuilding processes in the There have been 39 active conflicts over the last 10 ability to form coalitions across conflict lines, as in North- years, yet most of the subsequent peace negotiations have ern Ireland in the 1990s when a group of Catholic and excluded female participants. And out of some 585 peace Protestant mothers said, “Enough!” treaties drafted over the last two decades, only 16 percent More recently, Christian and Muslim women united contain specific references to women. Thus the question to wage sit-ins at Liberian markets and refused to work to needs to be asked: If women are critical to building the stop the out-of-control violence of former President peace after conflict, then why not include women among Charles Taylor and his armed gangs. Women have been those setting the conditions at the negotiating table? working across the Israeli-Palestinian divide for decades, The absence of women from formal peace negotiations as well, but have rarely been allowed into the formal is all the more astonishing given the fact that women are peace processes. This must now change. increasingly parties to conflicts. In addition to being re- U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues cruited into regular and irregular armed forces, they have Melanne Verveer emphasizes that we must see women as also become powerful voices opposing conflict. In Sudan, leaders, not victims. We must also view their participation for example, women and girls played active roles on the not as a favor to them, but as essential to peace and secu- front lines of the two north-south civil wars, both as com- rity. From mediation skills to logistical knowledge, from batants and peace activists. So how can peace be sustained food and water security to a deep investment in the future without women helping to craft it in the first place? through their children, women are the best investment to- As New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof has ward building a workable peacebuilding process. pointed out, women comprise more than half of the world Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs population. So whether they are combatants or survivors, of Staff, concurs. At the Women and War Conference, Mullen examined women’s role in combat and peacekeep- Kathleen Kuehnast is the director of the Gender and ing operations and concluded that “we simply must do a Peacebuilding Center at the U.S. Institute of Peace. She is better job tapping into [women’s] unique talents and un- co-editor with Chantal de Jonge Oudraat and Helga derstanding their unique challenges. … Indeed, they have Hernes of the book Women and War: Power and Protec- given us a competitive advantage.” tion in the 21st Century (USIP Press, 2011). For more in- To further this notion of inclusion, we need action at the formation about the Women and War Conference, go to international, national and local levels, and we need to en- www.usip.org. gage the academic community.

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Global Recognition Women have been working as well as USAID and the Depart- At the international level, we ment of Defense, are working on now have consensus that women across the Israeli-Palestinian action plans relevant to their mis- should be included in all peace sions, including establishing moni- talks. UNSCR 1325 acknowledges divide for decades, but have toring and evaluation procedures the disproportionate impact of vio- to reach specific targets and calling lent conflict on women and recog- rarely been allowed into the for action in countries where the nizes the critical roles women can U.S. is actively engaged. The Na- and should play in the processes of formal peace processes. tional Security Council is coordi- peacebuilding and conflict preven- nating the final plan among the tion. These include participating in U.S. government agencies. peace talks, conflict mediation and all aspects of post- National-level action will also be greatly strengthened conflict reconstruction. by passage of the International Violence Against Women At the resolution’s tenth-anniversary gathering in New Act, which was introduced by a bipartisan team of legis- York at the end of 2010, world leaders criticized the lack lators and approved by the Senate Foreign Relations of progress on implementing it. They reminded the in- Committee in December 2010. Similar to Resolution ternational community that ignoring the security of 1325, this bill recognizes that the issues affecting women women in the context of war and armed conflict carries are international security issues, and that the protection high, long-term costs. Witness the case of the Demo- of women from violence must be prioritized in U.S. cratic Republic of the Congo, where the use of rape as a diplomatic efforts. The bill adopts a multisector ap- weapon of war has reached epidemic proportions. proach, addressing violence against women not only Leaders also emphasized that when international through services for survivors and health-care programs, forces are deployed, provisions for the protection of civil- but also through legal and judicial training, economic em- ians, particularly women, must be made explicit. U.N. powerment programs and girls’ education. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict At the local and community levels, we need better and Margot Wallström has stressed that international peace more creative outreach and educational strategies. We and security is indivisible from women’s peace and secu- should link women’s inclusion in peacemaking to hardline rity, and that ending the spiral of sexual violence is inte- security issues and present more evidence of women’s con- gral to ending wars and preventing further conflict. tributions. Our policies must be informed by research and Protection of women is just half of the problem, how- data, but we also need to reach out to women in conflict ever. The other half is making sure that women are both countries who may be inspired to make changes even formally and informally engaged in the efforts to end wars though they are illiterate. Finally, let us highlight instances and begin the difficult process of building peace. where women have played roles as problem-solvers, en- Already, 25 countries — from Liberia to Norway, Nepal trepreneurs and leaders. and the Philippines — have developed action plans to im- In many war-torn countries, poverty and illiteracy plement Resolution 1325. Such plans outline how national make it difficult to learn about the concrete progress ministries and armed forces need to take gender into ac- women around the world have made toward creating count when devising policies on defense, development or change, not only at the local level but also nationally and diplomacy. It is encouraging that the United States, internationally. So we need avenues beyond newspapers, though it has yet to ratify UNSCR 1325, has finally com- policy briefs and academic studies to illustrate the roles mitted to this task, as well. women have played to bring peace to their communities, states and regions. A U.S. National Action Plan Abigail Disney’s 2008 film “Pray the Devil Back to Indeed, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Hell” is a good example of an alternative outreach strat- has taken steps to develop a national action plan on egy. The film depicts the pivotal role of Liberian women Women, Peace and Security to reflect the tenets of Res- in helping to oust the former warlord and president, olution 1325. State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, Charles Taylor, and mobilizing the people for the elec-

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tion of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as president. Sri Lankan establish the direct connection between the engagement civil society leader Visaka Dharmadasa contends that the and involvement of women and the national security aims film has had a major impact on women in Sri Lanka, con- of defense and military actors. Creating such linkages vincing them that they could do something as powerful can help prioritize women’s inclusion and strengthen the and game-changing as their sisters in Liberia. Though effectiveness of military and peace support operations. military operations have ended in Sri Lanka, women The academic community also has important per- there continue to call for a more inclusive political for- spectives that can be useful to practitioners and military mula that will bring lasting peace to their country. personnel working in zones of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. World-renowned peace educator Betty Not Just a “Soft” Agenda Reardon of the International Institute on Peace Educa- Finally, we need to engage the academic community tion notes that practitioners of conflict management must in helping to connect the dots between research on war also continue to be learners throughout their careers. and women, and to provide good evidence to policymak- This field is growing rapidly, but needs to be infused ers in Washington. The agenda of inclusion will make a with evidence to support the premise that women’s inclu- great deal more sense if political leaders are convinced sion can significantly contribute to sustainable peace. Sus- that it has security at its core. tained engagement with the academic community will help Policymakers have often marginalized issues relating promote the application of a gender analysis approach to- to women as secondary socioeconomic concerns to be ward peace negotiations that goes beyond mere lip service. dealt with after the more “hard” issues, such as physical Women’s involvement in peace negotiations is not just security, are addressed. However, researchers can help an issue for them, but also for men. The point of the “women and war” agenda is to improve life for all people. Toward that end, men have to see the direct benefit of engaging women in peace talks, something male leaders are critical in helping to explain. War looks different through the lenses of men’s and women’s experiences. Finally, we can no longer view war and the military from the perspective of 20th-century security assumptions. Instead, we need to anticipate that the new century will see conflicts that are more amorphous, more related to issues of climate change and human migration to find land, water and livelihoods. When it comes to fig- uring out how to navigate with few resources, women are experts at survival and have long been concerned with issues of everyday human security. To move forward globally in an effective and efficient manner, women need to play a pivotal role in security, problem-solving and peacebuilding in this new century. Women are essential contributors to the transition from “the cult of war to the culture of peace,” as Ambas- sador Anwarul Chowdhury has reiterated over the last decade. Known for his roles as guiding spirit of UNSCR 1325 and president of the Security Council in 2000, the Bangladeshi diplomat firmly believes that building a culture of peace will require women — not only participating at the peace table but eventually helping set the agendas for peace talks, post-conflict reconciliation and recovery, and long-term peacebuilding. n

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CONGO’S REAL CURSE Ben Fishman

AS IN MANY SOCIETIES, WOMEN ARE THE CORE AND FABRIC OF CONGOLESE SOCIETY. DAMAGE THAT FABRIC AND THE FOUNDATION STARTS TO FALL APART.

BY MAGGIE K. FLEMING

inding along a thin, muddy road, four of us sat tightly packed in the back seat of a sports utility vehicle as we arrived at our second stop of the day, the health clinic in the small village of Burungé in the Demo- craticW Republic of the Congo. It was May 2005, and I was a graduate student observing how local organizations worked with women and children who had been raped due to the war in eastern Congo and then helped reintegrate them into their communities.

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I had been invited by the local organization I was ob- their rapes, 90 percent indicated the perpetrators were serving, along with two individuals from the Ministry of armed soldiers in the village. Where does a Congolese Health, on a field trip from Goma to Mweso. We stopped woman turn when she finds herself a survivor of gender- at local health clinics along the way to discuss the issues of based violence? What does she do when her attacker is rape and sexual violence and how to recognize and treat part of the local authorities and she risks grave social cases that would need to be referred to the local hospital stigma by reporting the incident? in Goma. Our hosts also provided these clinics with rape kits from the United Nations Population Fund. Rape As a Weapon of War After an hourlong presentation by two of my Congolese Stories of rape in war exist throughout history and companions, the local nurse for the Burungé health clinic around the world: the practice is as old as war itself. More piped up (in French, so I could understand): “We see this recently, rape was a frequent occurrence on both sides in all of the time here. It happened just over in those hills two the Vietnam War. In Bosnia in the mid-1990s, an esti- weeks ago.” mated 60,000 Bosnian women from various ethnic groups A young girl, around 8 years old, had been raped by a were raped, many of them becoming pregnant. Between local shepherd. When the girl told her parents, they took a quarter-million and a half-million Tutsi women were the issue to the shepherd’s employer, who happened to be raped during the Rwandan genocide, and the International the local military official. Not wanting to lose his shep- Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda reported that 24 percent of herd, the military official offered compensation to the fam- the survivors are now HIV-positive. ily: a goat. As the family did not have much in the way of In Kashmir, Indian soldiers raped “to punish and hu- income or assets and this livestock would feed them for a miliate the entire community,” according to numerous ac- long time, they accepted the offer. From that point on, ademics, calculating that local custom would hold the there were no charges. Nor did the girl seek treatment. women responsible and disorient the community. Shamed The issue was to end there. women would be reluctant to give evidence in public The staff from the Burungé clinic (one nurse and two as- courts. Academics report that the rapes did not occur in sistants) said saw these symptoms quite frequently in this prisons or detention camps (as happened in Bosnia) but village health clinic. However, women rarely reported they during house-to-house searches and reprisal attacks. were raped or sexually abused. According to the nurse’s as- Military- and police-perpetrated rape in Central Amer- sistant, the stigma was too great. “They will be rejected by ica, Haiti, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Liberia, Peru, their husbands and family if they say they have been raped.” Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Uganda, the DRC and elsewhere The village nurse said that when women did speak of has been documented extensively by Amnesty Interna- tional, Human Rights Watch, the Canadian Immigration Maggie Fleming is the Africa advocacy officer for the In- and Refugee Board and other organizations. ternational Rescue Committee, based in Washington, D.C. According to the United Nations Interagency Standing Her work focuses on humanitarian issues and policies Committee’s “Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence In- across the continent of Africa, on which she works as a li- terventions in Humanitarian Settings,” the term “gender- aison with the U.S. government. She also serves as co-chair based violence” is a blanket expression for any harmful acts for both the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the carried out against a person’s will that are based on socially Congo working groups of Interaction. recognized (gender) differences between males and fe- Previously, Ms. Fleming covered human rights, hu- males. manitarian aid, global health, trafficking, and religious Though the term points to the relationship between fe- freedom issues on Capitol Hill in the office of Senator Sam males’ subordinate status in society and their increased vul- Brownback, R-Kan. She also worked overseas with the nerability to violence, men and boys may also be victims of Swiss-based nongovernmental organization Medair in Ori- gender-based violence, especially sexual violence. Statis- entale Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo tically, however, such acts have a greater impact on women (2006-2007) and with two other NGOs in Arusha, Tanza- and girls than on men and boys. For this reason, GBV is nia (2003-2004). Prior to that, she served as a Peace Corps often used interchangeably with the term “violence against Volunteer in Akaba, Togo (2002-2003). women.”

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Continuous Conflict The current instability in DRC. In the wake of the Rwan- History shows that GBV be- dan genocide, some two million comes more systemic during con- the DRC has its origin in 1994, Rwandans fled across the border, flict and can be used as a tool of setting up refugee camps in the war. Breakdown of the social when the trouble in Rwanda Congolese Kivu provinces. norms that might have offered The ensuing turmoil, which protection to women and girls in- spilled into the eastern part continues to this day, is complex, creases the risk of multiple forms multilayered and multidimen- of abuse including sexual exploita- of the country. sional. It involves international tion, domestic violence, rape and actors such as the U.N. peace- transactional sex. Often, even keeping force, major Western when the conﬂict ends, social, economic, physical and sex- governments and other powers; regional actors, such as ual violence continues against women in these unstable Angola, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; and local environments. actors, such as the rebel groups and indigenous popula- In the resource-rich Democratic Republic of the tions. It is multidimensional because the conflicts concern Congo, warfare has raged off and on nearly continuously natural resources and land tenure, and are overlaid with since June 1960, when the country gained independence ethnic tensions and political rivalries. from Belgium’s oppressive colonial rule. Corruption is widespread and affects government agen- The current instability has its origins in 1994, when the cies and security forces at all levels. Alliances are ex- trouble in Rwanda spilled into the eastern part of the tremely fluid and broken weekly, depending on the opportunistic value of the agreement. As the financial benefits from some alliances dry up, the power struggle between armed groups reignites and the battle for control continues.

Congo’s True Curse The result of this seemingly interminable war is more straightforward. The International Rescue Committee estimates that from 1998 to 2007 alone, the war took more than 5.4 million lives, with the majority of the causalities a result of the indirect consequences of the war rather than battle itself. In 2005, as deaths and displacements soared, the U.N. described eastern Congo as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” There, compared with other regional conflicts, the use of violence against women as a tool of war has been more prevalent. Women and children, from three months to 81 years old, have become the voiceless victims as the number of rape and sexual assaults continues to rise, and eastern Congo has been named the “worst place in the world to be a woman.” Many point to natural resources — the DRC is Africa’s largest producer of tin ore and a significant source of coltan, a mineral used in electronics, and gold — as “Congo’s curse” because so much has been exploited and stolen, and the riches seem to continue to fuel the conflict. In this view, the inability of the government to provide ad-

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equate basic services to the civilian The International Rescue spread abuse of human rights. This population is due to continued spo- is the true “curse of the Congo.” radic conflict and a lack of invest- Committee estimates The wealth being stolen from the ment in the state apparatus. country is not so much the miner- But resource exploitation must that from 1998 to 2007 als as the humanity and dignity of be seen as both a consequence and the survivors of gender-based vio- modus operandi of violent conflict, alone, the war took more lence. rather than merely its cause. When state actors use the same oppressive than 5.4 million lives. Rebuilding the methods as non-state actors to en- Fabric of a Society rich themselves outside the scope of As in many societies, women are accountability and public benefit, the result is a breakdown the core and fabric of Congolese society. Damage that fab- of the rule of law. And the breakdown of infrastructure ric and the foundation starts to fall apart. The obstacles to within the state — weak governance, poor judicial and eliminating rape and sexual violence in the DRC are health-care systems, and a severe need for security sector daunting, but progress is being made. reform, as well as the general lack of political will — is an Among a number of efforts, the International Rescue even larger problem than the buried treasure. Committee’s gender-based violence program is the In fact, the biggest crime in Congo’s history is the de- longest-standing and broadest of its kind in the country. terioration of the community as a result of both violent and IRC seeks to promote the well-being of women and girls, permissive acts of rape and sexual abuse, and the wide- while mitigating the urgent and long-term effects of GBV.

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In North and South Kivu, the The wealth being stolen from empowerment activities. IRC provides medical, psychosocial However, donor fatigue toward and legal services to survivors of the DRC is not so much the the crisis in the DRC is a concern. gender-based violence. The IRC Aid donors are tempted to look for works to reduce stigma against sur- minerals as the humanity new, innovative solutions without vivors within communities and em- allowing long-term solutions to play powers women with socioeconomic and dignity of the survivors out. Assisting survivors, investing in support. It works with more than 45 partnerships and supporting multi- women’s groups to disseminate in- of gender-based violence. year, robust GBV programs that re- formation on the medical and psy- spond to the problem are a few of chosocial services available to those key long-term solutions. survivors of sexual assault. The IRC treats from 350 to 400 Gender-based violence will not end until the govern- survivors per month, 25 percent of whom are under the ment has the political will to rid the country of these atroc- age of 18. And 75 to 85 percent of survivors report that ities, to restore fair and accountable institutions and to their assailants are members of armed groups. protect its population in all spheres of social life. More than 40,000 survivors have been assisted since the The 8-year-old who was raped by the shepherd, only to program’s beginning, and the IRC has built sustainable have her case quickly dismissed, has a right to receive partnerships with seven national nongovernmental organ- health and psychosocial services. She deserves to be izations and numerous community-based organizations. In heard, to see justice done against the perpetrator, and to 2010, more than 2,500 women were involved in economic maintain her dignity, rather than see it traded for a goat. n

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THE EMERGENCE OF ISLAMIC FEMINISM Ben Fishman

JUST AS CONSERVATIVES HAVE USED ISLAM TO HINDER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT, MUSLIM FEMINISTS ARE USING THEIR FAITH TO PROMOTE IT.

BY ISOBEL COLEMAN

any of the major challenges of our time, from tackling global poverty and climate change, to improving food security, global health and governance, cannot be effectively addressed without a focus on women and girls. As they become mindful of this reality, governments and nongovernmental organizations, multi- lateralM organizations like the World Bank and, increasingly, corporations, are all making greater efforts to close gender gaps and improve the status of women. An important objective of the State Department’s 2010 Quadrennial Diplomacy

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and Development Review, for exam- Islamic conservatives are religiosity of their societies — are ple, is to integrate gender into devel- also using Islamic arguments to bol- opment policies and diplomacy. no longer the only ster their positions. And these ef- But while women around the forts are slowly converging into a world are making strides in educa- members of Muslim- global movement sometimes called tion, income generation and public “Islamic feminism”: the promotion participation, significant gaps still majority societies to cite of women’s rights through religious exist, particularly in sub-Saharan discourse. Africa, the Middle East and South religious justifications Asia. These regions all have deeply Pushing Open the Gates entrenched cultural traditions and for their position. Just as conservatives have used patriarchal practices that work Islam as a barrier to women’s em- against changes for women. And in powerment, Muslim feminists are conservative, Muslim-majority communities, women’s using their faith to promote gender equality. They argue rights are among the most contentious political and ideo- that Islam, at its core, is progressive for women and sup- logical issues. ports equal opportunities for men and women alike. By In places like Nigeria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, firmly grounding their arguments in religious discourse, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Islamic conservatives link these advocates offer a culturally acceptable and sustain- women’s piety to the purity and religious authenticity of able way to expand opportunities for women. Their suc- their societies. They then use religious justifications to cess holds promise for a more stable, prosperous and enforce that piety through a limited public role for progressive Middle East. women, gender segregation and harsh punishments for Islamic feminism draws on the ideas of numerous in- any perceived transgressions. Powerful Islamists do their tellectuals and activists. Some of its leading proponents best to smear women’s groups as followers of an illegiti- are actually men — distinguished religious scholars who mate, neo-colonialist Western agenda. contend that Islam was radically egalitarian for its time But the desire for economic growth is becoming an ef- and remains so in many of its texts. For their part, Islamic fective counterweight to such opposition. All over the feminists contend that sharia (religious law) evolved in world mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, business ways inimical to women not due to any inevitability, but owners, government officials and religious leaders are because of selective interpretation by patriarchal leaders. coming to recognize that their countries cannot prosper They further argue that the worst practices directed at without the full participation of half the population. In- women, like those of the Taliban, actually represent a sub- vestments in girls’ education and economic opportunities version of Islamic teaching by tribal customs and tradi- for women have already begun to yield tremendous ben- tions. Accordingly, they seek to revive the equality efits for households and communities. Such gains are bestowed on women in the religion’s early years by rein- powerful levers for raising per capita incomes and trans- terpreting the Quran, putting the texts in historical con- mitting the advantages directly to the next generation. text and disentangling them from tribal practices and Happily, Islamic conservatives are no longer the only other local traditions. members of these societies to cite religious justifications The great potential of Islamic feminism lies in its grass- for their position. Reformers — whether out of a faith- roots appeal. In this regard, it is quite unlike the secular based conviction or an acknowledgment of the growing feminism we are used to in the West. Secular feminism, both in the Middle East and in the West, has usually been Isobel Coleman is a senior fellow at the Council on For- the province of urban elites and intellectuals, which has eign Relations, and also the director of CFR’s Women and long been its weakness. Social change takes time to make Foreign Policy Program and the Civil Society, Markets and its way from city salons and urban newspapers to the Democracy Initiative. This article is adapted from her book countryside, especially in places with few roads and little Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women Are Trans- public education. But Islamic feminism has the potential forming the Middle East (Random House, 2010). to be embraced quickly by local leaders and, perhaps most

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importantly, by religious leaders, Local activists recognize the were attributed to Muhammad, who can lend their authority to a qualified legal scholar could the difficult changes at hand. risks and trade-offs of foreign use independent reasoning to To put it another way, Islamic come up with a solution. This feminism strives to work within support, and understand local legal ruling, expressed as a fatwa, the values of Islam, not against could then be accepted or re- them. It offers direct social and conditions well enough to decide jected by the followers of the economic benefits to families scholar as they wished. through improved opportunities whether such aid helps their Ijtihad was a vibrant legal for daughters, sisters, wives and process until the end of the 10th mothers. cause more than it hurts it. century, by which point many Many Islamic feminists are doctrines were settled by jurists strong proponents of ijtihad, the representing the various schools process of arriving at new interpretations of Islamic law of law. Around this time, influential orthodox Sunni through critical reasoning, rather than blindly following ulama (Muslim clergy with several years of training) began the views of past scholars. In the early centuries of Islam, to argue against the process of independent reasoning, this process was an important contributor to the shaping claiming that it could distort Islam. They instead advo- of Islamic law. Whenever the Quran and Sunnah (the tra- cated a literal reading of religious texts. ditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) did not Reformers resisted, warning that a rigid interpretation explicitly address an issue, or when conflicting statements of sharia can be profoundly unhelpful in answering con-

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temporary questions. But over the Islamic feminism strives to insist that Islam is an inherently centuries, the literalists gained misogynistic religion and refuse to ground, leading to what some have work within the values of believe it can be a force for referred to as a “closing of the gates women’s empowerment. Skeptics of ijtihad.” Islam, not against them. contend that by emphasizing the At the heart of Islamic feminism parts of the Quran that are pro- is a renewed effort to push open gressive for women, and minimiz- those gates. Across the Muslim world, Islamic feminists ing those sections that are harder to reconcile with gender are combing through centuries of Islamic jurisprudence to equality, Islamic feminists are simply glossing over the highlight the more progressive aspects of their religion. fundamental issues. But this is the same process of rein- They are seeking to reconcile a modern role for women terpretation and contextualization that has occurred over with the Islamic values that more than a billion people in the centuries in every major religion in the world. the world follow. Indeed, many Islamic feminists see their efforts as a critical driver of a larger reform initiative within the faith. Under Attack from Both Sides As Muslim women engage more deeply with Islamic texts Islamic feminism is not without its challenges. For and jurisprudence, through casual study groups, as schol- starters, it is unpalatable to die-hard secularists, both in ars and activists, or even through formal training to be- the West and in the Middle East. Some years ago, I gave come religious leaders, they are forcing debate over a talk in New York about the promise of working with re- Islamic interpretation. At the same time, many of them ligious leaders in some of the most conservative regions of are uncomfortable with being labeled as “Islamic femi- the world to promote girls’ education. I had recently re- nists,” going to great lengths to distance themselves from turned from Afghanistan, where I had seen mullahs in the the Western cultural baggage that term carries. countryside championing girls’ education, even opening Instead, they see themselves simply as Muslims pur- their mosques to classes for them. suing rights for women within Islam. But when asked But when the discussion turned to the use of the whether they believe that the spirit of the Quran is one mosque itself as a classroom for girls, a woman in the au- of gender equality, and whether Islamic discourse can dience interrupted. This was exactly the wrong approach, and should be used to promote women’s empowerment, she insisted: “We should be working to dislodge religion, their answers to both questions are a resounding yes. not further entrench it.” Such convictions are playing a small but important role in Clearly, she has never been to the highlands of one of the great ideological struggles of the 21st century. Afghanistan, I thought to myself. And she was probably Some Islamic feminists are deeply devout, while oth- also unfamiliar with the long history of failure of those ers are not. Some wear a headscarf for reasons of piety; who have tried to dislodge religion from places where it others do so only for tactical reasons, adhering to social dominates every aspect of life. conventions in an effort to enhance their credibility. And Outright opposition to religion is simply counterpro- a few eschew such attire completely, because their un- ductive in many Muslim-majority countries today, as it is derstanding of Islam does not require it. But all of them in many Western countries, as well. So if women’s rights are using Islamic discourse in one way or another to pro- in the Middle East depend on the removal of Islam, Mus- mote women’s access to education, to jobs and to the lim women will be waiting a long time indeed. public sphere — access which is already beginning to Some critics dismiss Islamic feminism as a fringe transform Muslim societies. movement, claiming it is too weak and marginal to move They are also taking advantage of rising levels of fe- mainstream opinion, let alone overturn 1,400 years of op- male education and greater access to global media across pressive Islamic law and practices. The women involved the Middle East to shift the terms of religious debate. are undeterred, however, for while they are at the begin- Networks across national borders are already helping il- ning of a long, intergenerational process, they believe time literate peasant women marshal the religious justifications is on their side. they need to push back on centuries of tribal customs and Islamic feminism will also be unappealing to those who traditions that have been sustained in the name of Islam.

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Two Women Making a Difference

Nilofar Sakhi: Reaching Out to Mullahs started getting involved in sharia debates, threatening letters ilofar Sakhi stands in front of a gathering of mullahs were slipped under her door at night. But Nilofar also heard and tribal leaders, the only woman among 50 men. from tribal elders and mullahs across the region praising her NThey have gathered to debate a recent newsletter cir- work and asking for WASSA’s assistance to get literacy culated to thousands of village leaders around this province of classes and other workshops going for women in their vil- Northwest Afghanistan by her organization, the Women’s Ac- lages. “Eighty percent of Afghans live in villages,” Nilofar ex- tivities and Social Services Association. The newsletter has plains. “We must engage them because if we don’t, we’ll be sparked quite a controversy by publishing the views of several like tiny pockets of reason surrounded by fundamentalist Islamic scholars who challenge conservative interpretations of thinking.” sensitive passages in the Quran. The subject of these con- At the local level, WASSA has scored some successes. troversial passages? Women. Nilofar introduces the discus- In one village, it persuaded a young mullah to provide a room sion, and then slips to the back as the mullahs hash out their in his mosque for literacy classes. The mullah’s sister, the views. “We at WASSA don’t give our own views on the Quran. only educated woman in the village, taught classes for girls We bring in religious scholars and sharia experts for that,” with WASSA’s support. After seeing the positive impact of she tells me. the classes and his people’s tremendous demand for educa- Born in Herat, Nilofar grew up as a refugee in Pakistan. tion, the mullah’s reluctance faded away and he became a Her father believed in education for all eight of his children, teacher himself. and Nilofar, the smartest of the lot, went on to earn a degree When WASSA wound down its financial support for the in biochemistry. After the toppling of the Taliban, she re- program, the mullah and his sister kept the classes going, turned to Afghanistan and founded WASSA. She quickly re- making a small business out of it. They collect about 50 alized that to have a real impact, she would have to engage afghanis (about 50 cents) per month per student, which more conservative attitudes. “You cannot ever be against religion than covers their costs. “It is challenging, but not impossible in Afghanistan,” she says. “You must work through it.” to work with mullahs,” concludes Nilofar. “Afghans want WASSA was soon reaching out to the mullahs, promot- change, but you always have to be sensitive to religious is- ing a Quran-based dialogue that worked to disentangle reli- sues.” She draws her inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi’s gion from oppressive cultural practices. When WASSA first admonition: think globally, act locally. — Isobel Coleman

Haifa Jamal al-Lail: Promoting Education for Girls r. Haifa Jamal al-Lail is at the forefront of a social revolution in Saudi Arabia. She is dean of Effat University, the kingdom’s first private women’s college founded in 1997. (The university is named after Queen Effat who championed girls’ educa- Dtion in the kingdom. Her husband, King Faisal, overcame pressure from conservative clerics and opened the first girls’ schools in the kingdom in the 1960s.) Today, Effat is small, with only about one thousand undergraduates, but its ambitions are large. “If we can produce students here with big ideas, then they will have a big impact on our country,” Dr. Haifa insists. Early on, Effat offered a traditional cur- riculum, training girls as teachers and nurses, but it soon added business and technical majors. Notably, all instruction is conducted in English, even Islamic studies. Dr. Haifa, choosing her words carefully given the country’s deep religiosity and powerful clerics, explains that the girls must be able to discuss their religion in English — and they also must be prepared for the global job market. Effat has also done away with restrictions that physically separated male teachers from female students. When the college first opened, men used videocameras to teach classes, but now they teach face-to-face. Again, the justification is that the girls must be prepared for a gender-integrated workplace. Among Effat’s other innovations is the screening of foreign films without censorship. Religious conservatives in Saudi Ara- bia believe that movies are a corrupting influence, and consequently there are no public movie theaters in the kingdom. Behind its high walls, with the relative freedom of action enjoyed by its private status, Effat is teaching critical-thinking skills and using the latest pedagogy to encourage more open discussion and debate. The results speak for themselves: Effat confers one of the few Saudi degrees recognized internationally. — Isobel Coleman

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Advocacy groups use e-mail and so- These efforts are an recognition — help their cause cial media to bombard policymak- more than they hurt it. Moreover, ers with pleas for justice, exposing important stepping stone concerns about backlash can be brutality and injustice with simple minimized by keeping international video footage captured on a cell for reconciling religion support demand-driven and chan- phone and uploaded to YouTube. neling it through local groups. with the demands of the In the emerging democracies of Providing Appropriate Tunisia and Egypt, women’s groups Assistance modern world. will be up against well-financed and Clearly, women’s empowerment well-organized Islamist groups that cannot be imposed on a country or will, in the name of religion, de- culture from the outside. Rather, all members of the command a rollback of the progressive laws for women that munity must find their own reasons for allowing women exist in both countries. Already, conservative voices have a fuller role in society. Still, there are ways U.S. foreign criticized Tunisia’s anti-polygamy law and Egypt’s divorce policy can support indigenous campaigns for greater law on the grounds that they contradict sharia. Islamists women’s rights in Muslim-majority countries. will also exert their influence in the writing of new con- First, it is important to recognize that change is hap- stitutions for these countries, making sure that sharia has pening. In a 2010 Freedom House study of women’s a strong influence on the laws of the land. rights in the Middle East and North Africa, 15 out of 18 Women’s rights will be a litmus test for how well Islam countries demonstrated gains over the past five years. and democracy can be blended, so groups promoting The Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which scored them will have to be organized and ready to fight back lowest in the previous 2005 report, showed the most against backsliding. They will need to use a range of tac- progress, with women expanding their political participa- tics, including marshalling progressive interpretations of tion and becoming more visible in education, public life Islam to fight religion with religion. They can learn from and business. the experience of female activists in other Muslim-ma- In fact, women are beginning to significantly outnum- jority countries, who have been waging such battles for a ber men at higher levels of education across the region. long time. Even in Saudi Arabia, women comprise more than 60 per- Wherever the international community does play a cent of university graduates. U.S. policymakers should direct role in shaping the political situation in a country, applaud these changes and use every opportunity to cel- as in Afghanistan and Iraq, it should support the de- ebrate the groundbreaking work of women who are push- mands of local women to freely exercise their rights. In- ing for greater opportunities. The State Department’s corporating electoral quotas for women in those Women of Courage Award, for example, is a great way to countries’ constitutions likely sped up their access to po- shine a spotlight on emerging female leaders around the litical power by at least a generation. Other leverage world. points include media access and training for women, as In addition to moral support, however, these activists well as access to education, property rights and eco- also need financial assistance and technical expertise. nomic opportunity. While it is true that women’s groups are vulnerable to the It is also important to keep in mind that cultural shifts risk of backlash against their international partnerships, happen slowly. The process will be uneven, and the out- this concern is often exaggerated precisely because they comes from place to place will no doubt differ. I suspect are often already being accused by their opponents of pro- that over the long term Islamic feminism, like other re- moting a foreign agenda. form movements that preceded it, will end up unapolo- These courageous individuals recognize the risks and getically secular. Only then will long-running debates trade-offs of working with international organizations, and over religious interpretation abate. In the meantime, Is- understand local conditions well enough to decide lamic feminism is an important emotional and intellectual whether the benefits of international support — technical stepping stone for reconciling religion with the demands expertise, financial support, media exposure and public of the modern world. n

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COOK STOVES: FROM BANE TO BOON Ben Fishman

TODAY, INDIAN WOMEN HAVE A REAL CHANCE TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES, THANKS TO THE GLOBAL COOK STOVE ALLIANCE.

BY SATINDER BINDRA

ne of my earliest childhood memories growing up in India was watching my grandmother in the kitchen at a smoky “chulha” — the rudimentary three-sided clay stove that still serves as the hearth in millions of rural South Asian homes. Cooking on a chulha takes much longer than using an electric or gas-fired range, andO it is intensely backbreaking work. The process also produces a great deal of smoke and soot, ensuring that I spent as little time as possible in my grandmother’s kitchen.

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This should be just a picture The World Health Surveys conducted in the hill from the past, but it reflects what is areas of Nepal estimate that still happening today across South Organization estimates that women there spend almost 2.5 Asia and, indeed, in large tracts of hours every day collecting fodder, the developing world. Approxi- household exposure to these grass and firewood for fuel. The mately 1.6 billion people worldwide spread of deforestation forces still lack access to electricity, and particles causes 1.6 million them to go ever further afield, in- some three billion people still use creasing their daily time invest- inefficient stoves that rely on tradi- premature deaths per year, ment by another hour and leaving tional biomass fuels such as fire- them less time to devote to agri- wood, crop residues and dung for predominantly among culture, child care or income-pro- their cooking needs. ducing activities. women and children. The relentless search for fuel Multiple Inefficiencies has put enormous pressure on the Traditional stoves have many se- forests of South Asia. India has a rious shortcomings. Their mud bodies are inefficient in- rural population of 700 million people, many of whom sulators and therefore devour more fuel than necessary. collect their wood supply from forests. The situation in In addition, the volume of air cannot be controlled; too neighbouring Pakistan is even more pressing. The de- little air produces thick smoke, while too much cools the forestation rate there is one of the highest in the world, flames. Finally, inefficient combustion accounts for and was almost certainly a critical factor in aggravating three-quarters of global emissions of black carbon parti- last year’s devastating floods, the country’s worst-ever nat- cles, also known as soot. ural disaster. The flooding killed nearly 2,000 people, The World Health Organization estimates that house- displaced almost 18 million more and caused billions of hold exposure to these particles causes 1.6 million pre- dollars in damage. It will be years, perhaps decades, be- mature deaths per year, predominantly among women fore the country fully recovers. and children. Local studies in India show that women Finally, the effect of the chulhas goes beyond hearth who have cooked on biomass stoves for years exhibit a and home. As the smoke escapes outdoors, it undergoes higher prevalence of chronic lung disease than those with various chemical transformations in the presence of sun- less exposure. In addition, black carbon causes or com- light, leading to the formation of atmospheric brown pounds pneumonia, bronchitis, cataracts, heart disease, clouds of particles and ozone gas that contribute to some high blood pressure and low birth weight. 500,000 deaths annually. In addition, the ozone gas Inefficient stoves also impose a social burden that causes billions of dollars’ worth of crop damage. mostly falls on the shoulders of women. I can still vividly The soot from the chulhas also contributes to global recall all the time my grandmother spent fretting over warming. Like tiny, heat-absorbing black sweaters, soot her fuel supply. She depended on cow dung that had to particles warm the air and melt ice much faster when be painstakingly gathered, then mixed with hay and dried they settle on glaciers. According to the United Nations into small, pizza-shaped patties. Still, in one sense she Environment Program, 10 to 40 percent of all global was lucky. In poorer parts of South Asia where families warming is caused by this black carbon. don’t have their own cow, women must collect firewood from distant jungles, exposing them to being molested or Hope on the Horizon injured every time they leave the safety of their homes. Happily, change is under way. Solutions are being pushed as never before to ensure clean combustion, re- Satinder Bindra, the director of communications for the duce the consumption of wood and, ultimately, free United Nations Environment Program, is based in Nairobi. women from the dangers of the hearth. Prior to joining UNEP, he was a senior international cor- Simple design changes have already produced bio- respondent and South Asia bureau chief for Cable News mass stoves with three to six times the efficiency of more Network for nearly nine years. traditional models, greatly reducing fuel costs. A recent

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World Bank study in Rwanda Solutions are now available sight offers a basis for slowing found that these stoves cost just a down climate change. few dollars extra to purchase than to ensure clean combustion, A definitive assessment of the chulhas, but they decrease daily threat soot poses will only emerge consumption of charcoal from 0.51 reduce the consumption of once the United Nations Intergov- to 0.33 kilograms per person. This ernmental Panel on Climate means that over the course of a sin- wood and, ultimately, free Change releases its fifth assess- gle year, a family could save about ment report in 2013. But we al- $84 in fuel costs by using 394 fewer women from the dangers ready have conclusive evidence of kilograms of charcoal. And that is a the benefits of cleaner cook stoves. substantial savings, given that aver- of the hearth. A study in The Lancet, one of the age incomes in East African and world’s most respected medical Central African countries are only journals, indicates that a 10-year $300-$370 per year. program to introduce 150 million low-emission stoves to In India, UNEP is involved in sponsoring an exciting India could prevent about two million premature deaths. new project called “Surya” (Sunlight). Having completed the pilot phase, Surya has now targeted a 100- Greener Chulhas square-kilometer rural area in northern India, whose The strides in improving cook stoves must now move population of 50,000 will receive cleaner and less pol- to the public policy level. Millions of stoves have been luting cook stoves. distributed free of charge in India during the past 20 The project plans to document the impact on air qual- years, but limited information on the benefits of the ity, climate and exposure to toxic materials over three technology has left many of them unused. In many cases years, using advanced technology from the National consumer preferences were not taken into account, nor Aeronautics and Space Administration. Surya will also were region-specific habits considered. In addition, use cell-phone technology to monitor the impact of the there has never been a sustained campaign to explain new stoves and seek carbon credit offsets as further mo- the many benefits of using the new stove, leading to poor tivation for the rural population to use the more efficient buy-in. stoves. This June, for the first time ever, India will host the United Nation’s highest-profile environmental outreach A Global Alliance event: World Environment Day. Those of us at UNEP In September 2010, UNEP, along with other interna- look forward to working with other Global Cook Stove tional partners like the United Nations Foundation and Alliance partners to show that better stoves can bring tan- the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, joined the gible improvements to women’s daily lives. Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves launched by Sec- Institutionalizing the switch to “green chulhas” must retary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The U.S. gov- become a national priority for every developing country ernment has provided $50 million in seed money for the through a public awareness campaign that highlights project, which hopes to send 100 million clean-burning health, safety, air quality, climate change mitigation and, stoves to villages in Africa, Asia and South America by ultimately, the creation of a green economy and overall 2020. economic development for rural populations, in India One of the quick wins associated with distributing and around the world. cleaner cook stoves is the fact that unlike carbon dioxide, My grandmother never developed any lung disease which causes significant global warming and stays in the from all the soot she inhaled at the stove, but her life atmosphere for years, soot stays aloft for just a few weeks. around the hearth did leave her with a bad back. Re- Figures obtained in UNEP field studies show that elim- grettably, she died before she could reap any of the ben- inating the emission of one ton of black carbon can re- efits of the greener chulhas. But today, Indian women duce as much global warming as would be obtained by have a real chance to improve their lives, thanks to the producing 3,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide. This in- Global Cook Stove Alliance. n

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UNSCR 1325: SLOW PROGRESS, UNCERTAIN PROSPECTS Ben Fishman

WOMEN IN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE DONE MUCH MORE THAN GOVERNMENTS TO ADVANCE UNSC RESOLUTION 1325’S GOALS.

BY JOHN TIRMAN

hen the tenth anniversary of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 rolled around last October, the United Nations community dutifully organized anniversary events that lauded the historic measure and vowed a renewed effort to fulfill its promise. To be sure, UNSCR 1325 was and is historic: it “calls on,” “urges” and “requests”W member-states to protect women in conflict and to include women substantively in the peace processes of negotiations, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. But the resolution, and several that followed, have largely been neg-

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lected by member-states. In fact, States pay homage to thy, leading-by-example initiative. women in civil society organiza- Perhaps more important, U.S. tions have done much more to ad- the women and security diplomats, aid workers and others vance 1325’s intended norms and can play a crucial role by support- practices. And that suggests a car- resolutions, but the results ing the efforts of the women on the dinal lesson for the future: the vi- ground who have undertaken im- tality of the resolution will come after a decade suggest this is portant, related work — some- from villages and neighborhoods, times at great personal risk — but not from capitals. diplomatic lip service. need the legitimacy and resources States pay homage to the that only international actors can women-and-security resolutions, provide. but the results after a decade suggest this is diplomatic lip Among the questions the international community service. Such an inert response is not confined to some should try to answer is why some Security Council reso- developing countries where gender roles are “traditional” lutions are pursued avidly and others are not. The sanc- and a more prominent role for women in security might tions regime on Iran, for example, is implemented with be considered disruptive. The major industrial states great vigor by the United States and several other mem- have also failed. Consider the multitude of special en- ber-states. Why that one and not others? If any U.N. Se- voys and negotiators dispatched by the European gov- curity Council resolution can be safely ignored, the legiti- ernments and the United States to help resolve conflicts macy of the body is eroded. This dimension of the in the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia (Aceh) UNSCR 1325 discourse has been clouded by the wide- and elsewhere. There’s nary a female in sight. Imple- spread avowals to “do better,” but the failure to implementation of peace accords is equally male-dominated. ment for a decade is no less real. The protection aspect of UNSCR 1325 gets more action, but even here civil society groups are well ahead of What We Found officialdom. Women’s groups have focused sharply on The International Civil Society Action Network and the preventing and punishing sexual violence, and have been Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Inter- building awareness and support through information national Studies commissioned six case studies in late 2009 campaigns. Governments have been less stalwart. to assess how well UNSCR 1325 has been implemented. One of the little-discussed outcomes of the war in The six cases — Aceh (in Indonesia), Sri Lanka, Liberia, Iraq, for example, is the prevalence of sexual crimes. Yet, Uganda, Colombia and Israel/Palestine — represent coun- as a Human Rights Watch report noted in 2009, “even in tries that have recently emerged from conflict or are still high-profile cases involving police or security forces, experiencing it. The researchers were women indigenous prosecutions are rare.” In Afghanistan, says journalist to, or longtime practitioners in, the countries being stud- Anna Badhken, a national stability and reconciliation law ied. enacted last year conveyed amnesty for rape and other They asked political leaders, civil society organizations, crimes as the price for warlord cooperation. journalists and others basic questions about UNSCR 1325 So the major states have much to answer for, both on — what it meant politically in the country, what specific the participation and protection agendas of 1325. But measures were being enacted and implemented by the better efforts may be in the offing. Secretary of State state, what international actors were accomplishing, and Hillary Rodham Clinton announced last October that the what were the roles of private actors, particularly women’s United States would develop a 1325 Action Plan, a wor- groups, in advancing the process. Not surprisingly, the findings did not reflect well on John Tirman is executive director and principal research member-states. Too many officials were unaware of even scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cen- the basic provisions of the resolution. (This was also true ter for International Studies. His newest book, The Deaths of important international actors and some civil society of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America’s Wars, will be organizations.) Plans for implementing it have been hap- published by Oxford University Press in June. hazard, too. Some countries, such as Colombia, had

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legally enacted many recommenda- “Why aren’t more women at A survey of recent negotiations tions, but were not putting those underscores this important point. laws into practice. Others, as in the table? Because they’re Legitimacy — who should and Israel/Palestine where a strong should not be empowered to nego- women’s movement was pushing for not a security threat.” tiate — is determined as a function participation (particularly the Bina- of violence. What 1325 is saying, tional International Women’s Com- — Sanam Anderlini then, is rather radical: don’t exclude mission), ignored the local activism the peacemakers just because they and proceeded with the same old have not taken up the gun. (male) players, with poor results. National action plans, A related source of confusion in this discourse — and where completed, have been indifferently managed, lack possibly the most consequential misperception — is how transparency or mechanisms of accountability, and could and why women’s participation matters. While making a even be seen as impediments to more immediate, con- strong and constructive statement in the Security Coun- crete steps. cil, Sec. Clinton did not articulate rationales beyond the Many major foreign aid donors have failed to insist on platitude that half the world’s population should be in- compliance with the resolution’s goals, and the U.N. itself volved. Much of her speech was dedicated to the pro- has fallen short in its peace missions. In international or- tection aspect of the agenda. The same, remarkably, was ganizations, the locus of responsibility for action is not the case with Michelle Bachelet, the former Chilean clear enough. Even U.N. Women, a new agency that ap- president who is now head of U.N. Women. But the pears to have a mandate for women’s participation and logic of greater participation by women stems mainly lists UNSCR 1325 as one of its guiding documents, does from their societal roles. not possess the unambiguous implementation authority Women bring a different perspective to the resolution that could prod other U.N. agencies and special repre- of conflict and the post-conflict tasks of rebuilding and sentatives, much less member-states, into action. reconciling. As caregivers, they experience the ravages of A widely cited statistic from the United Nations De- war more intimately than men do, and are the ones ex- velopment Fund for Women, one of the predecessors of pected to sustain families and communities. In these U.N. Women, demonstrates how little progress has been roles, they are problem-solvers. They know how to get achieved on participation. Not a single woman was ap- things done — find food and fuel and adequate shelter; pointed as a mediator in the 13 major peace processes prevent violence against children, elders and themselves; between 2000 and 2008; a mere 7 percent of delegation prepare their adolescents for the demands of war; and members were female, and women comprised only 2.7 invent ways to reconstitute lives after conflicts formally percent of peace agreement signatories. end but dangers of violence (often from returned combatants) and deprivation persist. Important Misperceptions Women “are the ones who will fetch water, determine Why are women not included in peace processes? The which children go to school, and ensure that there is food longstanding barriers are still there, of course. But in a on the table,” wrote Ugandan activist Anne Mugisha in world where many women have become heads of govern- 2006 in assessing the failed Juba talks. “They need to have ment and foreign ministers, a more disturbing answer may a voice in the decision-making process through which gov- be worth considering. My colleague Sanam Anderlini, the ernment plans construction of roads, schools, wells, and founding director of International Civil Society Action clinics . . . Using women as props rather than strategists Network and author of Women Building Peace, the most is for me the greatest shame of the Juba process.” And informative book on the topic, put it sharply at a Wash- sometimes women are the combatants themselves, those ington conference last autumn: “Don’t reward violence, seeking justice or simply as part of a contending group. reward peace. It’s just not enough to bring armed actors, Generally speaking, women’s emphasis on human secu- state or non-state, to the table because they have been the rity — rather than the prerogatives of rulers and states — most violent. Why aren’t more women at the table? Be- frame their outlook and their demands. cause they’re not a security threat.” Too often, even with the best intentions, the partici-

38 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 F OCUS

pation agenda of UNSCR 1325 is The logic of greater for future action. portrayed as a right or as a matter of To be sure, women are not wait- empowering women. These depic- participation by women ing for governments to move for- tions aren’t wrong, but they are in- ward. Despite serious obstacles, complete. The fundamental reason stems mainly from including physical danger, activists for including women as equal part- and organizations — many of them ners in negotiations and peace im- their societal roles. new and dedicated to UNSCR 1325 plementation is because they bring issues — articulate demands, con- different knowledge, perspective, In these roles, they duct research, issue recommenda- roles and relationships to the hard tions on peace processes, form tasks of peacemaking and peace- are problem-solvers. self-help groups for protection, and building. These qualities stand a network across borders and conflict chance, at least, of improving the lines, among many other initiatives. performance and outcomes of peace practitioners. They do not have the authority or enough power to implement the resolution as it was intended, but they are What UNSCR 1325 Has Achieved fulfilling some crucial tasks and stimulating a norms cas- While the response of member-states and many inter- cade on women, peace and security. national organizations has been disappointing, the work Among the initiatives are simple information cam- of civil society groups has been considerably more en- paigns. What we found in our study is a rather surprising couraging. Their experiences provide some guideposts lack of coordination to inform government leaders, bu-

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 39 F OCUS

reaucrats, media gatekeepers and The Foreign Service needs to plied. Leading by example — others about UNSCR 1325. Too appointing high-level female en- many stakeholders and power make UNSCR 1325 commitments voys who specifically promote brokers know too little about its 1325 values in peace processes meaning and implied obligations. a priority, mainstreaming — would further the cause of in- This void is increasingly filled tegrating women into security by women in civil society organi- them through USAID and the matters as much as any single set zations. They have done so of actions. in part with increased training multilateral agencies where Aid and other forms of assis- in communications, networking tance to the local organizations and analysis. Large gaps remain, U.S. influence is potent. that are the most capable and in- but are gradually being filled, not volved will not only materially least with sophisticated analyses help them, but also send a of the conflicts, post-conflict needs and local problem-solv- strong signal of American support. In this, the U.S. ing. Agency for International Development and other gov- Demands for action and participation have been less ernment donors need to streamline their application pro- successful, but it is well established by social science re- cedures to make the relatively small funds that can make search that the kinds of activities women have undertaken a difference available to these groups, for whom the bu- can change the political dynamics in a country and glob- reaucratic requirements of applying for funds are often a ally over a number of years, especially in those societies back-breaking burden. with democratic cultures. So the disappointing perform- Perhaps most important, where the United States is in- ance of national and international actors to date might volved in any phase of peace processes — negotiations, seem less so if one takes a longer view: progress is being implementation of accords or post-conflict peacebuilding made as a result of pressure from civil society for new — it can insist on a higher representation of women, pro- norms and proposals for concrete action. tection of women in the often-violent aftermath of formal In this way, the on-the-ground activism reinforces the conflict, and the inclusion of gender perspectives on the salience of UNSCR 1325, and the resolution legitimates provision of security, reconstruction, demobilization, and such activism. There are a number of striking anecdotes the other phases of bringing and enforcing peace. This re- about women seizing the initiative — the now-legendary quires the Foreign Service to make UNSCR 1325 com- 2003 protests in Monrovia and Accra that literally cor- mitments a priority, mainstreaming them through USAID nered negotiators and pressed them to conclude a peace and the multilateral agencies where U.S. influence is po- agreement for Liberia, for example. tent. But what is most impressive is how pervasive such ac- Global leadership from the United States is essential tivism is, not only in the six places we studied but much to realizing the promise of the resolution. This is an area more broadly. Not least of these achievements are the where U.S. diplomacy and insistence on high U.N. per- creation and building of sizable organizations that often formance can make a real difference in achieving sus- are international in scope, are broadly inclusive within so- tainable and just peace processes. cieties across ethnic and religious lines, and are firmly The failure rate of peace accords and post-conflict mis- dedicated to human security principles, including — but sions is truly alarming. The international community not limited to — the objectives of UNSCR 1325. needs to rethink how these complex and costly endeavors are conceived, implemented, understood and maintained. Going Forward Until 2000, with the passage of UNSCR 1325, the role of The U.S. government can move the agenda forward in women and gender perspectives in achieving security was a number of ways, not only by actions and words coming largely ignored. A decade on, the resolution’s ideas and from the top, but by supporting local efforts around the practices remain underutilized. It’s high time to see the world. Political pressure, particularly in countries that are value for all of us in embracing and realizing this poten- recipients of U.S. assistance, should be consistently ap- tial. n

40 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR IN ARMENIA

THERE’S NEVER A DULL MOMENT DURING A SEMESTER SPENT TEACHING AT A UNIVERSITY IN YEREVAN.

BY ROCHELLE PARKS-YANCY

hen I was awarded a Fulbright address the extreme differences in how I would be treated, fellowship to Armenia for the relative to their experiences, because of my race. I’m visibly spring 2010 academic term, non-white, unlike the presenters, who were all white. I had many people asked me why I expected to cause a bit of a stir in Armenia, but judging from had selected that country. After the reaction it seemed more like a superstar celebrity tour/ all, it is not a well-known place, circus freak show/the-aliens-have-landed spectacle. at least not in North America. I responded that while I had traveled outside of the U.S. Becoming a Local Celebrity Wa fair amount, I wanted to go to a region that I had never From the moment my plane landed in the capital city of been to before, and a country that was off the beaten path by Yerevan, things became interesting. The population is about Western standards. Given that Armenia only gained its in- 98-percent Armenian, so foreigners, especially non-white dependence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union, I ones, are unusual. The customs agent did a double take thought it would be very interesting to teach and do research when she saw me and, then, motioned to her colleagues to in a society that is slowly transitioning from communism to come quickly to stare at me (look! look!). Pointing is not con- capitalism. sidered to be rude in Armenia at all. The Fulbright program conducts a three-day orientation There were about a hundred or so people waiting for ar- in Washington, D.C., for all grantees going to Eurasia/East- riving passengers and, upon my entrance, all conversation ern Europe. The program explains the history and social ceased while they stared, pointed and made comments in norms of the region (my specific area was the Caucasus, Armenian and Russian (most Armenians speak both lan- which includes Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan) and its guages). It was like I had parted the Red Sea, judging by the diplomatic relationship with the United States and neigh- expressions of amazement on people’s faces. boring countries. In addition, previous Fulbright grantees This behavior occurred all day, every day, everywhere for to the region share their individual experiences. the entire three-and-a-half months that I was in Armenia. While much of the orientation was applicable to me, the Small children gazed wide-eyed at me on the street and, presenters did not — and, to be fair, probably could not — from what I could tell, asked their equally amazed parents what — not who — I was. At museums and tourist attrac- Rochelle Parks-Yancy, an assistant professor of management tions, people took pictures of me, instead of the actual stat- in the Jesse H. Jones School of Business at Texas Southern Uni- ues, artwork or monuments. Schoolchildren with their versity in Houston, spent the spring of 2010 in Yerevan as a teachers paused from their tours to gawk and to discuss the Fulbright Scholar. She is the author of Equal Work, Unequal educational experience that I provided. Careers: African-Americans in the Workforce (First Forum Meeting neighbors in my apartment building involved a Press, 2010). very long staring contest and whispered discussions. It was

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 41 like the movie “Guess Who’s Coming Second, I was warned to expect to to Dinner,” though the reaction was not be called “negar” (pronounced like the antagonistic — just extreme astonish- I had expected to cause a n-word). True to their warnings, this ment at my presence. Often, I literally happened fairly often. However, my stopped traffic: walking down the street bit of a stir, but judging embassy contacts explained that the meant hearing screeches of drivers term is not an insult at all, but simply slamming on their brakes to stare at from the reaction it the Russian term for a black person (as me. we understand it in the U.S.). Going to stores involved being fol- seemed more like a cross Interestingly, they also told me that lowed by curious shoppers. When I Russians consider people from the entered restaurants, all conversation between a circus freak Caucasus to be “black,” though the (even chewing) died down for at least term is specifically meant to demean a minute and the wait staff stopped show and an aliens-have- them. Thus, in this part of the world, serving customers for a few seconds. Caucasian is the equivalent of “black” In cabs and on buses, the drivers gen- landed spectacle. (which is derogatory) and blacks, as we erally spent about one-third of their identify the group in the U.S., are ne- time watching the road and the other gars (which is fine). two-thirds watching me in their rear- I wondered what my reaction view mirrors. would be the first time I heard the I was initially quite disconcerted by was far more extensive than anything I term applied to me, and did not have the constant gaping and whispers, as it had experienced, even during previous to wait long to find out. I was shop- travel abroad. It was difficult to be- ping in the market when a beef seller come accustomed to the staring, but it saw me and shouted “Negar!” How- helped that people were not at all hos- ever, he clearly did not intend to insult You Are Our tile. In fact, in spite of their stern coun- me because he then rubbed his chest tenances (my students said this was a near his heart and mouthed “love you” Eyes & facial holdover from the Soviet Union), in a clear attempt to flirt and, proba- Armenians were quite friendly. bly, to entice me to buy some very Ears! People guessed that I was British, bloody meat that looked as though the Russian, Venezuelan, Brazilian, cow had only recently been killed. French, Spanish, American, Chilean While my gut reaction upon hear- Dear Readers: or African. When they assumed that I ing the word was shock, I actually had In order to produce a high- was a certain nationality they would to laugh to myself, given the totally dif- quality product, the FSJ strike up conversations with me in that ferent meaning of the term in Arme- depends on the revenue it particular country’s language. Thus, I nia, relative to the U.S. And I soon earns from advertising. had quite a few “conversations” in became accustomed to hearing the French, Spanish and Russian, despite word directed at me without taking of- You can help with this. the fact that I do not actually speak fense. any language except English. Please let us know the names Shortly after arriving, I attended an On Campus of companies that have pro- embassy debriefing. First, I was in- During my fellowship I taught an vided good service to you — formed that Naomi Campbell was in organizational behavior class to politi- a hotel, insurance company, town. I expressed surprise that she cal science graduate students at the auto dealership, or other concern. would be in Armenia, before it be- American University of Armenia, came clear that the embassy had based located in Yerevan. I also conducted A referral from our readers is its information on reports from local research on Armenians’ job search the best entrée! contacts who thought I was Naomi practices. Campbell! Though I am substantially Teaching at AUA was an excellent Ed Miltenberger shorter, physically bigger and a com- experience. First, the quality of the fa- Advertising & Circulation Manager pletely different complexion than she, cilities, as well as the stellar staff sup- Tel: (202) 944-5507 I suppose there are worse people for port, made it very easy for me to E-mail: [email protected] whom to be mistaken. organize my office and prepare my

42 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 teaching materials. Prior to my arrival, I gave the class the same kind of I received frequent e-mails from des- tasks that I do back in the States. Rel- ignated staff whose role was to ensure At times I literally stopped ative to my American students, the Ar- that my teaching and research needs menians’ command of proper written were fulfilled. I was very impressed traffic in the capital, as English grammar was notably better, by the level of communication, help- as was their preparation for my all- fulness and academic support that I drivers slammed on their essay exams. They were very proud received before and after my arrival. when I told them their class was the My office was very nice, even by brakes to stare at me. first I had ever taught in which almost U.S. standards, with a great view of the the entire group passed the first exam. campus and good furniture. Addi- Despite their focus on academics, tionally, the technical support team the students had little clarity about was very helpful, immediately solving what they would do after completing any computer problems I had. contributors to our many class dis- their degrees. A few were employed, AUA grants only graduate degrees cussions. but most of them had never had a job and is run in an American style. Still, Education is valued highly in Ar- before. In fact, with an average age of my class was initially surprised that I menia, so the students were very con- about 23, the students were younger mandate active verbal participation cerned about maintaining a high grade than the typical American graduate from all students, because that is not point average to ensure that they student. The majority of the class the typical Armenian teaching method. would not flunk out. The school is wanted to work in some kind of diplo- They were used to the professor- quite prestigious and, therefore, very matic capacity, but had no idea how to talks, student-listens method. How- expensive by local standards. Thus, obtain such positions — or how to get ever, they were quite vocal in my class most of them worked extremely hard any kind of professional job. and were almost uniformly excellent on their assignments. Unemployment is very high in Ar-

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 43 erally after a debate within their small groups as to who would make the ini- AFSA’s Best Seller The Fulbright program tial conversational foray. These were usually female college students, who The New Edition of truly is an excellent way attended universities other than AUA, where English proficiency is manda- Inside a U.S. Embassy for nations to learn tory for admittance. is Now Available! There were two purposes to these about one another. exchanges: To find out why I was in Learn more about Armenia (I was invariably asked, what goes on ... “What are you doing here?”), and to practice their English. Supplement- ing their bad English and my even- menia, and there are few formal worse Armenian with hand gestures, processes to smooth the transition we had nice, albeit very limited, chats. from school to work. The class attrib- They were openly appreciative, how- uted this lack of employment mecha- ever, of my willingness to converse nisms to Armenia’s slow shift from with them. During these exchanges, communism, under which people every single person in the vicinity in- were given specific jobs by the gov- tently watched us, and some sidled ernment, to the free-market economy, closer to listen to our conversation. where jobs are competitive. The uni- One of the more humorous ex- versity has a career center, but only changes came when I mentioned to a some students seemed to utilize its young woman that Armenians stared services. at me a lot. She immediately re- Given my role as a human responded, “Yes, because you are dark.” sources professor in the United States, This was news to me because in the we spent a couple of class periods States, I am generally considered to be Visit www.afsa.org/inside mapping out their career plans, with on the moderate side of the brown specific focus on the steps that they spectrum. Her comment was particu- for details. would take to achieve their short- and larly amusing given that some Arme- long-term career objectives. They nians are very swarthy, and she was no PLUS seemed to appreciate this and made it exception. In fact, she and I were al- clear that they had never done any- most the same shade. Find More Reading thing like it before. A highlight of teaching the class Suggestions at www.afsa.org/ was our varied cultural exchanges. fs_reading_list.aspx. Getting to Know You… For example, the geographic identity While students, staff and some of of Armenia depends on the person Have a look at the AFSA the faculty stared at me, it was not with whom one is speaking. When I quite to the degree that I experienced asked my class where their country and State Department outside of the university. From my was located, there was no consensus. readling lists in our online observations, this is probably because Armenians told me that it was vari- bookstore, offering a wide students and professors at AUA are ously in Europe, Eurasia, Asia or even selction of books on the somewhat more cosmopolitan than the Middle East (which greatly sur- Foreign Service. the general population. Several have prised me). Eventually, one student traveled and even lived abroad, which explained that Armenians’ elementary AFSA earns a royalty for is not the norm for Armenians. In and secondary school education tends every purchase you make on fact, a few professors were Americans to focus more on math and science Amazon.com when you enter of Armenian descent. because those are required university via the AFSA bookstore. Few people outside of AUA knew subjects, whereas geography is not. much English, but those who spoke Students were astonished when I any tried to converse with me — gen- told them that the average American

44 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 has probably not even heard of Arme- that I had an amazing adventure in nia, and knows little if anything about Yerevan. I would gladly visit the coun- Turkey’s massacre of its Armenian A highlight of teaching try again and would be happy to teach population back in 1915. I went on to another course at AUA. explain that the United States is com- the class was our varied Despite being treated as a negar/ prised of many ethnic groups who ex- alleged former supermodel/circus perienced genocides (I specifically cultural exchanges. freak, teaching and studying in the mentioned African-Americans, Native country increased my appreciation for Americans, Jews, Rwandans, Bosnians the Fulbright program and the edu- and Sudanese), so the collective pop- cational and cultural opportunities ulation may not know as much about that it provides. It is truly an excellent Armenia’s experience. You Really, way for nations to learn about one an- The class was appalled when I told Really Like Us! other. Countries may differ in various them that my 6-year-old son had to be Armenians frequently asked me if respects, but, even so, human beings, at school by 8 a.m. This was much too I wanted to live in their country per- irrespective of nationality, are quite early, in their opinion, to wake up (Ar- manently. They clearly wanted me to similar. menians start school late by U.S. stan- like their culture and to tell other for- Not only do I encourage my aca- dards, generally about 9:30 a.m.). eigners positive things about the demic colleagues to apply to be Ful- They also felt that I was a mean country. But because Armenians are bright grantees, but I urge them to mother to make him go to bed at 7:30 very family-oriented they always un- seek placement in countries that lie far p.m., because Armenians also go to derstood when I responded that, be- outside their previous cultural knowl- bed very late compared to Americans. cause my family lives in the United edge and comfort zones, like Armenia. The students thought that children States, that was where I wanted to be, The value of the knowledge gained should not have to go bed until about as well. and the relationships formed is truly 10 p.m. In that spirit, I can honestly report immeasurable. I When I told my class that each pre- senter had to wear a suit as part of a presentation assignment, at first they had no idea what I was talking about. I then explained that a suit was a matching jacket, slacks, tie, etc. One student replied, “Oh, you mean a costume.” I said no, believing that he meant Halloween-type clothing. We went back and forth for a few minutes until another student explained that in Russian, a suit, as defined in the U.S., is called a “costume.” They all laughed when I explained what the term meant in America. One day, as a female student and I were walking from campus, two men passed us. They not only gaped at me, as was customary, but one whipped out his phone and took a picture. Though she did not know them, my student scolded them in Armenian for being rude, then apologized to me for their behavior. I assured her that no apology was necessary, but I was touched by her concern for my potential discomfort.

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 45

AFSAAmerican Foreign NEService Association • April 2011WS AFSA Releases USAID Member Survey Results BY USAID VP FRANCISCO ZAMORA

very year AFSA looks forward to taking the pulse of the high is morale? How well is the agency performing? Which USAID membership. This fifth year of the survey at- areas need attention and improvement? What does the ad- Etracted significantly more respondents than last year (581 ministrator need to know that he is not hearing from other versus 327), of whom 77 percent were located sources? And, finally, are members satisfied overseas. It is also noteworthy that the major- USAID FSOs believe there with AFSA’s services? These are all important ity (45 percent) of respondents were entry- questions; and given that the survey is anony- level personnel (FS-4 to FS-6), reflecting the is still inequitable treatment mous and encourages straightforward honest effect of the accelerated hiring under the between them and feedback, it provides valuable information for USAID Development Leadership Initiative. all of us, including USAID leadership, to im- Newer employees seem especially eager to State Department personnel prove our agency and its mission. share their opinions and concerns. As addi- with regard to salaries The complete survey results can be found tional employees enter through the DLI pro- and other benefits. in the February issue of The Vanguard newslet- gram and older FSOs retire or leave, the ter on our Web site (www.afsa.org/usaid.aspx). proportion of newer officers overall will con- Here we present a summary, with selected tinue to increase. This is a signal to USAID that it must take graphs illustrating the main points. We hope that this data will into account evolving demographics. stimulate discussion and move us toward meaningful course The survey’s goal is to get answers to important questions: corrections. What are our members’ main concerns and complaints? How Continued on page 52

AFSA Launches Its New Web Site!

FSA is tremendously pleased to announce the launch of our brand-new Web site, www.afsa.org. We hope you have Aalready had the chance to visit it; if not, we encourage you to do so at your earliest opportunity. The original AFSA site was launched in 1997 and did not change over the next 14 years. Given the pace of technological advancements, it became increasingly clear that our online presence was well behind the times. The site contained some excellent information, but it was difficult to find and often hard to read due to its presentation. “Our new site is designed to better serve our members, the Governing Board and the Foreign Service,” Marketing and Out- reach Manager Ásgeir Sigússon says. The new site is thoroughly up-to-date in every sense. The content will be updated regularly and is more comprehensive than ever. Navigation and accessibility meet top standards, and multimedia applications are used throughout the site. You’ll also Continued on page 51

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 47 A F S A AFSANEWSBRIEFS N E W Give to the AFSA AFSA OFFICER ELECTION NOTICE S Scholarship Fund! The 2011 regularly scheduled AFSA Officer and Governing Board election This month, our annual AFSA Scholarship Fund is underway. Details about the election including the rules can be found at: www.afsa.org/afsa_elections.aspx. Appeal will be hitting your mailboxes. Please Members will receive candidates’ campaign literature in a number of ways. consider a donation to support the merit- and Campaigning through an employer e-mail by any member is prohibited with the need-based financial aid scholarships that we exception of the three pre-approved candidate e-mail blasts. provide to nearly 100 children of Foreign Service Ballots: Ballots will be mailed on or about March 28. If you do not receive a employees each year. Last year, through the gen- ballot by April 18, please contact the Election Supervisor (contact information erosity of our members and other donors, we below). provided $180,000 in such aid. Ballot Tally: On June 2, at 9 a.m., the ballots will be picked up from the post No membership dues fund any activity of the office in Washington, D.C. Only ballots received in the post office box will be AFSA Scholarship Program. Your tax-deductible counted. donation shows that you understand the value Election Information: Written requests for a duplicate ballot should be of education and investing in the future of our directed to Election Supervisor Alison Dunn at U.S. Department of Labor, young people. Please use the postage-paid reply OLMS, 800 North Capitol Street NW, Suite 120, Washington DC 20002-4244, envelope enclosed with the mailing to return fax: (202) 513-7301 or e-mail: [email protected]. Please include your your reply card and contribution today. For full name, work location, current address, telephone number and the last four more information, please visit digits of your Social Security number. www.afsa.org/scholar. 22-Percent Increase in AFSA Scholarship Applications! AFSA Merit Awards for Foreign Service high school seniors just became even more competitive. For 2011, AFSA received 91 Academic Merit applications compared to 70 in 2010, and 16 Art Merit Applications compared to just 13 last year. This program, run under the oversight of the AFSA Committee on Education, offers awards totaling $43,000. This year, AFSA will award $2,000 as top prizes, up from $1,800 last year, but will not increase the total number of awards bestowed. Merit Award winners will be selected during the second week of April, with local winners and their families invited to attend a reception and ceremony on Fri., May 6. For more details, please visit www.afsa.org/scholar. AFSA received 106 need-based Financial Aid Scholarship applications for undergraduate study. We will have enough funds to help 60 to 65 students

JOSH given the projected aid for this program of $175,000.

AFSA HEADQUARTERS: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 Staff: Governing Board: STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 Executive Director Ian Houston: [email protected] PRESIDENT: Susan R. Johnson USAID AFSA OFFICE: (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 Business Department STATE VP: Daniel Hirsch Director of Finance Femi Oshobukola: [email protected] USAID VP: Francisco Zamora FCS AFSA OFFICE: (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 Controller Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] FAS VP: Henry Schmick Assistant Controller Cory Nishi: [email protected] FCS VP: Keith Curtis PRESIDENT: [email protected] Labor Management STATE VP: [email protected] General Counsel Sharon Papp: [email protected] RETIREE VP: Robert Houdek SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris RETIREE VP: [email protected] Deputy General Counsel Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] TREASURER: Andrew Winter USAID VP: [email protected] Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: [email protected] Labor Management Counselor Janet Weber: [email protected] STATE REPS: Carleton Bulkin FAS VP: [email protected] Senior Staff Attorney Neera Parikh: [email protected] Ako Cromwell FCS VP: [email protected] Staff Attorney Raeka Safai: [email protected] Mary Glantz Office Manager Christine Warren: [email protected] Mike Haughey AFSA News USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: [email protected] Les Hickman Editor Amy McKeever: [email protected] USAID Staff Assistant Patrick Bradley: [email protected] Bruce Matthews (202) 338-4045, ext. 516; Fax: (202) 338-8244 Member Services Raymond Maxwell Member Services Director Janet Hedrick: [email protected] Joyce Namde Foreign Service Journal Member Services Representative: vacant Lynn Nelson FSJ: [email protected] Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Ana Lopez: [email protected] Sharon White Editor Steven Alan Honley: [email protected] Communications, Marketing and Outreach USAID REPS: Michael Henning Senior Editor Susan Maitra: [email protected] Retiree Counseling & Legislation Coordinator Bonnie Brown: [email protected] Glenn Rogers Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: [email protected] Associate Editor Shawn Dorman: [email protected] FCS REP: Stephen Morrison Director of Policy Edward Dickens: [email protected] Ad & Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger: [email protected] FAS REP: Melinda Sallyards Executive Assistant to the President: vacant IBB REP: Al Pessin Art Director Caryn Suko Smith: [email protected] Scholarship Director Lori Dec: [email protected] On the Web RETIREE REPS: Janice Bay Scholarship Program Assistant Jonathan Crawford: [email protected] Robert (Bill) Farrand AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org Road Scholar Administrator Bernard Alter: [email protected] Mary Ellen Gilroy How to Contact Us: Contact to How Marketing & Outreach Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: [email protected] FSJ: www.afsa.org/fsj and www.fsjournal.org Molly Williamson Special Awards & Outreach Coordinator Perri Green: [email protected]

48 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 A F V.P. VOICE: STATE I BY DANIEL HIRSCH S A N E W Good Supervision Leads to a Good EER Season S

mployee Evaluation Report season is upon us and, as and apply to that task the same effort and talent as is applied usual at this time, AFSA is hearing from and assisting to other tasks. Eraters, reviewers and rated employees. AFSA is happy to • Get to know subordinates and take the time to assess, advise members during any phase of the EER process, in- without value judgments, their strengths and weaknesses (un- cluding providing an objective, third-party opinion of how a derstanding that no one is always good at everything, and review or rated officers’ statement might be interpreted by a weaknesses can usually be addressed by training, closer su- promotion board. pervision or redistribution of duties within a section). The My position in AFSA has deepened my surprise that many benefits of such an investment far outweigh, in the long run, Foreign Service members — who have no trouble drafting a any temporary inconvenience. complex bilateral agreement or • Know what his or her subor- defending an International Co- AFSA is currently helping the department dinates actually do. A person who operative Administrative Sup- develop an online EER course for all employees, supervises an employee in a differ- port Services position — freeze which may well be released before this ent cone or specialty should make and fret when it comes to ana- the effort to fully understand the lyzing their subordinates or de- article is published. requirements and priorities associ- scribing their own accomplish- ated with that work at the begin- ments. Indeed, AFSA recently received a serious request from ning of the rating cycle rather than at the end. This also means a member in the field, urging the department to exempt FS respecting the expertise of one’s subordinates, particularly members from annual reviews on the theory that writing when they are trained or experienced in a different discipline. EERs and, in general, managing subordinate employees, takes • Communicate frequently and frankly, ensuring that not FS members away from their “real” work for the American only do employees know what is required of them, but also people. that they are welcome to convey their own concerns and opin- AFSA is currently helping the department develop an on- ions to the supervisor. As a corollary, listen. Good commu- line EER course for all employees, which may well be released nication is a two-way street. before this article is published. The course will address the ba- • Ensure that expectations and duties are accurately re- sics of EER writing but, more importantly, should serve as a flected in work requirements and kept up-to-date. These tool to address a very real problem. Many members find it should also indicate special requirements, such as frequent hard to evaluate their colleagues and expend the energy neces- travel that is a basic component of work or supervision con- sary to develop (rather than merely coordinate) subordinates ducted by a person at a different post. in the Service, so they struggle at evaluation time to fit an en- • Offer opportunities for subordinates to demonstrate in- tire year’s worth of supervision into a single writing session. dividual talents. Particularly in a section or field where every- As a result, far too many employees rise through the system one does pretty much the same thing, it is important to give without ever receiving a true appraisal of their skills and abil- people opportunities to head special projects, draft reports, ities, and without the guidance and training that their super- participate in task forces or otherwise demonstrate a strength visors should provide. that sets them apart from their colleagues. Many of the workplace and morale issues brought to While refraining from value judgments, a good supervisor AFSA’s attention are in some degree rooted in the deficiencies must have the courage to be frank, early on, when an em- of what should be a year-round process of communication, ployee is not living up to expectations. He or she must make supervision, feedback and guidance — in short, proper man- the effort to honestly assess whether the failure is due to em- agement. Done correctly, the supervisory cycle virtually guar- ployee weakness, a lack of resources or training, or the super- antees ease in EER writing, as both supervisors and rated visor’s own failure to lead. employees will be familiar with the issues involved. Yes, the process is time-consuming. But the payoff is Ideally, a good supervisor should: greater efficiency and higher morale. And best of all, you’ll be • Recognize that developing subordinates and colleagues is able to write EERs as easily as you write about any other mat- a key requirement of every Foreign Service supervisor's duties, ter with which you are intimately familiar. J

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 49 A F S V.P. VOICE: USAID I BY FRANCISCO ZAMORA A N Diversity at USAID: Why Should We Care? E W onsidering that USAID has operations in close to 100 USAID (20.7 percent of the USAID S locations worldwide, our agency is probably one of the work force compared to 10.5 percent Cmost diverse organizations globally. It encompasses of the NCLF), they, as well as His- more than 4,300 Foreign Service Nationals and Third-Coun- panic-Americans, are not so well dis- try Nationals, comprising every imaginable ethnic, religious, tributed at senior leadership levels. Finally, the agency still has race and gender category, working alongside U.S. Foreign a way to go to better represent disabled workers and military Service officers. It is tempting, then, to believe that we have no veterans. problem in the area of diversity. Which brings us back to our question: Why should we Indeed, the results of our recent worldwide FSO survey (see care? The answer is simple.: USAID is often the most visible p. 47) confirm that most respondents believe that diversity at face America presents to the world regarding our values. We USAID is either excellent (30 percent) or adequate (59 per- promote democratic government, representation, participa- cent), with only a small fraction citing it as poor (11 percent). tion and equality in everything we do. A diverse U.S. staff ac- Yet with regard to USAID’s direct-hire employees overseas and curately representing our inclusive nature as a nation is not in Washington, the opposite is true. In addition, most re- only justified in its own right, but it shows that we live up to spondents made wildly inaccurate assumptions about which our own rhetoric. categories were under-represented. As some survey respondents pointed out, it is, of course, Definitive data from the USAID Office of Civil Rights and important to get the best qualified person for the job regard- Diversity show that the biggest discrepancy is for Hispanic- less of diversity status. However, these statistics do suggest that Americans, who account for only 3 percent of our staff even problems exist. No one intends these data to be used for the though they make up 11 percent of the U.S. national civilian purpose of establishing quotas (which are illegal), but they can labor force. Most respondents believe that Native Americans alert us to the fact that barriers to equal opportunity exist and are the most under-represented group when, in fact, due to should be dismantled. their relatively small numbers in the U.S. population as a In a population of more than 300 million, we have to as- whole, their representation at USAID is basically on target (0.3 sume that there are sufficient numbers of qualified individ- percent). The proportion of Asian-American USAID em- uals of all backgrounds and abilities to fill the relatively small ployees, whom respondents also identified as under-repre- number of positions at USAID. A better performance on sented, is actually twice the NCLF: 6.2 percent of the USAID achieving diversity will more strongly project our values to work force compared to 3.6 percent nationally. the world and make us more credible as we help other coun- While African-Americans are well represented within tries adopt democratic principles. J

Foreign Affairs Day Foreign Affairs Day, including AFSA’s annual Memorial Plaque Cere- mony, will take place on Fri., May 6, at 10 a.m. at the Department of State. We regret to announce that this year yet another name will be added to the plaques: Eugene F. Sullivan, a Foreign Service officer who died of malaria in Ethiopia on Jan. 21, 1972. The plaque ceremony will take place on the morning of Foreign Affairs Day in the C Street lobby. We invite all members of the Foreign Service community to join us for this solemn occasion. For more information, please contact AFSA’s Coordinator for Special Awards and Outreach Perri Green at [email protected]. Following the official programs at the department, AFSA will welcome members to its headquarters at 2101 E Street NW for a recep- MICHAEL LAIACONA MICHAEL tion and light refreshments. During the reception, we will also honor AFSA President Susan Johnson speaks at last year’s Plaque Ceremony, with this year’s AFSA scholarship recipients and donors. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton looking on.

50 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 A F Web Site • Continued from page 47 V.P. VOICE: FAS I BY HENRY SCHMICK S notice a new emphasis on featuring pic- A tures of our members; after all, AFSA is a membership organization and all of our N work is done on behalf of our members. Perhaps most importantly, the new E site has top-of-the-line e-commerce ca- W pabilities, which allow visitors to per- Foreign Service S form the following tasks securely online: • Join AFSA and renew membership Bumper Stickers • Update address, e-mail and other biographical information • Purchase Foreign Service Journal subscriptions hether our daily existence consists of “multitasking” or “continuous • Donate to AFSA’s various causes and partial attention,” it is clear that we live in an attention-deficient era. activities W(Put down that BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, etc., and read this article!) The new site also allows visitors to The three-hour Lincoln-Douglas debates back in 1858 would now be limited to easily sign up for AFSAnet e-mail bul- less than 10 minutes, with a 10-second “point-counterpoint” summary for the 6 letins, connect with us via social media p.m. news. Unfortunately, our lack-of- platforms like Facebook and Twitter, attention lifestyle is embedded in Capi- contact AFSA staff and Governing Board tol Hill. While individual members of members, learn about upcoming AFSA Congress are very bright and hard- While individual members events and participate in quick polls. working, collectively they are reduced of Congress are very bright to repeating bumper-sticker slogans and hard-working, collectively Perhaps most importantly, for lowest-common-denominator TV spots. they are reduced to repeating the new site has While Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., bumper-sticker slogans top-of-the-line and Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., among many others, have recently penned for lowest-common- e-commerce capabilities. thoughtful articles outlining the national denominator TV spots. security justification for maintaining a Executive Director Ian Houston and strong Foreign Service, those articles are Marketing & Outreach Manager Ásgeir too long to catch the attention of our Sigfússon managed the Web site project “just slogans, no facts” society. As Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., noted recently, “The first with tremendous support from the rule of politics is that when you are explaining, you are losing.” So it’s time to de- AFSA Governing Board and staff, which velop our own bumper stickers and plaster the Hill. made a new Web site one of its main pri- It’s easy (and fun) to go negative: orities for the current term. • Reform or we’ll send you a sharply worded démarche. The site was developed and designed • Money can’t buy you love; but we try. by a Washington, D.C.-based firm, Taoti • Purchase our agricultural commodities, or we will dump them here. Creative. We truly appreciate their hard • With so much news, some of it is bound to be correct. work and dedication in making the But let’s take a more positive approach: process smooth and easy; the quality of State: We are in harm’s way before, during and after the military declares the their design speaks for itself. We also ap- mission over. preciate the cooperation of TMA Re- We talk to the bad guys, so you don’t have to. sources, which assisted in ensuring the USAID: Helping others helps the U.S. security and ease of our e-commerce This is USAID: 0.005 percent of the U.S. budget. transactions. FCS: More U.S. jobs through more U.S. exports. We always welcome suggestions Trade hand-holding for only $39.95 a day. about additional content that would be FAS: Growing U.S. jobs through U.S. agricultural exports. helpful to our members; please send any Expanding global food security and U.S. jobs through U.S. agricultural exports. such thoughts to [email protected]. IBB: Tweet revenge. Photographs from the field of AFSA News just wants to be free. members would be particularly wel- I would love to hear more ideas from you! Send any good suggestions to come. J [email protected]. J

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 51 A F S Survey • Continued from page 47 One contradictory result was their jobs and what they do, but are con- A Generally, we see many of the same that morale showed a 10 per- cerned about the future direction of the areas of concern that were expressed in agency. centage point improvement, N the previous survey — some more ur- One year into the job, Administrator gent than others. For example, USAID while there is an overall belief by Rajiv Shah garnered decent scores, al- E FSOs believe they still receive inequitable though a little lower overall than the W treatment compared to State Depart- the membership that working previous interim administrator, Alonzo S ment personnel in terms of salaries and conditions are worsening. Fulgham. Many members seem appre- other benefits. Sixty-three percent men- ciative that, after a year’s gap, the agency tioned the need for “ensuring equal ben- has a permanent administrator, and efits with the State Department,” a topic in the view of respondents, to reach a they seem willing to give Dr. Shah an that AFSA has repeatedly raised with new low this year with 57 percent giv- opportunity to improve the agency. USAID administrators and the human ing the office a “poor” rating. Diversity was a new topic for this resources department. One contradictory result was that survey. Many respondents were not Everything from entry-level salaries morale showed a 10 percentage point aware of the enormous discrepancies in to per diems, overseas hardship differ- improvement, yet there is an overall be- the composition of the USAID work entials and even access to training and lief by the membership that working force and assumed that representation child care at the Foreign Service Insti- conditions are worsening (in this year’s of all demographic groups was ade- tute is significantly different between the survey 55 percent said this was so, com- quate. This indicates that more educa- two agencies — always to the disadvan- pared to 54 percent last year). One way tion is necessary to update everyone tage of USAID employees. As long as to interpret this may be that FSOs like about the true situation. agency management continues Finally, we note your con- to allow these differences, it is cerns that AFSA’s communica- conveying the message that it tion with you is deficient. Many considers its employees second- of you (25 percent) wanted class vis-à-vis State employees. more specific and frequent up- There is still a great deal of dates on what we do to support discomfort regarding USAID’s you. While we publish an article relationship with the State De- addressing USAID issues in partment and moves to con- AFSA News every other month solidate more of our administra- and release The Vanguard news- tive operations into embassy letter as needed, we agree we functions; 57 percent of respon- could do better. AFSAnets from dents cited this as an important USAID have not been sent with concern. Also, the performance the frequency needed to keep of the Human Resources Office members up-to-date, and this in supporting the needs of FSOs will be our focus in the coming has deteriorated year after year, months. J

52 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 A F S A N E W S

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 53 A F S AFSA Announces Sinclaire Language Award Winners A BY SPECIAL AWARDS AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR PERRI GREEN N E roficiency in foreign languages is one of the AFSA Governing Board and the spe- W of the most valuable and important cial awards and outreach coordinator. Each S Pskills in today’s Foreign Service. of the winners receives a check for $1,000 AFSA’s Sinclaire Language Awards pro- and a certificate of recognition signed by the gram honors language students for out- AFSA president and the chair of the Awards standing accomplishment in the study of Committee. a difficult language and its associated cul- AFSA congratulates the nine winners of ture. this year’s Sinclaire Language Award, and AFSA established this language-award commends the School of Language Studies program based on a bequest from Matilda at FSI for its dedication in preparing stu- W. Sinclaire, a former Foreign Service offi- dents of hard languages for the intense chal- JOSH cer. The purpose of her bequest was to lenges of modern diplomacy. “promote and reward superior achievement by career officers of the Foreign Service of the United States while studying one of This year’s winners are: the ‘hard’ languages under the auspices of the Foreign Service Daniel Bailey Latvian Institute of the Department of State.” The guidelines were Eric Frater Vietnamese amended and updated in October 2001 to expand eligibility for Melanie Higgins Indonesian the awards to any career or career-conditional member of the Bradley Hurst Hungarian Foreign Service from State, USAID, FCS, FAS or IBB. Andrew Partin Georgian Candidates for the award are nominated by the language- Daniel Rakove Mongolian training supervisors at the FSI School of Language Studies or by Stuart Smith Greek language instructors at the field schools. They are selected by a Thomas Venner Tagalog committee composed of volunteer AFSA members, a member Vaida Vidugiris Greek J

AFSANEWSBRIEFS State Unveils New Careers Web Site AFSA is not the only organization with a new Web site. In February, the Operations Center Office of Recruitment, Examination and Evaluation launched its own newly 50th Anniversary — revamped careers site, with the goal of simplifying content and improving Calling All Alumni audience engagement (careers.state.gov). This month marks the 50th anniversary of Where the earlier site had eight separate navigation topics, the new one the Department of State’s Operations Center. streamlines them into three: learn, work and engage. Within these first two Since April 30, 1961, the Ops Center’s Watch categories, visitors will find videos of employees detailing the realities of their has operated 24/7/365, serving every Secre- careers and more information about the Diplomats-in-Residence program. tary of State from Dean Rusk to Hillary Rod- One of the most interesting changes to the Web site is the focus on employee ham Clinton. engagement with potential candidates for the Foreign Service. A blogroll lists As part of the celebration, we would like to some of the Service’s most prolific employee blogs, and forums allow current FS contact all Ops Center alumni to ask them to members to interact with, and give advice to, those who are hoping to join their share their stories and memorabilia, and to ranks. For those participate in events and service opportunities FS personnel related to the 50th anniversary. The organiz- who wish they’d ing committee kindly requests you to send an had someone to e-mail to [email protected] to ask for advice let us know when you served in Ops, what sig- back when they nificant events happened during your tenure were applying for and your current contact information. the Service, now’s Please pass this along to others with whom your chance to you served. We look forward to hearing do that for from you! someone else!

54 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 A F S This Month in Diplomatic History: A Celebrating the Birth of James Monroe BY GREG NAARDEN N E his is the first installment of what will be a before the British burned Washington during the W monthly column on U.S. diplomatic history. War of 1812. The library included the Declaration S TAuthors are members of the Friends of the of Independence, George Washington’s papers and USDC, a support group for the U.S. Diplomacy other notable Revolutionary War–era documents. Center. Monroe also taught an important lesson: make While April has become known at State as the sure you file vouchers in a timely manner. Deeply month to write prank cables, it also marks the in debt after retiring from the presidency, he pub- birth month of the seventh Secretary of State and licly lobbied Congress for reimbursement for ex- fifth U.S. president, James Monroe (April 28, penses incurred during his several diplomatic 1758). Monroe’s big contribution to U.S. foreign missions overseas and as Secretary. Some consid- policy was, of course, his famous Doctrine, which James Monroe, who served as ered his lobbying beneath the dignity of a former the seventh Secretary of State ensured that FSOs could choose from a fantastic and fifth U.S. president, was president, but Congress ultimately granted him array of posts throughout the Americas for gen- born this month on April 28, about $30,000. erations to come. 1758. The grant enabled Monroe to pay off his re- Monroe racked up enormous debts during his tenure as min- maining debts, although only after he had already sold off most ister to France and Secretary of State. Despite not having an of his property. He died on July 4, 1831 — exactly 55 years after American Citizen Services chief in Paris, Monroe secured the the document he ordered saved from the burning of Washing- release of many Americans from French prisons, including ton, D.C., was signed. J Thomas Paine. Greg Naarden is an FSO who has served in Frankfurt, Dushanbe and Kabul. And while serving as James Madison’s Secretary of State, He is currently assigned to Washington, where he spends weekends watch- Monroe conducted reconnaissance on the British army and or- ing World War II shows on the History Channel. If you’re interested in dered the removal of the department’s documents and library joining Friends of the USDC, contact him at [email protected].

Upcoming AFSA Notes author. He will be here on Mon., May 16, at 11 a.m., for a discussion of his brand-new book, High- Book Notes Events Value Target: Countering al Qaeda in Yemen. The former The AFSA Book Notes program, which spotlights books U.S. ambassador to Sanaa, Hull speaks with great featuring international and foreign policy–related topics, knowledge and from personal experience about this will be in full swing over the next few months: Middle East hot spot where terrorism seems to be Author and historian Jane Loeffler will be at AFSA on on an alarming rise. April 14, at 11 a.m., to discuss her book The Architec- Finally, noted author, academic and commentator ture of Diplomacy: Building America’s Embassies. Andrew J. Bacevich will discuss his book Washington In the book, Loeffler examines the history of America’s Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War on Fri., June 24 embassy buildings, beginning in the 19th century. (time TBD). In the book, Bacevich offers a critique of as- In addition to architectural and aesthetic issues, she sumptions guiding American military policy. These cen- takes a hard look at the effect that modern security and tral tenets have dominated national security policy since safety regulations have had on the look, feel and open- the start of the Cold War and have condemned the U.S. ness of America’s embassies. She focuses on the last to “insolvency and perpetual war,” in Bacevich’s estima- half-century, during which American embassies morphed tion (see review in the March FSJ ). from inviting modernist symbols, celebrating democracy All of these events will take place at AFSA headquarters and transparency, into forbidding military fortresses, at 2101 E Street NW. The book under discussion will be serving security and opacity. available for purchase at each event. Please RSVP to Retired Ambassador Edmund Hull is our May Book [email protected] if you would like to attend.

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 55 A F S AFSANEWSBRIEFS TRANSITION CENTER SCHEDULE OF COURSES for A April-May 2011 Clements Expat Apr. 4-5 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar N Youth Scholarship Apr. 6 MQ852 Personal Finance and Investments E Apr. 8 MQ950 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief Applications Apr. 9 MQ116 Protocol W Due May 13 Apr. 14-15 MQ917 Private-Sector Security Overseas Seminar S Clements International is now accepting Apr. 18-19 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar Apr. 20 MQ855 Traveling with Pets applications for its second annual Expat Apr. 21 MQ703 Post Options for Employment and Training Youth Scholarship program. Scholarships Apr. 27-28 MQ107 English-Teaching Seminar totaling $10,000 will be awarded to six in- May 2-3 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar dividuals. The contest is open to students May 5 MQ704 Targeting the Job Market May 6 MQ950 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief age 12-18, of any nationality, who have May 11 MQ118 Special Needs Education lived outside of their home country for May 12-13 MQ918 Study Abroad Administrators’ SOS more than two consecutive years. May 14 MQ116 Protocol May 16-17 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar Applicants must submit an essay and May 18 MQ203 Singles in the Foreign Service creative media (photos, illustrations, etc.) May 20 MQ950 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief in which they discuss and illustrate their May 21 MQ200 Going Overseas for Singles/Couples Without Kids lives as expatriate kids. For more informa- May 21 MQ210 Going Overseas for Families May 21 MQ220 Going Overseas Logistics for Adults tion on this year’s essay theme, please May 21 MQ230 Going Overseas for Kids visit www.expatyouthscholarship.com. May 25-26 MQ107 English-Teaching Seminar The deadline for entries is May 13. For further information, e-mail the FSI Transition Center at [email protected]. CLASSIFIEDS

LEGAL SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES

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58 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 BOOKS

Why Top-Down Despite the editors’ emphasis on This book leaves me “country ownership” and sensitivity to Doesn’t Work skeptical that local needs, they still rely on the multi- procedures that lateral Paris Declaration of 2005 and Delivering Aid Differently: apply to the follow-up Accra Agenda of 2008 to Lessons from the Field provide the guidelines for effective de- Wolfgang Fengler and Homi Kharas, humanitarian velopment planning. editors, Brookings Institution Press, operations will work For a pointed example of the im- 2010, $28.95, paperback, 286 pages. for development possibility of meshing bilateral and REVIEWED BY LEON WEINTRAUB assistance. multilateral programs within a single framework, whether funded by non- In assembling this anthology, Wolf- governmental organizations or central gang Fengler (a World Bank econo- governments, look no further than the mist) and Homi Kharas (a senior fellow President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS at the Brookings Institution) have aluminum, and on remittances from Relief. As Tamera Fillinger com- achieved their stated goal of demon- Tajik migrant workers abroad,” and mented in her June 2007 FSJ article strating the urgent need for serious re- “government interference in the econ- (“Women’s Health Undercut by Ad- forms in the way U.S. foreign assistance omy and massive corruption stifle eco- ministration Policies”), even this highly is delivered. Regrettably, they offer few nomic growth and private investment.” lauded, multibillion-dollar program workable ideas for how to implement Speaking as someone who has spent could not be meshed appropriately such an overhaul. considerable time in developing coun- with other efforts. Consider the book’s recommenda- tries as a Peace Corps Volunteer, doc- And as for promoting “country tions for the government of Tajikistan, toral research student and Foreign ownership,” Alex Dupuy, a sociology which begin: “Develop and adopt an Service officer, I am bemused that aid professor at Wesleyan University and a overall planning framework, a formal practitioners like Fengler and Kharas native of Haiti, wrote in the Jan. 9 approach that links national develop- continue to cling to top-down planning, Washington Post that the Interim Haiti ment priorities, the state budget, the modeling and strategizing. Count me Recovery Commission “has effectively national investment program, and pro- instead in the camp of William Easterly, displaced the Haitian government and grams and projects funded by foreign who says in his 2006 book, The White is in charge of setting priorities for re- aid.” The long to-do list goes on to in- Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts construction.” Both official aid and the clude establishing a new agency to co- to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill work being done by NGOs, he asserts, ordinate foreign aid and amending the and So Little Good, that “The plan to “reinforce the country’s dependence country’s tax code. end world poverty shows all the pre- on foreign aid and further sap the ca- Somehow, all these reforms are sup- tensions of utopian social engineering. pacity and responsibility of the govern- posed to occur in a country that the … That complexity [of society] dooms ment to meet the basic needs of its State Department describes as one any attempt to achieve the end of citizens.” where “foreign revenue is precariously poverty through a plan, and no rich so- The most valuable part of Deliver- dependent upon exports of cotton and ciety has ended poverty in this way.” ing Aid Differently is the final chapter,

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 59 B OOKS titled “Learning from Humanitarian The first section speaks to the mun- Aid.” Citing protocols and standards dane elements of pre-deployment life: that the international humanitarian The realities of Foreign a day/sleepover at the beach; buying a community has developed, Rebecca dog; appreciating the technical vocab- Winthrop writes of a focus on princi- Service life color ulary of Navy life and the utility of the ples, people, processes, programming slightly coded curse “Whiskey Tango and perspectives that has gradually so- Jehanne Dubrow’s Foxtrot.” In the third section, Ms. lidified into guidelines that stand up Dubrow touches on the joys and ten- quite well to the stresses of emergency poetry to good effect. sions of return: “Home is the sailor; operations. home from the sea.” Still, I remain skeptical that proce- In between, the deployment/over- dures that apply to humanitarian oper- seas assignment/hardship posting, Ms. ations will work for development Dubrow invokes Penelope, Odysseus’ assistance, for two reasons. First, the long-suffering, and enduring, spouse. urgency of humanitarian operations Poetry for The modern incarnation contemplates makes donors more willing to compro- her hairdo (“Penelope Considers a mise on leadership and coordination. It Home and Away New Do”) and faces the results of also makes donors less likely to insist on (over)eating alone (“Penelope, on a rigid requirements, for fear of being la- Stateside Diet”), but she also offers practical “In- beled a “spoiler” and causing needless Jehanne Dubrow, TriQuarterly Books, structions for Other Penelopes” in free deaths. 2010, $17, paperback, 58 pages. verse. Instead of top-down approaches, I Far from ponderous, the poetry has contend that the history of the United REVIEWED BY DAVID T. JONES a mild tongue-in-cheek touch, as well States and most developed countries as a tinge of the politely erotic. Nor illustrates the necessity of instituting In a profession dominated by prose does Ms. Dubrow reject the occasional the rule of law, along with a sanctions- (and probably doomed to become even rhyme (which is good news for those backed, merit-based civil service and more prosaic post-WiliLeaks), a book whose poetry appreciation ended with an economic regulatory framework. of poetry might seem, well, undiplo- “The Raven”). More generally, she Other than providing major infra- matic. But Stateside speaks elegantly leaves the reader wondering why po- structure (roads, ports, dams, canals, and eloquently to a baseline problem etry — once a key element of everyday etc.), governments should take a back with deep roots that has become in- social conversation, epitomized by seat to private investment as the pri- creasingly poignant today: career-dri- Keats, Shelley, Poe, Whitman, Eliot, mary engine of truly organic and sus- ven professional separations. Frost and others — has essentially dis- tainable economic development. A self-described “diplobrat,” Je- appeared from popular literature. Ms No approach is perfect, but such a hanne Dubrow applies her Ph.D. in Dubrow’s verse offers an incentive to process is more likely to lead to a English to the structure of being rethink this neglect. wealthier, more dynamic society than spouse to a naval officer. Stateside thus For more information about the any of the sustainable development speaks in three sections to the circum- book and the poet, visit www.jehanne and poverty reduction programs out- stances of a military deployment: thepoet.com. n lined by the many contributors to this preparation; deployment; return. book. But while the poetry is couched in David T. Jones, a retired Senior FSO, is military parlance, it is professionally a frequent contributor to the Journal. Leon Weintraub, a Foreign Service of- global. As the daughter of diplomats, He is the co-author of Uneasy Neigh- ficer from 1975 to 2004, is director of Ms. Dubrow has “been there, done bo(u)rs: Canada, the USA and the Dy- the University of Wisconsin’s Washing- that” with the United States Foreign namics of State, Industry and Culture ton, D.C., Semester in International Af- Service, and that reality also colors her (Wiley, 2007), a study of U.S.-Cana- fairs Program. writing. dian relations.

60 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 IN MEMORY

George Robert Andrews, 78, a Fla., and Courtenay Slemeck of New During 25 years as a Foreign Serv- retired Foreign Service officer and for- York City; a son-in-law, Luke; and one ice officer, Ms. Corey Archer served mer ambassador, died on April 11, grandson, Sebastien. first with the U.S. Information Agency 2010, at his home in Antigua, Guate- and then in the Department of State. mala. At her first foreign postings, Teguci- Mr. Andrews was born in Havana on galpa and Montevideo, she monitored Feb. 26, 1932. As the son of a U.S. Pamela Corey Archer, 70, a re- the transition from military to civilian Foreign Service officer, he was brought tired Senior Foreign Service officer, governments as assistant press attaché up in Japan, Panama, Chile, England died on Dec. 17 at her home in Arling- and cultural attaché, respectively. and France. He graduated from ton, Va. Following a tour in Quito as press Princeton University’s Woodrow Wil- Born May 2, 1940, in Los Angeles, attaché, she served as counselor for son School in 1953 and received a mas- Ms. Corey Archer spent her childhood public affairs in San Salvador, where, ter’s degree from the University of in Mexico where her father opened among other things, she coordinated Strasbourg. He then joined the For- and ran the first American Airlines of- meetings between U.S. authorities eign Service in 1954. fice, and later at Santa Catalina and guerillas and introduced human In Hamburg, where he served as a School, a boarding school in Mon- rights courses to the national war col- consular officer, Mr. Andrews met and terey, Calif. lege at the end of the civil war. She married Helga von Levern Schroeder. After graduating from Scripps Col- received several meritorious honor He subsequently served in Paris, Stock- lege in Claremont, Calif., with a degree awards and superior performance holm, Dakar, Conakry, Strasbourg, in Hispanic-American studies, she ac- awards for her work in Latin Amer- Brussels and Guatemala City. In 1983, companied her husband, George War- ica. President Ronald Reagan appointed ren Archer, to his first Foreign Service Ms. Archer’s last overseas postings him U.S. ambasssador to Mauritius. posting in Thailand. This was fol- were in Lima, where she also served After retiring from the Foreign lowed by Laos, where she worked as as counselor for public affairs, and Service in 1988, Amb. Andrews be- a journalist, and Panama, where she Madrid, where she was minister coun- came director of the World Affairs was an advertising copywriter and ac- selor for public affairs. Her last Council in Boston. In this position, he count executive. assignment was as diplomat-in-resi- arranged many foreign affairs programs Following her separation and even- dence at the University of North Car- that featured presidents from around tual divorce, Ms. Archer worked as a olina at Chapel Hill. the world. When he retired a second film producer in Buenos Aires and, After retiring in 2005, she worked time, in 1994, he and his wife settled in prior to entering the Foreign Service as an instructor in public diplomacy at Antigua. in 1981, as an international broad- the Foreign Service Institute and as a Amb. Andrews is survived by his caster with the Voice of America’s volunteer/interpreter at the Virginia wife, Helga, of Antigua; their daughters Spanish branch and a publicist with Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. She Christina Andrews of Key Biscayne, National Public Radio. travelled extensively to visit family and

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 61 I N M EMORY

friends across the country and around Stateside, the Burkes made Falls and Australia. the world, and actively enjoyed per- Church, Va., their home. As a math In her last weeks, as the family was forming arts events in the Washington, teacher at her children’s schools, St. preparing dinner one night, Mrs. D.C. area. She loved gardening and James Elementary and O’Connell Burke grabbed a large kitchen knife hosted regular social gatherings for High School, she was regarded as an and began chopping up a squash, friends and neighbors. enormously gifted teacher especially much to the dismay of everyone Ms. Corey Archer is survived by dedicated to pushing girls to excel in around her. When her son Jim asked her two children, Keefer Archer of math. She specifically requested to what she was doing, she responded Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and Jona- work with students who found that to with what had by then become a than Archer of Arlington, Va. be their most challenging subject. She trademark defiant grin: “I just want to became close friends with the other see if I can still do it!” The next day, teachers with whom she worked. continuing to disregard requests to let In 1995, the couple settled in Buz- family members help her, she spilled Linda Desmond Burke, 64, the zards Bay, Mass., where Mrs. Burke a cup of water and burst out laughing, wife of retired USAID FSO Kevin cherished the time she spent with her sarcastically singing the song “It’s Burke, died from multiple myeloma new friends at their weekly scrabble Gonna Be a Great Day!” from a Bette bone cancer on Oct. 23, 2010, at her group, the Little Harbor Golf Club Midler musical. home in Buzzards Bay, Mass., sur- and the Buzzards Bay Bowling Lea- Linda Burke is survived by her hus- rounded by her family. gue. She especially loved attending band of 43 years, Kevin of Buzzards Born and raised in Boston, Mrs. the lunches, banquets and outings to Bay; their sons, James (and his wife, Burke graduated from Notre Dame Lake Morey, Vt., as well as Cape Cod Tricia) of Portland, Conn., Walter (and Academy in 1964 and from Boston Canal parties and events with the U.S. his wife, Kristy) of Raleigh, N.C., and State College in an accelerated tri- Army Corps of Engineers. She also Brendan (and his wife, Karen) of mester program in 1967. At that time, stayed in close contact with her many Alexandria, Va.; and their grandchil- newly wed and barely 21 years old, she friends from Falls Church and the dren Maraline, Bettina, David, Jason; joined her FSO husband Kevin in Ban- Foreign Service. as well as beloved nieces, nephews, gui. There, as well as during later From the initial diagnosis that she cousins and a host of relatives and assignments in Haiti, Nigeria and was in an advanced stage of incurable friends. Guinea-Bissau, Mrs. Burke proudly cancer, to being notified that she had Donations in her memory may be performed the full range of represen- only a few weeks left to live, Mrs. made to a local food pantry or to the tational functions then expected of a Burke repeatedly said: “I’m very grate- Bourne Friends Food Pantry, 20 Foreign Service spouse. ful. I have no regrets. I’ve had a good Commerce Park, Pocasset MA 02559. Whether in America or in develop- run. I’ve been blessed with many ing countries, friends and family recall, things many people would love to have Mrs. Burke always had a strong empa- had in life.” thy for the poor and underprivileged She remained positive and resolved James W. Dawson, 77, a retired and felt privileged to be a part of the to enjoy every last minute with family FSO with USAID, died on April 3, work being done to help them. From and friends, and they credit the Dana- 2010, of a stroke while tending to his the day the plane door opened to the Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for garden at home in Tallahassee, Fla. stifling humidity and extreme poverty helping to keep her fully functional Mr. Dawson was born in Fort Sill, of Bangui, and on through other as- and with an extremely high quality of Okla., in 1932 to Grace Emma Eckler signments, she was always positive and life through to her last days. The and Elmore Winslow Dawson and never looked back, often using humor biggest thrill of her life was her chil- grew up in Oklahoma and Colorado, to brighten the day of those around dren and grandchildren and, despite a graduating from Greeley High School her. Within the Foreign Service com- disdain for computers, she even began in 1950. He graduated from the Uni- munity she was universally known as using Skype to stay in contact with versity of Colorado and later com- the life of the party. family spread around the U.S., Ireland pleted his master of public affairs

62 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 I N M EMORY degree at Syracuse University. in his memory may be made to the looking the Shenandoah River, which His career in public service began Unitarian Universalist Service Com- remained her favorite place in the with summer stints during his college mittee at www.uusc.org/donate. world. years with the U.S. Forest Service as a Later, when the couple settled in smoke jumper, fighting fires through- Northfield, Mrs. Flaten was a member out the western United States. He of the board of the Chippewa Valley served in the Mountain Cold Weather Carroll Flaten, 76, the wife of re- Ethanol Company, twice president of Training Command of the U.S. Army’s tired FSO and former Ambassador the American Association of Univer- 10th Mountain Division from 1954 to Robert A. Flaten, died on Dec. 9, sity Women, a member of the League 1956. 2010, in Northfield, Minn. of Women Voters, the Garden Club After seven years in the private Born in Aberdeen, S.D., Carroll and St. John’s Lutheran Church. She sector, Mr. Dawson joined the For- Jean Johnson also lived in Madison, participated in the AAFSW Book Fair eign Service in 1964 and was posted Wisc., and Ortonville, Minn., before every year. to Saigon as an assistant development returning to Aberdeen, where she Mrs. Flaten’s love of travel contin- officer. He received a Medal for graduated from high school in 1953. ued after retirement. She traveled to Civilian Service for his efforts on be- She worked her way through St. Olaf Europe with her son Arne, visited half of USAID while serving in Viet- College, graduating cum laude, and Russia and Italy with St. Olaf groups, nam. He subsequently served in then joined her Air Force husband and made several trips to India, South- Thailand, Kenya, Liberia and the Robert Flaten in South Carolina. She east Asia and Africa during lecture Philippines, before retiring from the completed college course work at the cruises with her husband. She jour- Foreign Service. College of Charleston, later earning an neyed by car across the southern Mr. Dawson went on to consult M.A. in English from George Mason United States and across Canada from in numerous other countries with University during one of the family’s Vancouver to Nova Scotia. USAID and several nongovernmental assignments to Washington, D.C. As family and friends recall, Mrs. organizations before concluding his Mrs. Flaten had always dreamed of Flaten found beauty in the simple, the public service as the director of finance travel to beautiful and exciting places, imperfect, the flawed, the earthy and at the Lee County Public Health De- family members recall. When her the handmade. Baskets from all over partment in Fort Myers, Fla. husband joined the Foreign Service in the world, inexpensive and trans- An avid outdoorsman, skier, moun- 1961, she took up the challenges of life portable, are prominently displayed in taineer and sailor, Mr. Dawson was as a diplomatic wife with enthusiasm, her home along with other beautiful also an intrepid traveler and voracious raising four children while serving in artifacts. Her creative interest was ex- reader, who in his later years applied Strasbourg, Peshawar, Tel Aviv, Kigali pressed in her hooked rugs, always de- his consummate planning skills and fi- and Washington, D.C. signed by her and hooked with found nancial acumen in volunteer efforts at In Kigali, she was director of the li- colors and recycled wool. the Unitarian Universalist Church of brary at the American International Carroll Flaten is survived by her Tallahassee. School. She was twice evacuated from husband of 54 years, Robert, of North- He is survived by his wife, Nona L. war zones with young children, leav- field, Minn.; children Kristin Flaten of Dawson, of Tallahassee; children, ing their father behind to do his job. St. Paul, Minn., Karen Flaten (and Robyn D. Flowers of Tallahassee, During assignments to Washington, husband, Denny Jarosch) of South Stephen K. Dawson (and his wife, D.C., Mrs. Flaten partnered with her Haven, Minn., Sonia Mathew (and Daphne) of Campobello, S.C., and husband in remodeling their early husband, Paul) of Brookline, Mass., Elizabeth A. Dawson of Menlo Park, 1900s home in Arlington, Va. She and Arne (and his wife, Rebecca) of Calif.; and three grandchildren, Jona- learned to refinish antiques and re- Conway, S.C.; four grandchildren, thon K. Flowers, James M. Flowers upholster furniture, and she became a Erika, Natasha and Lara Flaten, and and John W. Dawson. He is also sur- master gardener. She was also co-de- Anjoli Mathew. vived by his younger brother, David M. signer and builder of a cabin on Mas- Memorials may be sent to Sing for Dawson of Concord, Calif. Donations sanutten Moutain in Virginia over- Joy at St. Olaf, the Community Action

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Center in Northfield, Minn., and the ing learning for seniors and improving of State in 1943, serving at posts in Hotel Rwanda Rusesabegina Founda- living options for those less fortunate. Calcutta and Bombay. He then re- tion. He served as a longtime board mem- turned to Washington, D.C., where he ber of the Sarasota Institute of Life mostly worked on German affairs. He Time Learning, the Jefferson Center, met his future wife, the former Mar- the Retired Foreign Service Associa- garet Lavin, at the State Department, Richard (Dick) R. Hart, 79, a re- tion, and their condo association. He then co-located with the Departments tired FSO, died on Dec. 19, 2010, in was also a member of the Church of of War and Navy in what is now the Florence, S.C. the Palms. Old Executive Office Building. They Born on March 25, 1931, in Elkhart, Survivors include his wife of 55 were married in 1947. Ind., Mr. Hart was raised in New Or- years, Colleen, of Indiana; three chil- In 1951, Mr. Miller joined the For- leans, La., and graduated from Florida dren, Amy Hart Vrampas (and her eign Service. His diplomatic assign- Military Academy (high school) in St. husband, Cosmas) serving in Muscat, ments included Helsinki (1957-1961); Petersburg, Fla. He then returned to Scott Nelson Hart (and his wife, attendance at the NATO Defense Col- New Orleans, where he received a B.A. Leola) of Leicester, N.C., and Jan- lege, then located in Paris (1961- in journalism from Tulane University in marie Hart Chatlosh (and her hus- 1962); and Taipei (1962-1963). 1950. band, Jeff) of Florence, S.C.; and six This was followed by a lengthy stay Mr. Hart was first called to serve in grandchildren, Jason and Justin Chat- in Washington, D.C., where he worked the Air Force, where he was posted to losh, George and Alexandra Vrampas, on international trade and economic Korea as a personnel officer. After re- and Brie and Zack Hart. negotiations, including the General turning from Korea, he married his Agreements on Tarriff and Trade Bal- wife, Colleen, and the couple spent ance of Payments Committee, the ne- their first year of marriage on the gotiation of changes to the Convention Bloomington campus of Indiana Uni- William Keller Miller, 90, a re- for Safety of Life at Sea following the versity, where he earned a master’s de- tired Foreign Service officer and in- Yarmouth Castle disaster, and negotia- gree in political science and history, ternational civil servant, died on Jan. 1 tions for Fixed Satellites and Telecom- with a concentration in Chinese. at his home at the Jefferson Senior In- munications Services. From 1971 to In 1956, Mr. Hart entered the For- dependent Living Center in Arlington, 1974, he was posted to Geneva, fol- eign Service and began a 28-year ca- Va. lowed by a posting in London (1974- reer in diplomacy. After serving in Born in Lancaster, Pa., Mr. Miller 1978), where he served as the minister Washington, D.C., and Yokahama, Mr. moved to Springfield, Ill., as a child. for economic and commercial affairs. Hart was transferred to Taichung, Tai- He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from In 1978, Mr. Miller joined the In- wan, for language training and initia- Haverford College in 1941 with hon- ternational Sugar Organization in Lon- tion as a China hand. He subse- ors in economics, and from the don as its executive director, serving in quently served in Taipei, Kathmandu, Fletcher School of Law and Diplo- that capacity until 1986. Following his Hong Kong and Bangkok before end- macy in 1942. second retirement, he lived in Arling- ing his career as the counselor for po- He was attending the Fletcher ton, Va., where he enjoyed playing golf litical affairs in Beijing. School at the time of Pearl Harbor, and watching sports on TV. Following retirement in 1984, Mr. and recalled that following the attack He was an avid fan of the Washing- Hart and his wife moved to Sarasota, he and his classmates were brought in ton Senators and the Nationals, and Fla. He continued his government to talk to the dean, who told them that attended numerous baseball games service by occasionally traveling with they could do more for the world by during his life at Griffith Stadium, USIA’s Chinese visitors as a transla- staying in school and finishing their RFK Stadium and Nationals Park. He tor/guide. degrees than by immediately enlisting. was also a lifelong fan of the Pitts- Mr. Hart actively participated as a Upon graduation he served in the burgh Pirates, having been given a volunteer in the community, always Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1943. baseball signed by the entire team in concentrating on enhancing continu- Mr. Miller joined the Department the early 1930s when he was bedrid-

64 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 I N M EMORY den for six months with pneumonia. 1970s, died on Jan. 7 at the Grand the Battle of the Bulge, and he was Mr. Miller was predeceased by a Oaks retirement facility in Washing- made a prisoner of war. Taken to a son, William Keller Miller Jr., who ton, D.C., of vascular disease. camp for American officers in west- died in 1995. He is survived by his Richard Parker was born in the ern Poland, he was liberated by the wife, Margaret of Arlington, Va; three Philippines of American parents (his Russians in 1945 and emerged via children, Michael Robert Miller of father was an Army officer) in 1923. Odessa two months later. He re- Missoula, Mont., Mary Margaret He was educated at public schools in mained in the Army until 1947, when Miller (and her husband, Dennis Far- various parts of the United States and he returned to Kansas State Univer- ley) of Washington, D.C., Elizabeth became an engineering student at sity, receiving a B.S. that year and an Barbara (Libby) Miller (and her hus- Kansas State College of Agriculture M.S. in citizenship education the fol- band, Jack Judd) of Missoula, Mont.; and Applied Science, now Kansas lowing year. four grandchildren; and one great- State University, in 1940. He enlisted He then worked for five months as grandson. in the Army at the end of his junior executive secretary of the Kansas State year, went to officer candidate school Commission for UNESCO, a body es- after basic training and was commis- tablished by Milton Eisenhower, who sioned a second lieutenant of infantry was then president of KSU and chair- Richard Bordeaux Parker, 87, a in June 1944. man of the United States National retired FSO and Middle East expert In December 1944, the division in Commission for UNESCO, to pro- who served as ambassador to Algeria, which Mr. Parker commanded an an- mote cultural exchange and adult ed- Lebanon and Morocco during the titank platoon was overwhelmed in ucation in international affairs.

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One or two other states formed teaching courses in the modern diplo- teaching courses on the Middle East. such commissions, and in 1948 there matic history of the Middle East. At And in the spring of 1994, he helped was a lively grassroots exchange going the same time he became editor of the teach a graduate course on conflict on between them and various World Middle East Journal, a peer-review resolution at The Johns Hopkins Uni- Affairs Councils that were also spring- journal dealing with the modern Mid- versity School of Advanced Interna- ing up. In spite of an enthusiastic ini- dle East. In 1982 he returned to tional Studies. tial response in Kansas, however, the Washington and continued at the Mid- In both 1992 and 1998, Amb. state commission idea did not gather dle East Journal until 1987. Parker organized and directed ground- momentum, and the organization In 1983 Amb. Parker served as breaking conferences on the 1967 and folded a year or so after Mr. Parker left consultant to the U.S. Businessmen’s 1973 Arab-Israel wars, grouping re- it in January 1949 to enter the Foreign Commission on Reconstruction in tired officials from all sides to discuss Service. Lebanon (headed by Lewis Preston of their versions of what led to those During a 31-year Foreign Service Morgan Bank). He took on added re- crises and how their governments re- career, Mr. Parker served in the entire sponsibility in 1986 for three years as acted to them. The results were pub- gamut of consular and diplomatic jobs, founding president of the Association lished by the University Press of from bottom to top, in assignments to for Diplomatic Studies and Training, Florida in two volumes: The Six-Day Sydney, Jerusalem, Beirut, Amman, an alumni organization devoted to im- War, a Retrospective (1996) and The Cairo, Rabat and Algiers. He also proving the Foreign Service Institute October War, a Retrospective (2001). served on various country desks in the and promoting the study of diplomatic Meanwhile, Amb. Parker was or- Department of State for a total of history. ganizing and raising money for a mon- eight years and spent one year as a From 1989 to 1990 Amb. Parker ument to Joel Barlow, his predecessor mid-career fellow at the Woodrow was a fellow at the Smithsonian’s at Algiers 180 years before. That me- Wilson School of Public and Interna- Woodrow Wilson International Cen- morial was dedicated in 1998 in the tional Affairs at Princeton (1964- ter for Scholars, where he began work graveyard at Zarnowiec, the Polish vil- 1965). on a study of miscalculation in foreign lage where Barlow died in 1812 on his Mr. Parker spent two years in Ara- affairs. The fruit of this year was his way back to Paris from an aborted bic language and area studies and was book The Politics of Miscalculation in meeting with Napoleon at Vilna. the first non-native speaker to attain a the Middle East (Indiana University Amb. Parker also served briefly as in- grade of 4/4 (meaning fluency in both Press, 1993). Choice, the librarians’ terim president of the Middle East In- the spoken and written language) in journal, picked it as an outstanding ac- stitute and, again, as editor of the the test administered by the Depart- ademic title of the year, saying: “This is Middle East Journal in the mid-1990s. ment of State’s Foreign Service Insti- the best book to deal with the diplo- Beginning in 1998, he concentrated tute in 1961. matic history of these three wars. It is on a study of U.S. relations with the In 1975 Mr. Parker was appointed written in clear, lucid and undiplo- states of North Africa during the pe- ambassador to Algeria by President matic language. This is a great riod 1785 to 1830, producing a book ti- Gerald Ford. He then served as am- achievement.” tled Uncle Sam in Barbary: A Diplo- bassador to Lebanon (1977-1978) and In the fall of 1990, Amb. Parker matic History (University Press of to Morocco (1978-1979) during the was the John Adams Fulbright Fellow Florida, 2004). The work recounts Carter administration. His last gov- in London, speaking at 16 British uni- America’s first international hostage ernment post was as faculty adviser at versities, including Oxford and Cam- crisis, when North African pirates cap- the Air University at Maxwell Air bridge, as well as on the BBC and in tured two American ships off the coast Force Base, Ala. other public fora on the situation in of Portugal in 1785. In 2004, the In 1980 Ambassador Parker retired the Middle East on the eve of the Gulf American Academy of Diplomacy from the Foreign Service to accept the War. For the 1992-1993 academic awarded him the C. Douglas Dillon position of Diplomat-in-Residence at year, he was the Stephen Scarff Dis- Prize for the year’s best work on Amer- the University of Virginia in Char- tinguished Visiting Professor at Law- ican diplomatic practice. lottesville, where he spent two years rence University in Appleton, Wisc., Amb. Parker was a prolific writer

66 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 I N M EMORY known for his great wit and the will- In 2004, Amb. Parker received the Award for his role in the rescue mis- ingness to present his views with blunt AFSA Award for Lifetime Contribu- sion to Yemen (1967), to name a few. honesty. His depth of expertise in Arab tions to American Diplomacy. At the Amb. Parker was a member of the culture was reflected in numerous ac- conclusion of a wide-ranging interview Advisory Council on Near East Stud- ademic papers and articles on a wide in the Foreign Service Journal that ies of Princeton University, the Amer- variety of topics, including Lebanese year, when asked if he recommended ican Academy of Diplomacy, the proverbs and Arabic graffiti, as well as the Foreign Service to young people Association for Diplomatic Studies scores of book reviews. today, Parker stated, “I always tell and Training, the American Foreign An amateur photographer, Parker them that I can’t think of anything I Service Association, the Middle East also took hundreds of photographs would rather have done with my life Institute, the Cosmos Club and Delta during his travels in the Middle East, than be in the Foreign Service. There Tau Delta. and wrote two guidebooks — to Is- was never a dull moment.” Amb. Parker is survived by his wife lamic monuments in Cairo (1974) and He was the recipient of many of 66 years, Jeanne Jaccard Parker of Morocco (1981) — the first of which is awards throughout his career: the For- Washington, D.C.; four children, Ali- still in print. More than 650 prints and eign Service Cup (1989), the Air son Kenway of Portland, Maine, Jeff negatives of his work from Syria, Jor- Force Medal of Merit (1980), the Parker of Newton, Mass., Jill Parker of dan, Egypt and Lebanon are part of Grand Cordon of the Order of the Arlington, Va., and Richard “Jack” the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian art Cedars, Lebanon (1979) and the De- Parker of Danvers, Mass.; nine grand- collection. partment of State Superior Service children; and two great-grandchildren.

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Mary Kellogg Rice, 100, wife of books for schools and libraries. Rice then accompanied her husband the late FSO Edward E. Rice, passed The project flourished, becoming to Manila, Stuttgart and Hong Kong away in Tiburon, Calif., on Jan. 6. a model for programs elsewhere. A and Macau, with assignments in Mrs. Rice was born on Dec. 1, half-century later, when modern-day Washington, D.C., interspersed. 1910, in Milwaukee, Wisc., the politicians debated welfare reform, All during her work on the WPA daughter of Laura Nelson Kellogg Mrs. Rice wrote a book about the project, Mrs. Rice had put aside her and Frederick Wild Kellogg, a whole- project, Useful Work for Unskilled own art, weaving. At her first post, sale seed merchant. She studied art Women: A Unique Milwaukee WPA Manila, she thought she would finally at Milwaukee State Teacher’s College. Project, which was published in 2003. get back to it, she recounted in an in- In 1935, during the depths of the She married Edward E. Rice, also terview for the Foreign Affairs Oral Great Depression, when she was in from Milwaukee and an FSO, in late History Collection. She took a de- her senior year in college, Mary Kel- 1942, when he was home on leave. mountable floor loom with her, but, as logg was asked to serve as art director The couple spent three months to- it happened, she became an inde- for a handicraft project sponsored by gether in Washington, D.C., before pendent consultant with the United the Works Progress Administration. Mr. Rice returned to China, where he Nations and the Philippine govern- The project engaged unemployed had been posted since 1935. They ment to reconstruct the country’s cot- women in producing useful and well- were reunited when he returned to tage weaving industry following designed goods for public institutions, Washington in 1945, spending the World War II. As she told the inter- such as dolls, fabrics, wall hangings next four years in the Bureau of Chi- viewer, “It was a fascinating experi- and furniture. They also rebound nese Affairs at the department. Mrs. ence. I traveled around the Philip-

68 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 I N M EMORY pines to assess what the needs were Service in 1946. During an 18-year vice president for university life in and tried to find some markets for career with the State Department, he 1964. He later served as administra- local fabrics.” concentrated on Latin American af- tive vice president and vice president Mr. Rice’s last posting was as diplo- fairs. As a junior FSO he attended the for planning. In 1971, he moved to mat-in-residence at the University of first meeting of the Organization of Mexico as president of the University California, Berkeley. In 1969, the American States in Bogota, and then of the Americas in Puebla, returning couple settled in Tiburon, where Mrs. served as the director of the economic to SMU in 1973 as a professor of po- Rice finally found time for her own mission in Madrid. litical science and scholar-in-resi- art. She worked at weaving until back He returned to Washington, D.C., dence. He was named professor problems developed, and then exper- first as deputy, then as assistant secre- emeritus in 1975. imented with a fabric-dyeing techni- tary of State for inter-American affairs After retirement from SMU, Amb. que called shibori. She also collabo- from 1956 to 1960. He served as am- Rubottom remained active in diplo- rated on a book, Shibori: The Inven- bassador to Argentina from 1960 to macy and civic affairs. From 1985 to tive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist 1961, concluding his Foreign Service 1987, he served as director of the Dal- Dyeing, that was published in Japan career as adviser to the Naval War las Office of International Affairs. He in 1983. It is considered a classic on College in Newport, R.I. also served on the Texas Committee the subject, and is still in print. Ambassador Rubottom then em- of the Campaign for SMU from 1997 Friends recall Mrs. Rice’s intense, barked on a second career, returning to 2002. He was twice president of lifelong interest in public policy, par- to Southern Methodist University as the Dallas Rotary Club, and served on ticularly policy affecting women and children. Her husband, Edward, predeceased her in 2006. She is survived by a niece, Catherine Siewert of San Francisco, Calif. R. Richard Rubottom Jr., 98, a retired FSO and former ambassador, died on Dec. 6 in Austin, Texas. Mr. Rubottom was born in Brown- wood, Texas, in 1912. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Southern Methodist University in 1932 and 1933, and went on to study Latin American relations at the University of Texas while employed as an assistant dean of students there. In Austin he met and married Billy Ruth Young of Corsicana, Texas. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941 and served in naval intelligence positions in Mexico and Paraguay, rising to the rank of commander during World War II before leaving the Navy. Mr. Rubottom joined the Foreign

APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 69 I N M EMORY the national and international boards Margaret Joy Tibbetts, 90, a re- London as a political officer. She re- of the Boy Scouts of America. He was tired FSO and former ambassador, ceived her commission as a Foreign also a lay leader and member of the died on April 25, 2010, at the Gover- Service officer in 1951. After serving administrative board of the Highland nor King Community of The High- in Leopoldville as an economic officer Park United Methodist Church, serv- lands in Topsham, Maine. and consul covering the Cameroons ing as president in 1992, and served Ms. Tibbetts was born on Aug. 26, and French Equatorial Africa from on the executive committee and edu- 1919, in Bethel, Maine, to Pearl Ashby 1954 to 1957, she returned to the de- cational foundation board of the Tibbetts and Dr. Raymond R. Tibbetts. partment. Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. She was educated at the Gould Acad- In 1958, she became the officer-in- Amb. Rubottom was preceded in emy in Bethel, graduated from charge for political-military affairs in death by his wife of 69 years, Billy Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., in the Office of European Regional Af- Ruth. He is survived by his daughter 1941, and earned an M.A. (1942) and a fairs, and a year later was detailed to Eleanor Odden (and her husband, Ph.D. (1944) at Bryn Mawr College in the International Cooperation Admin- Allan) of Madison, Wisc., his son Bryn Mawr, Pa. istration, where she served until 1961. Frank Ruchard Rubottom of Hous- She joined the Office of Strategic Ms. Tibbetts was then assigned to ton, Texas, and his son John William Services as a research analyst in 1944, Brussels as chief of the political sec- Rubottom (and his wife, Angie) of moving to the State Department a year tion. In 1963 she returned to the de- Austin, Texas; four grandchildren, and later to work in research and analysis partment to attend the Senior Seminar. one greatgrandson. until 1949, when she was assigned to President Lyndon Johnson appoint-

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70 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011 I N M EMORY ed Ms. Tibbetts U.S. ambassador to Bethel Library Association and as an a Maine girl at heart with a keen Norway in 1964. There she was the officer and trustee of the Bethel His- sense of humor. She considered hav- ranking FSO in charge of negotiations torical Society. She often wrote arti- ing been sprayed by a skunk and hav- on military bases and atomic weapons cles on the history of the region and ing burned a hole in the seat of her agreements, serving until 1969. As was actively involved in the society’s wool pants from sitting on her ambassador, she also escorted Dr. Mar- programs and exhibits. mother’s wood-burning cook stove to tin Luther King Jr. and his family when In addition, she taught at Bowdoin have been honors equal to the others he received the Nobel Peace Prize in College in Brunswick, Maine, and was she had earned in her life. Oslo in 1964. awarded an Honoris Causa Doctor of Margaret Tibbetts is survived by a Amb. Tibbetts was made a career Laws degree in 1973. Family mem- nephew, F. Barrie Freeman (and his minister in 1969, and in 1971 received bers recall that she was an avid reader, wife, Lois), and a grandniece, Mary the State Department’s Distingished and say she would wish to be remem- Tibbetts Freeman, all of West Bath, Honor Award. She retired from the bered for that interest especially. She Maine; a nephew, James Ashby Free- Foreign Service in 1971, returning to was well known for her deep interest man; and a grandnephew, Matthew Bethel to care for her elderly mother. and abilities in natural history, wildlife, Scott Freeman. For the next 40 years of her life, bird watching, gardening and north- Donations in her memory may be Amb. Tibbetts maintained a dynamic western Maine history. made to the Bethel Library, the commitment to the Bethel community, Friends and family members also Bethel Historical Society or another working with the Gould Academy, the recall that Amb. Tibbetts was always Bethel charity. I

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APRIL 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 75 REFLECTIONS

The Lights

BY LEE-ALISON SIBLEY

y grandfather is rolling over And then George was on Skype and in his grave! An Orthodox In that moment, I saw him, feeling his presence even MJew, he wouldn’t even pick we were together, though he was thousands of miles up a coin on the Sabbath, much less use away. We talked for a while, as I sat at electricity. On Yom Kippur he prayed watching the lights, my desk in the office, and we waited and prayed, and made sure all nine chil- feeling love and until the sun went down and the earth dren did, as well, both in the synagogue turned. and at home. But my situation is dif- the sadness of I don’t remember who came up with ferent, requiring creativity, forgiveness being apart. the idea to bring the computer to the and acceptance — for my husband, great room where the candles waited. George, is in Iraq and I am not. Nor do I remember who said to aim the He is in a trailer, and I’m in our home camera so as to see the lighting. I put in Great Falls, Va. From those two dis- the computer on the coffee table and tant points we try to come together to dreds of prayer scarves left by visitors moved the lamps into George’s view. I share and to find meaning that bridges and the statues and candles represent- lit them, and we saw each flame come the miles. Welcome to Skype! With it I ing Tibetan Buddhism. to life on the little screen! can see his face, hear his voice, feel con- At the time, we only needed two Then it was time for sharing nected to him. candles, one for my father and one for thoughts. George asked for my forgive- Each Yom Kippur we have had a tra- my father-in-law — both gone the same ness for going to Iraq, saying that if it dition of lighting the yahrzeit candles to year, 1989. I remember our comment- hurt me, he was sorry and loved me very honor our dead parents. My father and ing as we lit the candles how much our much. I told him that I knew his leav- mother did it this exact same way, light- fathers would have gotten a kick out of ing did not reflect how he felt about me, ing candles not on the anniversary of this, for they were both very adventur- but rather his sense of duty. their parents’ death, but on Yom Kip- ous and accepting. See, sweetie, I do understand. It pur. We’ve carried this forward into our Indeed, leaving the lights for our fa- isn’t a question of forgiveness; it is a generation and wherever we have been thers in the Jokhund meant that in the question of acceptance. In that mo- in the world, we’ve lit the candles and farthest reaches of the world, we re- ment, we were together, watching the said what we needed to say about the membered them, and honored them, lights, feeling love and the sadness of year that passed and the year to come. and showed our sons the importance of being apart, but also the hopefulness Until this year, the most memorable the tradition. I remember feeling that that next year — not in Jerusalem, but lighting for me took place in 1992 — my heart was so full it might burst as the in Great Falls — we would be together the year we went to Tibet with our boys, tears rolled down my face. again, lighting the yahrzeit lamps. Ben and Gabe, and a whole group from Fast-forward to 2010 — 5777 in the God bless technology! I the U.S. embassy. While in Lhasa, the Jewish calendar. My husband is gone, capital, we visited the holiest of holies but we haven’t lost touch. I got the Lee-Alison Sibley is the author of Jor- for Tibetan Buddhists, the Jokhund yahrzeit candles ready — they now dan’s Jewish Drama Queen (BookSurge Temple. In that sacred place, we were number four, including one for my Publishing, 2009). Her FSO husband, given permission to light our candles mother and one for my American Field George, is currently the senior adviser and place them on the altar with hun- Service “sister,” Noelle. to Northern Iraq based out of Kirkuk.

76 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2011