The Foreign Service Journal, April 2010

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DNA TESTING FOR IMMIGRANT VISAS? ■ THE MEANING OF COURAGE

$3.50 / APRIL 2010 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L STHE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS

HANDS ACROSS THE SEA The Foreign Service Helps in Haiti C1-C4_FSJ_0410_COV:proof 3/16/10 5:40 PM Page C2

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OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S CONTENTS April 2010 Volume 87, No. 4

F OCUS ON

The Foreign Service Role in Haiti

A COMPASSIONATE AND COMPETENT RESPONSE / 17 The work USAID and State have done in Haiti following the Jan. 12 earthquake shows why they should take the lead in disaster response. By J. Brian Atwood

RELIEF EFFORTS RESONATE IN WEST AFRICA / 21 Naval personnel from three West African nations took part in the Cover and inside illustration relief effort as part of a U.S.-African military program. by Ben Fishman By Benjamin East

PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 Two Important Blueprints for ECHOES OF GRACE / 24 Labor-Management Collaboration The local staff who form the backbone of Embassy Port-au-Prince By Susan R. Johnson saw their society literally disintegrate in seconds. By Michael Henning SPEAKING OUT / 14 DNA: The Future of ‘THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME’ / 27 Immigrant Visa Processing Embassy Santo Domingo has played a special role By Simon Hankinson in the disaster relief efforts in neighboring Haiti. REFLECTIONS / 72 By Team Santo Domingo Courage By Elisabeth Merton TALES FROM THE FIELD / 33 Hundreds of AFSA members from around the world are responding to the crisis in Haiti. Here are some of their stories. LETTERS / 7 By Steven Alan Honley CYBERNOTES / 10 BOOKS / 63 REMEMBERING THOSE WE HAVE LOST / 45 One Foreign Service officer, the wife and two children of an FSO MARKETPLACE / 64 and at least six Foreign Service Nationals were among the casualties. INDEX TO By Susan Brady Maitra ADVERTISERS / 70

APRIL 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 OREIGN ERVICE CONTENTS FJ O U R N A L S

EWS Editor AFSA N STEVEN ALAN HONLEY Senior Editor AMB. LIMBERT DRAWS CAPACITY CROWD AT BOOK SIGNING / 49 SUSAN B. MAITRA USAID SURVEY RESULTS / 49 Associate Editor SHAWN DORMAN EWS RIEFS GGELER N B / A / 50 AFSA News Editor STATE VP VOICE: OWN YOUR FUTURE / 51 FRANCESCA KELLY Ad & Circulation Manager USAID VP VOICE: THE TRUE CHALLENGES ED MILTENBERGER FOR THE NEW ADMINISTRATOR / 52 Art Director CARYN SUKO SMITH LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: THE FEDERAL BUDGET / 52 Advertising Intern FCS VP VOICE: GOOD NEWS / 53 JOSERELDA BOON RETIREE VP VOICE: CONNECTING WITH COLLEAGUES / 53 Editorial Intern JENNIFER THOMPSON FAS VP VOICE: UPOROUT (PART 1) / 54 EDITORIAL BOARD OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEERS / 55 TED WILKINSON Chairman OREIGN FFAIRS AY F A D / 55 MAY G. BAPTISTA TEN YEARS AT AFSA: CHRISTINE WARREN / 58 JOSEPH BRUNS STEPHEN W. B UCK SINCLAIRE LANGUAGE AWARD WINNERS / 59 JULIE GIANELLONI CONNOR JEFF GIAUQUE CLASSIFIEDS / 60 MARY E. GLANTZ D. IAN HOPPER GEORGE JONES LYNN W. R OCHE RIMA J. VYDMANTAS

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 opin- ions 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, 2010. 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 2010 PRESIDENT’S VIEWS Two Important Blueprints for Labor-Management Collaboration BY SUSAN R. JOHNSON

Two important sets of pol- high-quality services. A fol- ment the strategy and how these can be icy documents that deserve low-up memo from the co- leveraged with existing resources; (4) a more attention than they’ve chairs lays out guidelines for discussion of management reforms that gotten have emerged from the establishing the forums. could improve outcomes; and (5) met- Obama administration’s first That brings me to the sec- rics to assess outcomes. year. I spotlight them here not ond set of blueprints, which The budget’s number-one strategic only because they reflect the are related to the Obama ad- goal is to build civilian institutional ca- administration’s underlying ministration’s international af- pacity — not just by seeking significant strategic vision, but because they also fairs budget request for Fiscal Year increases in Foreign Service personnel, focus on how it should be implemented. 2011, now on Capitol Hill. The details but also in terms of getting and devel- Taken together, they offer AFSA some of that submission are certainly impor- oping the right skills to meet the chal- real opportunities. Let me explain. tant, but Secretary of State Hillary Rod- lenges we face. Lew calls for “judicious President Barack Obama’s recent ex- ham Clinton’s memo of June 1, 2009, in decisions regarding the ways in which ecutive order on labor-management re- which she set forth guidance for prepa- security requirements impede our abil- lations (E.O. 13522) establishes a ration of the budget, is arguably just as ity to facilitate diplomatic and assistance National Council on Federal Labor- significant. activities” and for improving manage- Management Relations co-chaired by In that document, the Secretary em- ment and oversight capacity. John Berry, director of the Office of phasizes that the budget request should Taken together, these two sets of pol- Personnel Management, and Jeffrey be a blueprint for strategic vision, prior- icy documents offer real opportunities Zients, deputy director of the Office of ities and our means of achieving them. for AFSA to embrace the strategic vi- Management & Budget. Its overarch- While we face a complex array of sion underlying the executive order, by ing goal is to support agency partner- threats, we can meet them by using the working with OPM and OMB to estab- ships and cross-agency learning for “talent of our people, well-reasoned lish the forums and make them a more productive labor-management relations. policies, strategic partnerships and the productive team effort. The executive order requires all ex- strength of our principles.” In the process, we can build on the ecutive departments and agencies Deputy Secretary of State Jacob historically productive partnership be- whose employees are represented by a Lew’s companion memo points out that tween AFSA and the management of labor organization to establish Labor- tackling these challenges will require State and the other foreign affairs agen- Management Forums. Among other strong partnerships and institutions, as cies to strengthen our institutional ca- things, the LMFs are tasked with de- well as new thinking about how we de- pacity, develop the professional skills re- veloping “a limited number of mission velop and implement programs and op- quired to meet the challenges before us, linked or process-improving perform- erate at all levels. He identifies five and balance our security requirements ance goals” and to support the changes elements that should characterize the with the achievement of our mission. needed to enable agencies to deliver budget: (1) goals and expected results; I welcome your specific suggestions (2) a strategy to achieve these goals and on how to use the Labor-Management Susan R. Johnson is the president of the how these align with other efforts under Forum to achieve these goals; please American Foreign Service Association. way: (3) the resources needed to imple- send them to [email protected]. ■

APRIL 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 5 01-16_FSJ_0410_FRO:first 3/22/10 2:11 PM Page 6 LETTERS

Cover the Dissenters Work after the Foreign Service,” was vised Explosive Device Defeat Organ- Congratulations to AFSA President particularly useful. I read it cover to ization. In the process, I have devel- Susan Johnson on her editorial in the cover. oped a rather unique expertise in February Journal on the subject of dis- I had to come to terms with life after foreign disclosure, technology transfer, sent and how to make it meaningful the Foreign Service earlier than most, munitions licenses, official and unoffi- again. I particularly agree that “taking both because I was selected out after cial foreign visitor controls, antiterror- dissent seriously is essential.” 18 years of service (1981-1999), and be- ism/force protection, international While there are probably many ways cause I was only 43 years old — far agreements, liaison with foreign em- to highlight the importance of con- from age 50, when I would have re- bassies, etc. structive dissent, there is one obvious ceived an immediate annuity. (I will re- To me, this career direction was a first step we can take: changing the way ceive a “delayed annuity” at age 62.). logical choice for a political officer in- we handle the dissent awards in our It seemed fruitless to file a griev- terested in the Department of De- own magazine. ance; I had already fought and won one fense. Every position has had inter- Each year when the awards are several years earlier, and State would national involvement, something I in- given, we bury — yes, bury — the an- not allow me to fight this one from sist on in my after-Foreign Service life. nouncement in the blue pages of AFSA Bern, my last posting. If I had to leave And when I was suddenly launched News. Why is this event not treated as that fabulous post, then I might as well into job-search mode again last August, the major story it is — at least for us? look elsewhere for my next career. it took a mere month to become se- Why do we not make it the cover story Surprisingly, nobody in any of the curely ensconced in a better-paying, for the Journal? articles, even the potpourri “Retirees more responsible and interesting de- Upgrading our treatment of our Speak Up,” mentioned defense con- fense-contractor position that requires very own awards for dissent could be tracting in any detail. One did write foreign travel. The travel is minimal, accomplished quite easily. AFSA has about a counterterrorism-related con- just enough to remind me of why I am only to decide to do so. After all, if we tractor position with the U.S. Special relieved not to have to move every few cannot be bothered to treat this event Operations Command in Tampa, Fla. years. (unique in the U.S. government!) as In fact, defense contracting is where I Mary Ann Singlaub significant, why should anyone else? have found my second career — which Former FSO In other words, if we want people to seems a logical follow-up to my work on Vienna, Va. take dissent seriously, we at AFSA have political-military issues. to do so ourselves. Respect, like char- It was tough finding a job as a More on Move Managers ity, begins at home. “mediocre FSO” (not a former ambas- Since submitting my February arti- Edward Marks sador) in the Washington, D.C., area. cle — “Should We Move to a Senior Ambassador, retired But now I have worked as a defense Living Facility?” — in which I recom- Washington, D.C. contractor with the Air Force Office of mend retaining a consultant to assist in Special Investigations, the Navy Inter- the process, I have learned of a nation- Another Option for Retirees national Programs Office, the Defense wide organization of specialists in the The February issue, with its focus Advanced Research Projects Agency field. It is called the National Associa- on “Exploring New Worlds: Life & and, most recently, the Joint Impro- tion of Senior Move Managers, and can

APRIL 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7

L ETTERS

be found at www.nasmm.org. The that we did not have to downsize, a early reliance on abortion to lower pop- Web site includes a directory to help major concern for many. Our apart- ulation growth), the Soviet Union (we you find local consultants. The exis- ment at Maplewood with its 1,600 had other fish to fry, and its successor tence of such an outfit underlines how square feet is larger than the living state, Russia, faces a declining popula- rapidly demographics are shifting in the space we had in our two-level house. tion) and Japan (also with a population United States. And being in good health, we managed that is likely to decline). Many of these consultants appar- the move ourselves as we had done But, I also couldn’t help noticing ently advise on how to remain in your while in the Foreign Service. over the years that U.S. overseas family own home in the golden years, as well It also helped that we sought and re- planning policy was inextricably linked as on how to downsize, dispose of ex- ceived ample information and advice to the domestic theological/political de- cess possessions, select an independent from the sales management team here bate over access to legal abortion serv- living or assisted living location, and regarding living options and costs, in- ices and effective birth control vs. ab- move there. vestment details and financial possibili- stinence “education.” Bill Harrop ties. Some post-retirement months in Ambassador, retired In my first Christmas card after Guatemala introduced me to a country Bethesda, Md. moving, I wrote: “This is the near-par- that (along with Haiti) has some of the adise preparing us for the real thing to highest population growth, infant and Retirement Living Decisions come!” Enough said. maternal mortality, and malnutrition, My compliments to Bill Harrop for Hans N. Tuch poverty, unemployment, crime and his comprehensive and evocative an- FSO, retired murder rates in the Americas. The link swers to the question: “Should We Bethesda, Md. between young populations, crippling Move to a Senior Living Facility?” underemployment and rampant crimi- Based on my experience moving to a Population Matters nality seemed evident in Guatemala. senior living community in Bethesda, In “The Population Bomb Is Still These factors also induce massive un- Md., almost four years ago, I’d like to Ticking” (January Speaking Out), sanctioned emigration. As a result, add a few comments. Michael Fritz addressed a very serious Mexico, itself overpopulated, regularly First and foremost, families should issue: namely, that “the U.S. has (his- deports large numbers of undocu- decide to move when they are still in torically) conducted a strong popula- mented Guatemalans. good physical and mental health to tion assistance program,” but has not Guatemala hosts scores of well-in- make that decision — i.e., before they had “population reduction as an explicit tentioned missionary and nongovern- find that they must for one reason or goal.” mental organizations, but few promote another do so. They can then approach He argued his case with reference reproductive health and family plan- the issue with equanimity, deliberately to global warming but, given wide ning. The missionary-oriented lan- and rationally, without the pressure that American popular resistance to “elitist” guage school I attended included ma- physical or mental circumstances might scientific theory, an even more arrest- terial on “the myth of overpopulation.” impose. ing argument may be the intractable Almost alone in its efforts in Since there are any number of op- cycle of poverty and crime that accom- Guatemala, WINGS, an NGO led by tions available in the Washington area, panies overpopulation, absent “escape retired FSO Sue Patterson, is working location for us became an important valves” like emigration. to promote family planning and repro- factor. My wife and I wanted to be Rightly or wrongly, during my For- ductive health among the disadvan- close enough to downtown Washing- eign Service career I never got the im- taged. ton’s cultural facilities — the Ken- pression that population or family Information on these issues in nedy Center, theaters, museums — to planning issues were particularly high Guatemala and this NGO can be found get there easily while we are still driving on the U.S. agenda. Maybe my igno- at www.wingsguate.org. or, later, when we need to depend on rance, if it was that, was a function of Neil Silver public transportation. the countries in which I served: China FSO, retired We found to our surprise and relief (a target of U.S. opprobrium over its McLean, Va. ■

APRIL 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9 CYBERNOTES

Chile and Haiti: neers working to provide the safest and What’s In a Comparison? efense and diplomacy are most accommodating structures within Just six weeks after the Jan. 12 Haiti Dsimply no longer discrete a country regularly visited by earth- disaster, a powerful earthquake hit choices, one to be applied when quakes. Chile. Though stronger in magnitude the other one fails, but must, in Oxfam America’s Chris Hufstader (8.8 compared to Haiti’s 7.0), the fact, complement one another underscores the extent to which com- earthquake in Chile wrecked far less throughout the messy process of parisons of the damage inflicted by havoc. In Haiti a reported 230,000 international relations. ... U.S. earthquakes depend on the country’s lives have been lost, an astounding foreign policy is still too domi- level of development. He points to the number compared to Chile’s current nated by the military, too depend- recent study by the Belgium-based 800 death toll. ent upon the generals and Centre for Research on the Epidemi- How is it that an earthquake whose admirals who lead our major ology of Disasters showing that earth- energy at the epicenter was 500 times quakes have killed more people over overseas commands. stronger than that of Haiti’s failed to the last decade than any other natural produce even a fraction of the devas- — Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman disaster. tation seen there? To be sure, there of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “An increasing proportion of those are some geological factors to take into on March 4, www.jcs.mil/ affected are in developing countries,” consideration, such as the proximity of speech.aspx?ID=1336 Hufstader says. “So if we can use the the Haiti earthquake’s epicenter to its data and lessons learned from these capital and other major cities, com- countries. Haiti is currently the poor- comparisons, it is yet another fact we pared to the epicenter of the quake in est nation in the Western Hemisphere, can use to mobilize people and re- Chile, which was centered some 20 home to corrupt politics and a govern- sources to end poverty, because it will miles offshore and roughly 200 miles ment which had failed to install appro- also save lives.” southwest of Santiago. priate countermeasures should an — Jennifer Thompson, In an effort to answer that question, earthquake occur. (Admittedly, the Editorial Intern and Susan Brady the BBC compared the Haiti disaster country’s last severe earthquake oc- Maitra, Senior Editor with the recent quakes in Italy and curred 200 years ago, explaining in part China “Put simply, there are the tech- its lack of investment in safety meas- Project to Take on Abuse of Law nical elements of the earthquake and ures and earthquake-resistant infra- as a Weapon of War then the social elements on top of structure.) In mid-March, The Lawfare Proj- that,” Pete Garratt, head of Red Cross Chile, by contrast, has a stable, hon- ect was launched with a by-invitation- Disaster Relief told the BBC. est government. Moreover, the coun- only conference in New York City As other analysts note, the radically try had prepared itself for possible co-sponsored by the New York County different outcomes in the wake of the natural disasters with rigid building Lawyers Association Foreign & Inter- Haitian and Chilean earthquakes have codes, architecture designed to adapt national Law Committee, the Euro- revealed underlying social and eco- to seismic waves, and world-renowned pean Center for Law and Justice and nomic disparities between the two seismologists and earthquake engi- the Lawfare Project. The term “law-

10 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2010 CYBERNOTES

fare” denotes the abuse of the law and The March 11 conference was co- Those Who Live legal systems for strategic ends or, chaired by former Manhattan District in Glass Houses more generally, use of the law as a Attorney Robert Morgenthau; Irwin Writing in The Times of London on weapon of war. Cotler, a member of Parliament and Feb. 24, diplomatic correspondent “It is vital to understand that the former Canadian minister of justice; Catherine Philp reports that the State legal war can be just as perilous as the and Dean of the Columbia Law School Department has selected Philadelphia- physical battle, and we must work David Schizer. A bipartisan group of based architecture firm Kieran Tim- across political and ideological lines to panelists from the political, legal, judi- berlake to build a new U.S. embassy in facilitate an adequate response,” says cial and counterterrorism fields in- Britain. Construction will begin in Brooke Goldstein, director of The cluded Israeli Ambassador to the 2013, with the ribbon-cutting cere- Lawfare Project. “The goal is to edu- United Nations Gabriela Shalev, Utah mony set for 2017. cate the public about attempts to dis- Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, for- The current facility, which opened tort and misapply human rights law, to mer Ambassador to the U.N. John in 1960, was designed by Finnish- mobilize resources and bring inter- Bolton, New York Daily News owner American architect Eero Saarinen. Lo- ested parties from a broad spectrum of Mort Zuckerman and Wall Street Jour- cated in central London’s Grosvenor views together in a common forum.” nal editorial board member James Square, the embassy’s neighbors have The first organization of its kind, Taranto, among others. long reviled it as a concrete behemoth. The Lawfare Project’s focus is limited The event kicked off an ongoing ini- Washington’s decision to abandon the to three areas: legal efforts to thwart tiative to be followed by similar meet- site came after more than 100 residents free speech relating to issues of na- ings in the U.S. and abroad. The of the Mayfair neighborhood took out a tional security and public concern; at- organization’s Web site, www.thelaw full-page advertisement in The Times to tempts to delegitimize and diminish fareproject.org, tracks instances of oppose post-9/11 security restrictions, the sovereignty of democratic states; lawfare and is an online resource for which they contended would leave the and legal maneuvers that unduly frus- information on the subject. area more vulnerable to attack. trate the ability of democracies to de- — Jennifer Thompson and The new mission’s estimated bil- fend against terrorism. Susan Brady Maitra lion-dollar price tag would make it one of our most expensive, exceeding even Embassy Baghdad. And that figure 50 Years Ago... does not include the 17.5-percent t is encouraging to note that, despite the temptation to feel value added tax that the United King- Ithat the same [bureaucratic] battles are being fought over and dom levies on all buildings — which over again, some progress is actually made. Today, for in- Washington, claiming diplomatic ex- stance, there is general acceptance of the principle that the am- emption, has refused to pay. In the bassador is the leader and coordinator of all official activities in process, it has racked up some 32 mil- the country to which he is accredited. lion pounds (nearly $50 million) in un- — From “Ancient History” (editorial), FSJ, April 1960. paid congestion charges and other fees, prompting Ken Livingston, the

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Blogging for the Los Angeles Times, Site of the Month: MobileActive.org architecture critic Christopher Haw- Mobileactive.org, “A Global Network of People Using Mobile Technology for So- thorne praises the design as a break cial Impact,” is an impressive and useful forum. The site not only hosts an array of with the bunker mentality that has information regarding the newest mobile potentials, but it supports the idea of social marked so many recent U.S. embassies. activism through an unlikely medium: our cell phones. But he warns: “Whether the new em- In an age of increasing technological capabilities, organizations now have the bassy seems open to the city around it power to utilize mobile phones as a means of communication and social advance- may be a matter of perspective. For ment. This site is home to a broad range of features, including a comprehensive Londoners who are accustomed to the database on the mobile capabilities of virtually every country in the world, a directory accessibility of Saarinen’s building and highlighting available mobile tools, case studies, how-to-guides and further research who may even remember the days (named the mDirectory). In addition, a blog center is the venue for discussion of the when it was possible to walk almost ef- most recent news and a variety of issues concerning mobile technology. fortlessly inside, the new facility may Mobileactive.org focuses on seven fields: Advocacy, Citizen Media, Democratic appear hardened against attack. But Participation, Disaster and Humanitarian Relief, Environment, Health, and Livelihoods compared with recent U.S. embassies and Economic Development. Registered users of Mobileactive.org can add a mobile in other cities — Beijing and Baghdad, tool, blog post, strategic advice or a case study to the site, updating it constantly with to name two — this one makes a no- the most current and relevant mobile knowledge. ticeable effort not to turn away from The Mobileactive.org community consists of a medley of nongovernmental staff, urban life.” intermediary organizations, content and service providers, organizations funding var- Washington Post commentator Phil- ious mobile projects and grassroots activists. The site is a project of the Nonprofit ip Kennicott laments the break with the Technology Network (www.nten.org), a membership organization of technology pro- tradition of American presence in fessionals devoted to increasing nonprofits’ use of technology to address and pro- Grosvenor Square, which dates to John vide for community needs. The Mobileactive.org mission is to help NGOs to employ mobile technology, build partnerships through an overarching framework, and expand Adams’ appointment as the first U.S. organizational knowledge of mobile capabilities. minister to the Court of St. James’s in This site reminds us of the breadth of current media such as Facebook, Twitter, 1785. But he approves of the design, and Youtube, and points the way for mobile technology to become a contender as one quoting architectural historian Jane Lo- of the leading technological agents of shared knowledge and progressive change in effler: “Very fashion-forward, but it’s the near future. not just trendy; it has rationale and sci- — Jennifer Thompson, Editorial Intern ence behind it.” — Steven Alan Honley, Editor

outspoken former mayor of London, to of photovoltaic cells — is expected to Indonesia: Back on the Map? call former U.S. Ambassador Robert be comparatively airy and accessible, President Barack Obama’s upcom- Tuttle a “chiseling little crook.” and less likely to clash with the sur- ing second trip to Asia has brought In- Louis Susman, the current ambas- rounding Wandsworth community on donesia into focus on the American sador, has assured Londoners that “We the south side of the Thames River. In foreign policy radar screen once again. intend to do what’s appropriate and we State’s view, the design “met the goal of Hopefully, the president’s visit to the are working with the Treasury on that.” creating a modern, welcoming, time- land he called “home” for four years Acknowledging past difficulties, Sus- less, safe and energy-efficient embassy during his childhood will prove to be man has pledged to be “a good neigh- for the 21st century.” not simply a sentimental journey, but bor in our new home” and said that the The structure will be surrounded by the beginning of a serious strengthen- eco-friendly building would generate a green expanse “honoring the English ing of relations between Washington enough power to contribute to Britain’s tradition of urban parks and gardens as and Jakarta. national grid. the context for many civic buildings,” A working relationship between the The new embassy — a towering as well as a semicircular, 100 foot-wide U.S. and Indonesia could be very ben- glass cube covered with a thin sheath moat. eficial, both bilaterally and for the rest

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of the world. The sprawling archipel- economic development and public ago is the world’s fourth-most populous health persists, as well. This resistance nation, with the largest Muslim popu- is, in part, a legacy of CIA covert activ- lation. It is also a major voice within the ities in the country to fight communism 10-nation Association of Southeast in the 1960s. Asian Nations. Strategically situated “A new and deep U.S.-Indonesian adjacent to China, its waterways in- partnership must be given time to de- clude the world’s busiest shipping lanes. velop and remain focused on the big President Obama and President picture,” states Heritage Foundation Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are ex- Asia expert Walter Lohman in a back- pected to sign a comprehensive agree- grounder. ment including more cooperation on “To fully realize American interests, security, education, infrastructure de- the Obama administration should ad- velopment and climate change. For vance the relationship slowly, keep ex- Indonesia, trade, military sales, and the pectations low, and focus on broad opportunity for civilians and military areas of common interests, such as officers to pursue higher education in counterterrorism and counter-extrem- America top the agenda. ism, economic freedom, the geopoliti- For the U.S., stronger ties with cal shape of the Asia-Pacific, demo- Jakarta, which has made significant cracy promotion and the efficacy of democratic gains in the past decade, ASEAN,” Lohman argues. “Small, would help facilitate the Obama ad- concrete ‘deliverables’ are useful, but ministration’s promise of greater diplo- it is more important to have the presi- matic engagement with ASEAN and dent’s stamp on big ideas.” help balance Japan, India and China in Though it is a democracy with a the region. It would also help greatly strong constitutional foundation, In- to assure freedom of passage through donesia’s vast island expanse and huge the strategic Malacca Strait. population with rich ethnic intermix- But as some analysts point out, en- tures makes for a very complex society hancing relations with Indonesia re- that does not lend itself to easy inter- quires overcoming a series of sticking pretation. But there are several useful points. The skepticism with which online resources on Indonesia and its Jakarta greeted the U.S. identification relationship with Washington. of Southeast Asia as a “second front in To follow news developments, see the war on terror” following the 2002 the BBC’s country profile at http:// Bali bombing and its effort to deploy news.bbc.co.uk/. counterterrorism forces in the region The State Department’s country gave Washington pause. Since then, background notes (www.state.gov) however, Indonesia has burnished its fill in geography, demographics and anti-terror credentials, taking serious history. And the role of radical Islam steps against al-Qaida-linked cells. and and violent extremism in Indone- The perceived role of U.S. investors sia is watched closely by the Interna- in bringing on the 1997-1998 financial tional Crisis Group (www.crisis crisis that effectively bankrupted In- group.org). The ICG’s most recent donesia and the region still resonates report focuses on the easternmost there. Widespread mistrust over the province of Papua. ■ U.S. agenda in promoting democracy, — Susan Brady Maitra

APRIL 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 13 SPEAKING OUT DNA: The Future of Immigrant Visa Processing

BY SIMON HANKINSON

n a recent cable, the Department ments can easily be forged — or gen- of State tightened up its regula- Attempting due uinely issued, but on the basis of false Itions on the use of DNA (deoxyri- diligence in all cases information — or purchased cheaply. bonucleic acid) testing in immigrant diverts resources To get such “genuine fakes,” applicants visa processing, specifically by address- from cases where submit affidavits to the local authorities, ing security weaknesses in the chain of from friends or relatives, swearing to custody of samples. These improve- they could make a the claimed fact or relationship. Appli- ments are necessary, though they will difference to ones cants routinely submit equally unveri- exact a cost in scarce staff and time. where they are fiable affidavits of their own to consular However, merely changing the not needed. officers. process obscures the more basic prob- Such circumstances create a mas- lem, which is that DNA tests are seen sive workload for consular fraud pre- as a last resort rather than the founda- vention units, which cannot possibly tion of a 21st-century system. This at- plicants can adduce reliable, generally investigate every case in the field. titude needs to change. To better fight truthful, contemporaneous civil docu- Though split interviews and other tech- fraud and adjudicate cases, we need to ments (for instance marriage, adop- niques can be effective, they are very re-examine the reason, and re-imagine tion, birth or death certificates) in time-consuming and don’t always pro- the way, we use DNA testing to adju- support of their cases. duce actionable results. dicate immigrant visas. But in poor or corrupt societies, a Triage therefore has to be done. How does DNA evidence speed high percentage of applicants lack any While egregious cases might be stop- processing, and why is it used? credible documentary evidence to ped, most dubious visas are eventually back up their claimed relationship to issued because of a lack of hard evi- Getting the Benefit the petitioner. Sometimes this is due dence that the relationship is invalid or of the Doubt to poor infrastructure or record-keep- fraudulent. Even though the interview When American citizens petition ing, in which case it is no fault of the and the officer’s experience indicate for spouses and relatives, Department applicant. But often it is due to efforts fraud, pressure to issue (or make an un- of Homeland Security adjudicators to hide the truth to obtain an un- challengeable refusal) from petitioners, and State Department consular offi- earned benefit. applicants and congressional offices is cers need to be able to determine the In high-fraud countries, it is com- relentless. validity of the claimed relationships. mon for IV applicants to claim to have By attempting due diligence in all For the purpose of validating a mar- lost all their documents and photos in cases, FPU resources are diverted to riage, DNA evidence is useless, of a theft, fire or flood. When docu- cases where they are not needed — course; officers must rely chiefly on in- ments are available, they are often is- e.g., blood relationships where DNA terviews and documents. For parental sued many years after the event evidence could be conclusive — and or sibling relationships, however, it is requiring proof, thus casting serious away from those where they could increasingly conclusive. doubt on their legitimacy. make a difference, such as spousal or fi- In many developed countries, ap- Furthermore, evidentiary docu- ancé relationships.

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Make DNA Testing ment/compulsion issues) would require a First Resort each petitioner to give a DNA sample For various reasons, State and DHS Sooner or later, DNA (via cheek swab, for example) for inclu- have always stressed that DNA comes sion in the case file. The applicant into play only once all other credible testing for visa cases will would pay a fee for this service, but in evidentiary avenues are exhausted. return would jump ahead of non-expe- This approach makes sense in low- seem as normal as using dited cases. fraud environments and when DNA Alternatively, a fee could be charged testing is very expensive or technically paper relationship for refusing DNA testing; this would difficult. But it makes no sense in high- cover the cost of more time-consuming fraud countries. Nor does it take into documents, only more verification methods. The chance to account the downward trend in prices save months of processing time, both in for such services. secure and verifiable. Washington and overseas, would be a DNA ancestry testing, for example, huge incentive to pay. can now be done for less than $70, DHS would place the petitioner’s compared with more than $500 just a sample in an envelope, seal it, scan a few years ago. Prices for relationship- our efforts to adjudicate cases. bar code to associate it with the elec- testing services, now less than $200, are The determination of some consular tronic case file, and send the sample to also moving relentlessly downward. managers to clear IV processing back- a contracted lab. (The number of ap- (Most of the roughly $600 charged to logs by ignoring the prevalence of fraud proved labs could be drastically re- immigrant visa applicants for a rela- essentially means directing officers to duced; or better yet, contracts for bulk tionship test seems to be due to chain- “just hold your nose and issue.” Effi- processing could be negotiated with of-custody and security costs, so it ciency, meaning speed of processing, just a few. Massive demand would rap- could be lowered substantially through becomes the all-consuming goal. idly cause testing laboratories to im- a uniform U.S. government approach.) This approach makes the manager prove methods, technology and speed, That amount is not an undue burden look good and possibly leads to promo- and bring down per-sample costs.) The given that what’s at stake is American tion and better jobs. However, it is lab would then electronically send the citizenship. legally, morally and managerially wrong, petitioner’s DNA signature results to To take full advantage of the relative and it saps staff morale. Furthermore, Homeland Security to be automatically certainty of DNA testing, we need to word of lax adjudication standards loaded to the petition. realign our system to deal with reality. spreads quickly through a host country, When the beneficiaries showed up No country has a monopoly on honesty; encouraging more fraudulent petitions for the interview at the foreign post, lying and fraud to obtain benefits stem and increasing the consular staff’s they, too, would submit cheek swabs, from economic and cultural factors, not workload — the precise opposite of placing them in envelopes in front of race, religion or geography. Where the what was intended. the interviewing officer and handing stakes are high enough, even normally them under the window. If necessary, honest people may lie. And when there How It Would Work a local medical professional could assist is the chance to escape a poor country A better solution would be to take with the procedure, and DNA appoint- with no opportunities, we are naive to the easy cases off officers’ backs by in- ments could be grouped together at the expect total honesty from an applicant’s tegrating DNA testing into the process same time. The officer would seal the friends and family. from the start. How might this work? samples, associate them with the peti- Basing our immigrant petition and When petitioning for blood relatives tioner’s case using a bar code on the visa application system on the assump- and paying the fees, a U.S. citizen sample envelope, place this in an outer tion that all people tell the truth and would have two processing options: envelope, and send it back to the U.S. that documents can be assumed to be regular and expedited. Expedited pro- for testing at the same lab. genuine — without building in verifi- cessing (the voluntary nature of which There would be no local lab in- cation such as DNA testing — cripples could preclude any Fourth Amend- volved, and the officer could oversee

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the entire chain of custody right up to to wait until the FPU had time to prop- the mail room. (The few additional erly investigate their cases. Another minutes this process would take would Split interviews and variation could be to charge $1,000 for be more than saved by the officer or an entire DNA series (e.g., parents, sib- fraud prevention unit not having to in- other techniques can be lings or unlimited children) but re- terview so many applicants at length.) fund half of the amount in cases On receipt of the post sample, the effective, but are time- where the claims are true. That way lab in the U.S. would generate a result petitioners would have to accept fi- and send it electronically back to the consuming and don’t nancial consequences for any false post, where an officer would open it claims, and the fraudulent would sub- and associate it with the petition and always provide sidize the honest. the petitioner’s sample. The DNA Given demographic, political, eco- matching process could either be done actionable results. nomic and environmental trends, the remotely by the lab or be automated. world is not going to run out of eager Automated comparison of DNA results potential emigrants any time soon. If might seem unimaginable today, but America wants to have a lawful, or- not that long ago, fingerprints used to the same petitioner or beneficiary, at no derly and fair immigrant flow into the be compared manually. Now we have extra cost; and (d) lowering the num- country mainly based on family reuni- the Integrated Automated Fingerprint ber of fraudulent applications. fication, we need to accept that many Identification System. It would accomplish the latter by applicants will continue to commit DNA results, with all their unique eliminating loopholes for fraud in the fraud, and process cases accordingly. variables, could certainly be reduced to DNA sample chain of custody, and by Just as biometrics clearly represents a digital format that would allow auto- making petitioners pay in money and the future of identity documents, so mated electronic comparison. Off-the- time for falsely claiming blood relation- DNA must become the standard oper- shelf software already exists to do this ships. In the present process, there are ating procedure in the service of our and, with the kind of caseload DHS no penalties for claiming as many false consular customers. Not long ago, the and State would bring, proprietary soft- beneficiaries as a petitioner chooses. idea of using printed visa foils instead ware linked to existing systems could of ink stamps, adding photos to the ap- soon be affordable and feasible. For A Reality-Based System plicant record, or electronically re- appeals where samples didn’t match, A system incorporating DNA from cording and comparing fingerprints or results could be manually reviewed by the outset would deal with the world as facial scans, seemed technically infea- the lab’s expert or new samples could it is, instead of as we wish it were. The sible, cost-prohibitive or unduly intru- be sent to a different lab, with an addi- truth is that if any of us were the one sive to many people. All those inno- tional fee, refundable if the applicant is family member to have achieved U.S. vations long ago proved their worth. proven right. citizenship, we’d be sorely tempted to Sooner or later, DNA testing for visa Such a system would take some claim as many non-blood relatives as cases, perhaps by non-invasive, instant money and programming to set up, but possible. Not surprisingly, a 2008 State scan much like today’s fingerprints and it would be worth it. The benefits Department/DHS study of refugee retinal scans, will seem as normal as would be: (a) lowering the routine processing in Kenya was “able to con- using paper documents, only more se- workload for officers and fraud preven- firm all claimed biological relationships cure and verifiable. Moving to such a tion units, allowing them to clear back- in fewer than 20 percent of cases (fam- system would enable CA and DHS to logs and concentrate on IV cases where ily units)” out of a 500-person sample. lead the field. ■ their time would get actionable results; Incentivizing DNA testing in all (b) reducing the cost of DNA testing blood-based IV cases, and requiring a Simon Hankinson joined the Foreign significantly and speeding it up; (c) es- fee for it, would eliminate the free ride Service in 1999. Currently the U.S. tablishing a secure electronic baseline for false claims. Petitioners or appli- consul in Bratislava, he previously record for any future applications from cants who refused testing would have served in India, Fiji and Ghana.

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A COMPASSIONATE AND COMPETENT RESPONSE Ben Fishman

THE WORK USAID AND STATE HAVE DONE IN HAITI AFTER THE JAN. 12 EARTHQUAKE SHOWS WHY THEY SHOULD TAKE THE LEAD IN DISASTER RESPONSE.

BY J. BRIAN ATWOOD

he American people’s humanitarian instincts rise to the occasion whenever disasters strike, whether here or anywhere in the world. Americans expect their government to act with dispatch, efficiency and compassion. When that happens, as it did in the response to the earthquake in Haiti, there is an added bonus: the world gains an appreciationT for our values and for the competence of our government. A high-ranking official of the last administration recently described an encounter with a long-serving foreign minister

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from a Middle Eastern country. Told that the minister have helped governments in the region develop strategies wanted to convey a serious concern, the diplomat assumed to mitigate the worst effects of natural disasters. He has that it must be related to a difference over policy. “No,” also advised the United Nations on the development of a the minister said, “whatever policy differences we have had search-and-rescue protocol and a certification system for with the United States, there always was a presumption of relief units that are deployed by the international commu- competence. Your mishandling of the Katrina tragedy has nity. badly tarnished your reputation in this part of the world.” Callaghan “pulled in” the two search-and-rescue teams The challenge our government and the international that regularly work with USAID — and are certified by the community faced in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12 was even United Nations as international search teams — from Los greater than that of Hurricane Katrina. Haiti, the poorest Angeles, Calif., and Fairfax, Va. The 17-member DART nation in our hemisphere, did not possess the support sys- and 72-member search-and-rescue team (with six canines tems of the city of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana or and 48 tons of equipment) arrived in Port-au-Prince at 4:15 the United States. While 1,863 Americans died in the Ka- p.m. on Jan. 13. They were saving lives and assessing the trina disaster, the latest death toll in Haiti is 230,000, and desperate needs of Haitians that same evening. A day later, the crisis is not yet over. they “called forward” another certified team from Miami- The government of Haiti nearly collapsed along with its Dade County, Fla. ministry buildings. The United Nations building came A disaster of this magnitude, affecting some three mil- down on its 140 occupants; its director, deputy director and lion people, is as complex a challenge as any the DART has many others were killed. Nongovernmental groups that seen. Moving supplies was nearly impossible until debris- might have aided in the response were devastated, their strewn roads could be cleared. The airport, not the most staffers and families killed or badly wounded. The new efficient facility even in normal times, had to be repaired U.S. embassy remained intact, but the staff mourned the and equipped to handle much more traffic. The port was loss of one of its own, FSO Victoria DeLong, a cultural af- in ruins, which made the import of heavy equipment a chal- fairs officer who died when her home collapsed. lenge. Movement from across the Dominican Republic border was the best option, but this had to be handled sen- DART-ing to the Rescue sitively. President Barack Obama immediately ordered an “all- The U.S. Southern Command provided crucial logisti- government” response and named USAID Administrator cal support, responding to needs determined by the DART. Rajiv Shah, confirmed only the week before, coordinator U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Ken Merten, who immediately of the effort. Dr. Shah and the entire U.S. government declared the situation an emergency, and General Ken were well served by USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Keene of SOUTHCOM comprised the leadership team, Team, which immediately deployed to Haiti. Its key ele- along with Callaghan. ments were in place within 24 hours. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, USAID Ad- The DART was led by an experienced veteran, Tim ministrator Shah and Cheryl Mills, Sec. Clinton’s chief of Callaghan, director of USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Dis- staff, were soon on the ground, Sec. Clinton having re- aster Assistance’s Regional Office for Latin America and turned early from a visit to Asia. She personified the level the Caribbean. Callaghan and his Costa Rica-based staff of attention the tragedy was receiving from the U.S. government. J. Brian Atwood served as Administrator of the U.S. In such disasters, the media play an important role: that Agency for International Development from 1993 to 1999. of the messenger/critic. Graphic accounts both encourage A former FSO, Atwood also served as under secretary for generosity and keep pressure on governments to respond. management and assistant secretary for congressional re- In Haiti, the media presented a special challenge, however; lations. He was the U.S. government coordinator during part of their mandate was to report all that was going wrong. the Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo crises, and for the federal And in the early days of a disaster response, there is no responses to Hurricanes Mitch and Charles. He is now shortage of bad news. dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Af- The initial news from Haiti focused on inadequate med- fairs at the University of Minnesota. ical facilities, where doctors performed difficult operations

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with no modern equipment or anes- USAID’s Disaster Some teams wandered outside the thesia. The removal of thousands of carefully planned grid system set up bodies, a major sanitation/health risk, Assistance Response Team by the United Nations to provide was vividly reported, as well. Amid help. Others disregarded local au- the din of these emotional reports, began operating in Haiti thorities and ignored important cul- the underlying question was, “Why tural signals. These teams were can’t the United States and the inter- within 24 hours. well-motivated and they worked very national community do more?” hard in difficult circumstances, but Soon the media began to focus on more often than not, they made co- isolated incidents of violence. Store windows broken by ordination more challenging. marauding, hungry, teenagers, and crowds clamoring behind food trucks were captured by television networks. The Thinking Outside the Tent images misrepresented the bravery and resolution of the In contrast, the embassy and DART were highly sensi- Haitian people, but they constituted news. The Haitian tive to the plight of the Haitian government and respectful government and the U.S. military soon began to deter the of local authority. Dumping food off the back of a truck violence, both by being present and by setting up controls was a recipe for chaos, and they knew that food distribution at food distribution sites. would be more orderly if they worked with local leaders. Mistakes were made. Some search-and-rescue teams They realized that they had to “think outside the tent,” pro- that deployed were not certified for international disaster viding temporary shelters for the displaced, reuniting fam- relief and came without adequate supplies and training. ilies or finding stable structures in which to house people.

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Mindful that the next big threat The “3Ds” — diplomacy, Lessons to Be Learned would come from sanitation-related The Haiti story retreated from causes, the team is using skilled san- development and defense, the front pages, succeeded by news itation and shelter experts to pre- of the even more severe Feb. 28 pare the community for the coming shorthand for State, earthquake in Chile. The story is rainy season. far from over, however. There are USAID’s Office of Transition Ini- USAID and DOD — still lives to save and a nation to re- tiatives, established during the Clin- build. ton administration to find ways to worked well and in concert. When the full story is told, there reconcile disrupted, traumatized so- will be individual heroes and hero- cieties, also went to work in Haiti ines in addition to effective, highly early on to help the government re-establish itself. For in- professional teams — as well as groups of well-inten- stance, OTI set up a facility where President Rene Preval tioned, but unprepared people. So there are lessons to could hold press conferences and address his traumatized be learned from this “all-government response.” population. And it continues to play that role in Haiti. Perhaps the most positive lesson is that the “3Ds” — Embassy Port-au-Prince was augmented by consular of- diplomacy, development and defense, shorthand for State, ficers from around the world who worked tirelessly to USAID and DOD — worked well and in concert. This process the evacuation of American citizens back to the was a good test for a more integrated effort in post-con- States. Consular officer Paul Mayer, on loan from Montreal, flict environments where each of the departments has a described the lines of thousands who stood outside the U.S. vital role to play. embassy, and the sad duty to say “no” to the unqualified USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance cases. Writing in the State Department blog, he said, “The had the lead in Haiti, as was appropriate, and performed Foreign Affairs Manual explains things in precise detail. well. The embassy and USAID mission supported the The FAM, however, doesn’t prepare you for the feeling you team with local knowledge and dedication. When the get from saying ‘No,’ and ‘I’m sorry,’ over and over.” DART leaves the scene, our State Department and Mayer and his colleagues also tried to ease the discom- USAID Foreign Service officers will carry forward the ef- fiture of people standing for hours in the tropical heat. fort to help Haiti rebuild its government, its civil society They distributed bottles of water and candy bars, and aided and its infrastructure. those who fell ill. They did all they could, but will no doubt In the early days of the crisis, critical voices asked why long be haunted by what they witnessed. USAID was put in charge of the response. Why not the The embassy also had to tend to American groups who military? Or the Federal Emergency Management came to “do good” by taking children back to the United Agency? The answer should be clear to anyone who stud- States. One group of 10 from Idaho made international ies this crisis carefully. An objective analysis will lead to news when they were arrested trying to cross into the Do- the conclusion that future “all-government responses” minican Republic with Haitian children. This, and other should be limited to those organizations trained and cer- acts by seemingly well-intentioned people, cost time and tified to do this work internationally. effort that should have been devoted to providing relief. State and USAID demonstrated in Haiti why they The outpouring of emotion and resources from the should take the lead in disaster response. Military units American population was a reflection of our nation’s hu- are essential, but they operate best under broad direction manitarian impulse. Ideally, this translates into useful sup- from trained humanitarian professionals. In this case, port for mainstream aid organizations through the fungible they received that guidance from an exceptional USAID commodity the professionals can make the best use of: Disaster Assistance Response Team. money. There may still be warehouses full of clothing and Above all, despite daunting challenges, our govern- dated medicines from past disasters that never did find ment will emerge from the Haiti crisis having made a vital their way to people in distress. Heading off this misplaced humanitarian contribution. The compassion of our peo- assistance becomes part of the government’s public rela- ple and the competence of our government were on dis- tions challenge. play for the entire world to see. ■

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RELIEF EFFORTS RESONATE IN WEST AFRICA

NAVAL PERSONNEL FROM THREE WEST AFRICAN NATIONS JOINED THE HAITI RELIEF EFFORT AS PART OF A U.S.–AFRICAN MILITARY PROGRAM.

BY BENJAMIN EAST

hen Lieutenant Com- struction and restoration of medical clinics; and workshops mander Samuel Ayelazono of the Ghana Armed Forces on maritime environmental protection, illegal and unre- was selectedW to participate in Africa Partnership Station’s ported fishing, counternarcotics training and other security 2010 mission to West Africa, he had no idea he would wind issues. up providing disaster relief to earthquake victims in Haiti instead. And because Ghana’s early coverage of the earth- Local Reports from the Scene quake consisted largely of international wire stories, Ayela- Upon learning that the Gunston Hall was instead zono’s countrymen also had no idea that one of their own headed to Haiti as part of Operation Unified Response, was playing a direct role in the relief efforts. Joy FM was eager to report on the relief effort from a local But by linking Ayelazono, on board a U.S. navy vessel in angle. The station’s reporters have a deep appreciation Haiti, with Sammy Darko of Joy FM, Accra’s largest FM and understanding of APS activities from past visits, and radio station, Embassy Accra’s public affairs section en- were anxious to give their listeners the scoop. Sammy sured that Ghanaians received a first-hand account of their Darko phoned the ship on Jan. 27 and spoke with Captain countryman’s role in Operation Unified Response, the Cindy Thebaud and Lt. Cdr. Ayelazono. joint U.S. military operation providing humanitarian assis- By then the ship had been docked at Haitian Coast tance and disaster relief in Haiti. Guard Base Killick for 10 days, with Ayelazono helping in Embassy Accra had been preparing for the arrival in the transfer of patients. “We had a lot of people with var- Sekondi of the USS Gunston Hall, an amphibious dock ious medical conditions coming to the hospital and being landing ship, as part of Africa Partnership Station, the an- medevaced to the hospital ship anchored offshore,” Ayela- nual program of U.S. and multinational visits that began zono told his fellow Ghanaians. “We recorded 200 patients in 2007. The ships travel to the Gulf of Guinea to provide a day. The situation is coming down now, so we are switch- a mobile platform for training activities; maintenance ing our efforts to food distribution.” workshops; humanitarian assistance projects like the con- Ayelazono’s job was to keep track of patients as they were evacuated to distant hospitals or to offshore medical facili- Benjamin East is information officer in Accra. Embassies ties such as the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort. Dakar, Accra and Abuja collaborated on this article. Ayelazono also reflected on how his work in Haiti would

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provide lessons for assisting with dis- Accra’s largest FM radio line.com, which reaches a broad aster relief operations in the future. audience of Ghanaian expatriates “This has served as practical expe- station was eager to in addition to local listeners. rience for me. It was well organ- Officers from Nigeria and Sene- ized, and any situations like this that report on the Haiti gal were also on board the Gunston I happen to find myself in, I will Hall, and U.S. missions there bring the experience to bear,” he earthquake from helped bring the Haiti relief oper- told Joy FM listeners. ation story to their compatriots. a local angle. The public affairs sections in Abuja Ghana and Beyond and Lagos connected local audi- The FM station’s audience, which ences with Nigerian Navy Capt. numbers approximately three million thanks to partnerships A.A. Osinowo, who was serving as the ship’s deputy com- with other stations around the country, also heard from modore. In addition, Lagos Public Affairs Officer Jennifer Capt. Thebaud, who had visited Ghana the previous year as DeWitt Walsh hosted an event for about 20 Lagos-based commander of Africa Partnership Station 2009. local journalists framing the otherwise distant story in a “People like Samuel [Ayelazono] are able to develop a local and personal context. very good bond and help build the confidence of the peo- Embassy Dakar’s public affairs staff organized a tele- ple who have been devastated by this earthquake,” says phone interview between Senegalese Navy Officer Lieu- Capt. Thebaud. “It really has been my APS international tenant Assane Seye, embedded on the Gunston Hall, and staff that has gotten this program going and has allowed journalists from a variety of news outlets. For more than the people in the local area to come in and help their an hour, the Senegalese journalists quizzed Lt. Seye on a brothers and sisters.” variety of topics. “Being from a poor country, I understand Joy aired the interview four times throughout the day how the Haitian people feel,” Lt. Seye says. “I know that on Jan. 28 and posted an article to its Web site, Myjoyon- I would be very happy to receive help if I needed it, which

Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Ayela- zono (left), an officer from Ghana assigned to Africa Partnership Station West staff aboard the USS Gunston Hall, and Lt. Rafael Solis Martinez (center), from Mexico, help deliver food contributed by the Mexican Navy to a community in Haiti. The Gunston Hall was diverted from its Africa Partnership Station mission to assist with relief efforts for Operation Unified Response following the Jan. 12 earthquake. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Martine Cuaron

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is why I am very proud and grateful They moved a total of quake for countless hours. They to be part of this mission.” The Jan. delivered or arranged delivery of 22 interview was widely covered in 355 tons of food, water and mattresses, tents, relief supplies the Senegalese media. and food, including more than 900 supplies, including 4,820 packages of high-nutrition meals. Three Weeks of Aid A total of 325,603 meals were pro- The Gunston Hall departed Hait- gallons of fuel, vided. ian waters on Feb. 11, after three Some sailors served as stretcher weeks at Killick. In that time, they 218 tons of food and bearers, carrying 409 patients onto transported crew members ashore, 127 helicopter flights out from the manned the flight deck for 50 heli- 10 tons of water. base landing zone to either the copter refuelings, used cranes to load USNS Comfort or other locations. humanitarian and relief supplies Others, such as Gunston Hall’s Visit, onto the embarked landing-craft mechanized units, and Board, Search and Seizure team, provided security for the ran well-deck operations to make sure the units were on- landing zone during flight operations. loaded and offloaded safely. The three public affairs offices effectively publicized They moved a total of 355 tons of food, water and sup- the participation of West African officers in the Haiti relief plies, including 4,820 gallons of fuel, 218 tons of food and effort, ensuring that these local heroes will receive a warm 10 tons of water. The embarked Maritime Civil Affairs welcome when they return to the Gulf of Guinea later this Team 203 distributed aid to areas affected by the earth- year. ■

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ECHOES OF GRACE

THE LOCAL STAFF WHO FORM THE BACKBONE OF EMBASSY PORT-AU-PRINCE SAW THEIR SOCIETY LITERALLY DISINTEGRATE IN SECONDS.

BY MICHAEL HENNING

oon after being crushed in The next morning, I was told that I could go feed the the collapse of his home, a tragedy that killed his wife and hungry boy. His father was being tended to in a separate two of his children, an Embassy Port-au-Prince bodyguard room, and the little boy was scared and didn’t know what crawled outS of the rubble with his only surviving child. was happening. He wouldn’t speak a word, even when I Despite a dislocated shoulder, broken hand and broken spoke to him in French. But he ate voraciously and silently arm, he managed, with the help of another FSO, to get his as I held a banana to his mouth. 7-year-old son four miles to the embassy’s gate. In between bites, I kept asking and motioning to see if Once the decision was made to admit the bodyguard he wanted to drink some water or juice, but he just stared and his son into the building for treatment by the sole doc- at me, steadily eating the banana I held. I didn’t know if tor on duty, I went to meet them. After the man had tra- he could understand me at all. versed the 300 or so paces to Post 1, a wheelchair finally After he swallowed the last morsel, I suggested non- arrived and he collapsed into it with an enormous groan. chalantly, as I got up to leave, that perhaps he’d like some The bodyguard kept one eye open and on his son at all chocolate. He nodded his head yes, so I asked, “How times despite pain and exhaustion — while his broken hand many chocolates do you need, two or three?” “Trois,” he was set with a makeshift rubber brace, and while we kept said, softly, but clearly, with an earnest stare. his son awake to see if he showed any signs of internal Later I found some children’s books and greatly en- bleeding or concussion. Later that night, father and son joyed reading Max et les Maximonstres to the boy. I’d read were out of danger and slept in the embassy’s only two beds. my own son (about the same age) the same story in the original English (Where the Wild Things Are) from a copy Michael Henning, a U.S. Agency for International Devel- my mother had given me when I was that age. opment Foreign Service officer since 1995, was in Haiti during the Jan. 12 earthquake and stayed for two weeks to Pitching In assist the mission. He has served in the Philippines, Bosnia In hindsight, this bodyguard and his young son received and Herzegovina, and Washington, D.C. He is a member relatively grand treatment. Other Haitians not affiliated of the Governing Board of the American Foreign Service with the embassy came to the gate with mortal wounds Association. and likely died right outside or nearby.

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No embassy is equipped or Whatever the future holds, That morning, I helped the staffed for handling serious medical Navy chaplain publicize the first trauma, of course. But as one of we must always think and memorial service held since the the only safe structures in Port-au- earthquake. The embassy was a Prince, the U.S. mission was press- act broadly, creatively and beehive of activity, and persuading ed into service. Soon a complete folks to stop working even for 15 surgical unit was set up in a confer- aggressively, to care for minutes, especially on short notice, ence room, and hundreds of doc- was a major challenge. But we got tors and other medical and tech- all of our staff. the word out via the PA system, an nical personnel came from the U.S. e-mail from the ambassador’s office, to help with relief efforts. the posting and circulation of flyers, Care for American staff that survived the earthquake and the all-important word-of-mouth. All those voices was a major problem. Several Foreign Service members, joining to sing “Amazing Grace” echoed throughout the including those there on temporary duty, and dependents embassy, and still echoes today. were injured in homes or hotels. Many American staff and all dependents were evacuated within 24 hours. Oth- “From the American People” ers were evacuated later, complaining of chest pains, Food rations were provided early on to the neediest stress and other medical ailments. employees, and potable water was available from embassy The American staff that remained and those that are in taps. The local staff still faced grave challenges, however. Haiti now on TDY confront the effects of indescribable Milk was not available in the markets. Though the em- suffering and loss on a daily basis. Yet we are the lucky bassy had boxes upon boxes of baby formula and diapers, ones, for the local staff that make up the backbone of our access was initially restricted due to concerns about run- embassies have seen their lives, their families, friends, city ning out. By the time I left, however, those supplies were and government literally disintegrate in seconds. As the being handed out in an orderly fashion to all employees U.S. government confronted this tragedy, caring for em- who needed them. bassy employees evolved into a complex and comprehen- Shelter was the greatest unmet need. There were not sive set of interventions. I witnessed the initial phases of enough tents or even plastic sheeting to be had anywhere, this process during the two weeks I spent in Haiti after for the aftermath of the quake had created a worldwide the quake. I am proud to have helped where I could. shortage. Our most critical work constraint was often Before the assigned USAID team was able to staff up, drivers, and as the lowest-paid staff after guards, their I supported relief efforts, including search-and-rescue op- housing was already marginal. One absolutely mission- erations. Using my onsite knowledge of the airport to ex- critical motor pool dispatcher smiled as he told me that 10 plain critical consular security issues to a military planner, days after the quake, full of stress from life and work and I spurred the decision to deploy additional military assets extremely long hours, he’d just had his first restful night for air evacuations. under plastic sheeting bearing the ubiquitous USAID I also found and handed out extra milk and diapers to logo and tagline, “From the American People.” four parents of American babies for their long and ardu- More could always be done, and there are some prom- ous evacuation journey. As an early riser, three times I re- ising efforts under way. Spurred by the difficulties faced lieved embassy staff in the control room before 4 a.m., by our staff and our nongovernmental organization part- just as the nightly barrage of Washington taskers would ners in the world’s toughest places, USAID has worked to roll in. And I assisted a couple of visiting members of improve staff care. For Haiti, the agency will put in place Congress who were not on official delegations. its first mission-specific staff care plan that will bring to- Although the first Monday after the quake, Jan. 18, was gether the various strands of existing and expanded ef- the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the local staff started forts. coming back to work that day. While it was wonderful to These range from extra time off, enhanced salary and see with our own eyes that nearly all of them had survived, other benefits, to critical quality-of-life improvements the gathering was still bittersweet. such as provision of food and shelter to staff and depend-

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ents, on up to crisis response coun- All those voices joining to turned to work, somehow carrying seling. Expanded efforts will in- on despite the devastating loss of clude organized offsite programs for sing “Amazing Grace” echoed his wife and two children. His sur- counseling, recuperation and team- viving son stays on the street dur- building. These services benefit all throughout the embassy, and ing workdays (there is no school in staff, American and local. Port-au-Prince now, and won’t be The idea for such a plan, specific still echo today in my heart. for months) while his 15-year-old to USAID’s staff in Haiti, is driven aunt looks after him. by the sudden and devastating im- The last I saw his father, I gave pact of the earthquake. Perhaps such plans will be cre- him two Coast Guard sleeping bags I had acquired, a Spi- ated and implemented for other missions as needed, and derman blanket a fellow USAID officer had given me as broadened to include the other foreign affairs agencies. they were evacuating that first day, and the last $100 I had. Whatever the future holds, we must always think and I also advised him to carry home water from the embassy act broadly, creatively and aggressively, to care for all of taps because it is potable. our staff. That care is critical to the success of our mission He lacked a tent or plastic sheeting for his now-small and, more importantly, to our humanity. family. Hopefully he will have it before the rains come. But what I really want to send him is some books. The For the Future way his little boy refused to turn each page of Where the As I write this, the bodyguard and his young child sleep Wild Things Are leads me to suspect he had never held on a street somewhere under the stars. The father has re- such a book up close. ■

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‘THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME’

EMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO HAS PLAYED A SPECIAL ROLE IN THE DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS IN NEIGHBORING HAITI.

mbassy Santo Domingo the dimly lit consulate checking records to create sealed has been a key participant in the U.S. response following travel packets for American citizens who had lost their the Haitian earthquake — both in the Dominican Repub- passports and validating parents’ names of escorted Amer- lic, whereE embassy staff and volunteers have been provid- ican-citizen children. ing critical backup, and in Haiti, where they were among The team did whatever was necessary at any given mo- the first TDYers on the scene. We have assembled their ment. We created flight manifests and sent them to the sketches here. — Susan Maitra, Senior Editor appropriate agencies; educated evacuees about promissory notes; and provided basic needs such as water, food, baby ALL HANDS ON DECK formula and diapers. We also interacted with national and I am a first-tour officer, assigned to the consular section international media, escorted families to planes and main- in Santo Domingo as vice consul. My proximity to Haiti, tained communication with Embassy Port-au-Prince, along with the fact that I speak basic French and some Washington, D.C., and other agencies. All the while, we Creole, put me in a position to help. Three days after the mourned the loss of fellow Foreign Service member Vic- earthquake, I was escorted to a C-130 airplane at the San toria DeLong. Isidro airport, and headed to Haiti. It was the experience And all of us picked up trash, swept, mopped and of a lifetime. scrubbed toilets to maintain sanitary conditions for Amer- For much of the time, I determined who was eligible ican citizens and their families camped out for days in the for a seat on the evacuation plane — standing at the head embassy courtyard. In the few precious hours of down- of a line of thousands of potential evacuees for 12 hours at time, we squirreled away in sleeping bags in the most iso- a time in the hot sun, either at the airport or outside the lated cubicle or darkest storage closet we could find. embassy. It was heart-wrenching to witness families mak- In Haiti I learned that my brother, a member of the ing difficult decisions to leave members behind in order Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, had arrived off- to evacuate themselves to safety. I also adjudicated evac- shore on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. We did not uation visas and made parole recommendations in French see each other, but regular e-mail contact helped us both and Creole on “the line.” endure the challenges of serving there. Late at night, I walked around in stocking feet inside In the two short weeks “Team Santo Domingo” was in

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Haiti, we helped evacuate over In the two short weeks Though still standing, the ter- 12,000 people. While serving the minal was completely destroyed, so evacuation effort in both countries, “Team Santo Domingo” we created a small “base camp” for I was impressed by how much the consular officers on the tarmac entry-level officers’ initiative, lead- was in Haiti, we successfully where the planes arrived hourly. ership and teamwork contributed. At first, it was nothing more than a During this crisis, all hands were es- evacuated over 12,000 people. designated spot on the landing sential to success, and the newest strip with a few boxes of food ra- officers rose to the occasion. I was tions and cases of water. We con- honored to be among them. structed crude restraining barriers to instill some order and J. Brett Hernandez salvaged a few chairs to mark our territory. Vice Consul There were still kinks in the evacuation process, so for the first few days we approached the pilots personally and literally begged them to carry passengers back to their des- tinations. Some agreed; others refused. THE TALEOFTHETARMAC The process was chaotic and the noise was deafening. I was talking on the phone with my mother, who lives We had nothing in the beginning — no power, computers, in Germany, when the earthquake hit, and my building radios or BlackBerrys; not even earplugs. We entered started shaking. Just 36 hours later, I arrived in Port-au- manifests by hand in a notebook — “Name. Passport Prince as part of the first wave of number. Date of birth. Next?” — 1,500 times a day. At TDYers from Santo Domingo. night, we took the manifests to the Our job was to help evacuate peo- embassy, entered them ple at the airport. We were greeted into a spreadsheet and sent there by three or four consular offi- them off. cers, a small Air Force ground crew The more than 20-hour and about 8,000 Haitian-Ameri- days were long, hot and ar- cans seeking evacuation. duous. Despite eating three 3,000-calorie Meals-Ready- to-Eat per day, we all lost weight. Due to the limited amount of food and water, we were not allowed to hand out supplies, and it broke our hearts to say no. Crowd control was a major issue; it was exhausting trying to care for the young,

Mark Hernandez elderly and injured, TDYers from Santo Domingo set up a makeshift while readying peo- consular “base camp” on the Port-au-Prince Air- ple for evacuation. port tarmac with a couple of boxes of food rations We were on our feet for and some water, where they processed thousands hours and quickly became hoarse from trying to direct of American-citizen evacuees. They started with noth- traffic above the noise of the planes. If you skipped a meal ing: no power, computers, radio or BlackBerrys — not or forgot to drink a bottle of water, you quickly found your- even earplugs! Crowd control was a major issue. self at the medical unit for dehydration or dizziness.

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Outside the airport, it was even We had to make Conoff: I’m sorry, but we are more grueling. We had to make only allowed to permit one escort split-second decisions on who was split-second decisions per group. You must decide now be- permitted to be evacuated. You cause there are thousands more would think that this would be simon who was permitted waiting to be evacuated behind you. ple. However, after seeing families Then they cry, yell and quickly pass their American-citizen children to be evacuated. separate. You would look past their down the line in an attempt to have shoulder and see 3,000 more fami- ineligible relatives evacuated, it lies waiting to have the same 10-sec- quickly became clear that we had no choice but to block ond conversation. It was a horrible feeling to break up out the emotional pain and be firm with them. families like that. When a typical family of four arrived, the conversation Fed up with the mass chaos on the tarmac, one night would go like this: we entered the defunct terminal (ducking through the Conoff: Monsieur, you have two American-citizen chil- hole where the baggage conveyor belt exited) and gath- dren. Only one of the parents may accompany the chil- ered all of the stanchions, chairs, tables and podiums we dren. You must decide now who is going and who will be could find to set up a system of waiting isles and a few left behind. more checkpoints. Parent: But we all have to go! We have nowhere to go. Meanwhile, reinforcements were arriving daily. The Our house is destroyed. We have no food, no water, noth- communications team set up laptops with iridium satel- ing. We will die here. lites, allowing us to e-mail the manifests instead of writing

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them by hand. Then some radios ar- Several tense hours and Then, seemingly without warn- rived. Next came a new crew of TDY- ing, the wild dream ended. It was ers, followed by more military help. many phone calls later, like blowing out a candle. We Then a generator came. Someone do- packed up and left, passing the torch nated a baggage screener. Finally we managed to get the to the next wave of TDYers. Haitian immigration showed up and Mark Hernandez started to stamp passports. search and rescue team Consular Officer A few days later, another communications team arrived with desktop on a flight to Haiti. computers, printers and scanners. A passport swiper was a gift from above, PROVIDING BACKUP as it probably tripled our manifesting speed. I was part of a three-person crew manning Las Ameri- At night, we returned to the embassy and slept on cots, cas International Airport in Santo Domingo, helping evac- the floor or wherever we found a spot. I had the good for- uees get repatriated and assisting them with their onward tune of upgrading to a storage closet after a few days. travel. Though relentless, the work was rewarding. The days went by quickly, and we tried to take in all of As we worked, I noticed a large group of people milling the sights, sounds and smells. I remember one Haitian- about nearby. My curiosity got the better of me, and I American who had to be carried onto the aircraft because went to talk to them, learning that they were a 65-man he had never been so close to one. Then there was the search-and-rescue team from Costa Rica bound for Haiti. imposter who abducted a wheelchair-bound girl with cere- To my surprise, however, they confessed that they had no bral palsy and tried to act as her escort to get into the U.S. plan for getting there. Luckily, her mother showed up out of nowhere to save As I considered the absurdity of 65 people, 12 dogs and the day. The various smells four tons of equipment idling just 12 hours away from of Port-au-Prince are also Haiti, a light bulb went off: Who was flying back to Port- seared into my memory — au-Prince on the military planes that were bringing us our from fresh coffee in the evacuees? The answer was encouraging: nobody. morning to the stench of I quickly started calling around to determine who was destruction. Everyone in charge and how we could get the SAR teams into those who worked on disaster returning planes. Several tense hours and many phone relief has unique memo- calls later, we managed to get them aboard a U.S. Coast ries and anecdotes. Guard flight to Haiti. After that, we secured transport for dozens of other international travelers, rescue dogs and equipment. Days later on CNN, I caught the story of the Costa Rican SAR team that had found and saved three people who had been buried under a building for four days. My heart was filled with joy as I saw my amigos getting the job done. Glenn Tosten Immigrant Visa Section

Rebecca K. Fell Ranshaw HELPING EVACUEES REACH SAFETY Volunteers from the Embassy Santo Domingo commu- For several nights, I was manager of consular opera- nity (top) gave unstintingly of their time and resources tions at the military base at San Isidro, which served as a to welcomes evacuees (left) at Dominican airports. landing point for military evacuations of Americans from

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Port-au-Prince. We greeted and assisted hundreds of evac- flight time kept changing, and we made and remade uees throughout the day and night. plans to get evacuees lodged in local hotels on it. Our most important job was to let evacuees know that Finally, after we had decided that the 69 evacuees who they were now safe. Some of them still had debris from had just arrived should be taken to that flight, we discov- the earthquake on their clothes, and many had not eaten ered that they had already boarded buses headed for the in days. But once on the ground, their transformation hotels! I had to rush outside, stop the buses and inform the was amazing — from a look of fright and bewilderment passengers that they were going to Orlando that night. when they got off the plane to smiles and kids chasing Some said they did not want to go. each other in play around the airport hangar a half-hour It was now 7:30 p.m., and it was at least a half-hour later. It was the source of my energy to keep going. drive to the airport. We managed to convince everyone to One incident gives a graphic idea of the kind of ex- get on the plane, and I dispatched two colleagues to ac- hausting work involved in trying to deal with such a fluid company them to the flight. Then I went home to get situation. On the third day after the earthquake, there some sleep, happy I’d helped another group reach safety. were rumors about a group of missionaries stranded on a Among the many thanks I received, one stands out: A beach in Haiti who were due to be evacuated to San Isidro. self-described libertarian who normally thinks very nega- They were supposedly arranging a charter flight on to Or- tively about bureaucrats doing anything said he was im- lando that would have some empty seats. We were wel- pressed by our setup and wished that all government come to fill the empty seats at no cost, but anyone wanting functions could work so well. to go had to be at the airport in just a few hours. Consid- Manav Jain erable confusion ensued, during which the missionary Deputy Immigrant Visa Chief

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THE HUMAN SPIRIT When it’s needed, never imagined. They brought clothes, WILL SHINE toiletries, toys, coloring books, diapers, Every emergency action plan, evac- the human spirit will formula, sandwiches, apples, coffee, uation protocol handout and safe- pillows and so much more — all from haven instruction booklet contains show up, and it will shine. their own homes or purchased out of essential information. But we must be their own budget. sure not to overlook the most impor- They gave of their time to transform tant component in these situations: the human spirit. an empty hanger into a welcome center in less than 12 After working with Operation Safe Return at San Isidro hours. They worked all day and night, and still managed to Air Base in Santo Domingo, I can attest to the fact that stop by the hospital to visit an injured evacuee for a few every single person who survived the earthquake has an in- minutes, even with huge language barriers. They greeted credible story. busloads of evacuees at hotels to make sure they got The evacuees were tired, hungry and, in some cases, checked into their rooms in the middle of the night. hurt and homeless, but there were still smiles on their faces. This community did so many things that are not in any They thanked us for little things like water, a clean shirt, a standard contingency plan. The human spirit can never be cot to sleep in for a few minutes. It was amazing to see placed into a list of steps to follow when an emergency oc- what survival really looks like. This spirit is what made serv- curs. But it is such a grand feeling to know that, no matter ing them, in the wee hours of the morning, when we, our- what, when it’s needed, this spirit will show up, and it will selves, hadn’t slept in three days, a pleasure. shine. When we called for volunteers, employees, locally en- Rebecca K. Fell Ranshaw gaged staff and family members all answered in ways we Community Liaison Officer ■

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TALES FROM THE FIELD

HUNDREDS OF AFSA MEMBERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ARE RESPONDING TO THE CRISIS IN HAITI. HERE ARE SOME OF THEIR STORIES.

ozens of AFSA members Department is worthy of praise. Its recognition that my from around the world responded to the AFSAnet solicita- skills could be better used elsewhere for the moment tion the Journal sent out asking Foreign Service personnel clearly demonstrates that State deserves its reputation as from allD agencies to share their stories of participating in one of the best places to work in the U.S. government — the U.S. response to the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti — even for spouses! whether on site, at their own posts or in Washington, D.C. My particular job in Haiti is running the largest U.N. Our thanks to all who contributed to this compilation. staff camp in the world. I work from 4 a.m. until 10 or 11 — Steven Alan Honley, Editor p.m. every day, and am in touch with my counterparts in other U.S. government agencies performing similar tasks at Embassy Port-au-Prince. The embassy is a beacon of hope in the rubble of col- A BEACON OF HOPE lapsed buildings surrounding it. As the largest and I am an Eligible Family Member Professional Associ- strongest structure still standing in the city, it symbolizes ate in Beijing who had worked for the United Nations in the strength of the United States in this time of need and 2005 as part of the Asian tsunami relief operation. Shortly provides a strong sense of stability for all who pass by it. after the Jan. 12 earthquake, they asked me to go to Haiti Its interior is also remarkable. Compared with my own to do similar work. experience of sleeping in tents and working outside, it is a When I spoke to my supervisor, he immediately said I paradise! Real office space, air conditioning, clean drink- should go. I then spoke with the embassy human re- ing water and a cafeteria may seem like small things in nor- sources section, which was also supportive. Within a day, mal times, but they are luxuries compared to anything the department had authorized me to take leave for two outside. months to assist the United Nations. Wow! However, that doesn’t mean the job is easy there! The EFM employment is tough to come by as it is, but hav- high expectations everyone has of the American response ing such flexibility and quick decision-making by the State adds a pressure that is unlike that of any normal working

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day. Staff work long hours and sleep in their offices be- them all, “Where’s your mom? Your dad?” The answer cause they can’t go home. At the same time, they have a — which I heard all too often every day, and will never good attitude and, considering the lack of sleep, they look get out of my mind — was “I don’t know.” like the happiest zombies in the world! My hat’s off to “When’s the last time you saw your mom?” And everyone in that embassy. calmly, looking me straight in the eye, with a mixture of I do think it is important to emphasize, however, that confusion and denial, the kids would say, “She went to even though the embassy is intact, it will be a long time work the day of the earthquake, but she didn’t come before things are back to normal again there. home. I don’t know where my mom is.” If you want to know more about what I am doing, I Even having lived in Haiti before, I still find it difficult have started a blog to keep friends and colleagues inform- to comprehend the magnitude of the loss that befell the ed: http://onthegroundinhaiti.squarespace.com/ country on Jan. 12. Much more apparent to me, spending Joey Renert time on the embassy compound and at the airport, is how Eligible Family Member simply incredible all of our colleagues are. ESTH Professional Associate, Beijing The few Foreign Service employees whose homes were On loan to the United Nations undamaged invited us TDYers, and less fortunate Haitian colleagues, over for meals and to sleep there at night. And more than a few FSOs hosted 10 to 12 guests in their two- bedroom homes. The consular officers from our sister em- A RETURN TO HAITI bassy in Santo Domingo who came to work in Port- Though I’m a first-tour officer in Caracas, I volun- au-Prince carried bags of fresh produce to share with all of teered for temporary duty in Port-au-Prince because I us. One Coast Guard flight even unloaded a half-dozen speak Haitian Creole, having been a Peace Corps volun- pizzas for the airport team. teer there 10 years ago. I’m grateful to my colleagues in Then there were the Diplomatic Security agents and the American Citizen Services section for putting up with the military, without whom we wouldn’t have been able to my unplanned absence without complaint and, most es- do our jobs. And our team leaders seemed not to need pecially, to the ACS chief, who didn’t hesitate to tell me, any sleep, but continuously updated us on State Depart- in the midst of a very busy time of year for us: “We all ment guidance and just kept the team together and mov- work for the same government, and you have skills that ing ahead. make you valuable in Haiti right now. We’ll be fine here. After spending eight days on the ground in Haiti in Go.” mid-January, I boarded a Coast Guard C-130 — the same I flew into Port-au-Prince on a Department of Home- plane I’d been putting evacuees on all week — that took land Security helicopter from Santo Domingo. As we got me to Miami. closer to the U.S. embassy, there were more and more My sincere thanks and unending respect to all the fine piles of rubble. I couldn’t help imagining what building people I was privileged to work with in Port-au-Prince last used to stand on each pile. Had it been someone’s home, January. a business or a school? I hoped there had not been any Amanda J. Cauldwell people in the buildings when they collapsed. Vice Consul We landed a short walk from the embassy, which is in Embassy Caracas absolutely perfect condition. There’s not a crack, not a scratch on it, because it was built according to American codes. They say it could have withstood a 9.0 quake. And the American flag is flying proudly out front, an unforget- PULLING TOGETHER table image. Although I am not serving in Haiti or working directly As a member of the evacuation team, I talked with on the relief effort, I see the response as an example of the countless Haitians and Haitian-Americans every day. entire Foreign Service pulling together. I am a consular of- Many Haitian-American children came to the embassy ficer at a post where our American Citizen Services chief with grandparents, aunts or older siblings, and I asked was pulled for temporary duty in Port-au-Prince and our

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visa chief served a TDY in Santo The outpouring of support mote the effort. The NPA sought Domingo. Those of us who remain and obtained the support of the Fi- at our various posts feel that our and donations from nancial Management Office to con- work in maintaining normal opera- vert the coins to U.S. dollars. tions here in their absence is very everyone, including local After obtaining approval from much a part of the department’s the front office to hold the fund- overall support for Haiti. employees, was a reflection raiser, the organizers swung into ac- Wendy Stancer tion. NPA member and LES Sahar Consul of our community. Kalifa located ideal coin collection Embassy Buenos Aires jars at the local market and spear- headed USAID’s contribution to the effort. The jars and flyers were soon distributed throughout the chancery, to satellite offices and to other ‘THE REFLECTION OF A COMMUNITY’ mission agencies. One of our Marines here in Rangoon, Corporal Kerby Some members of the mission dropped in large bills as Telemaque, lost his mother in the Haiti earthquake. well, including a $100 bill in the consular section jar. Both Thanks to instant action by the embassy management sec- U.S. and Israeli currencies were accepted. A week later, tion, he flew out the day he received the news to be with NPA members gathered to sort the money into denomi- his family. The embassy community, through the Com- nations to ease FMO’s task of converting it, with help from munity Liaison Office, collected over $2,200 in cash within several locally employed staff and one of our Marines. a few hours for Kerby to take along to Haiti to use for fu- In just one week, the campaign raised more than $2,180 neral costs and to help his family get back on their feet. to support locally employed The wife of our chargé d’affaires, Paula, and her son, staff and their families in William, happened to be on the same flight. They added Haiti. Embassy Tel Aviv a bed to their Bangkok hotel room so Kerby would not also assisted the relief effort spend a lonely night in the airport. The outpouring of sup- by facilitating the Israeli port and donations from everyone, including local em- Defense Force’s Field ployees, was a reflection of our community. We are a small Hospital’s entry into Haiti embassy in a very poor country, one which was rocked by via U.S. military trans- Cyclone Nargis in 2008, yet almost every person who could give something in Kerby’s time of need did so. Tamar S. Weisert, Community Liaison Office Coordinator, and Staff Sergeant Nicolas Carranza Embassy Rangoon

“GOT AGOROT?” Inspired by an overflowing jar of loose change, the Embassy Tel Aviv New Profes- sional Association proposed a cash drive to benefit the Locally Employed Staff Emer-

gency Fund for Haiti. Ruben Harutunian NPA Board Co-Chair Leah George im- Embassy staff in Tel Aviv raise money for FSNs at Embassy Port-au- mediately began to help coordinate and pro- Prince.

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port. And two embassy employees — FSO Shaila same birthday as my dad, a person named “Nelson” almost Manyam and Locally Employed Staff nurse Tammy Dol- like my old cat, and a girl with a cute belt and big, old, gin — volunteered to travel to Haiti to assist with the re- brown eyes. ... lief effort. “An American citizen who arrived yesterday at the air- Kristi Roberts port turned out to be off his bipolar medication. When he Staff Aide to the Ambassador first arrived, he had four guys with guns around him be- Embassy Tel Aviv cause he flailed and talked erratically. His eyes looked mad. He told us that he had to focus on familiar faces; first he picked David, and then me. He felt elated that he was still alive. The military finally came to bring him to the “THEY HAD SEEN SO MUCH MISERY” medical tent, sedated him and flew him to the USNS I was a member of the first team to arrive in Port-au- Comfort. Very intense after an already intense day of say- Prince to evacuate U.S. citizens after the Jan. 12 earth- ing no to people more often than not. ... quake. As an Eligible Family Member, I was extremely “Yesterday, I met the cutest little girl. An Immigration honored to be allowed to assist in the evacuation. and Citizenship Enforcement official brought a U.S. sol- We took the stairs up to the roof of the embassy to sur- dier over to our manifest table. The soldier told us his vey the throng of people trying to get a chance to get out story: he is originally from Haiti and was on staff duty when of Haiti. Coming out of the darkness of the staircase into his commander told him to call home. ... He arrived in the light and then seeing the sheer numbers of people was Port-au-Prince and went to find his family. He heard pretty blinding and shocking: It looked like all 45,000 Haitian- quickly that his sister and husband had died, but did not Americans and their families had decided to visit the em- know what had happened to his little niece. He showed bassy at the same time. I was reminded of the ubiquitous her picture to everyone and finally found her at some Haitian market-scene paintings, with faceless heads and woman’s house. He was so happy! ICE will get her hu- multiple colors covering the entire canvas. manitarian parole once she gets off the plane in Florida, all Working hours on end to interview hopeful visa appli- pre-arranged. cants at the embassy and seeing the never-ending line of “I had to bring the little girl to the port-a-potties, and resigned evacuees at the airport had a similar effect: often when we walked back she gave me a big hug. That made we could no longer see the individual for the crowd. It me cry, and she grabbed my face with both her hands and was easier that way; looking at individuals produced after- had her nose touch mine. OMG! And the soldier felt shocks too powerful for our emotions at times. Neverthe- blessed that all of us helped him through this. But I was less, it was the connections with the human beings we’d thinking, ‘Where were the blessings when your sister and come to assist that made this job the most meaningful and brother-in-law died in the rubble?’ ... powerful of my life. “A group of doctors came in the day before yesterday, Here are some of the e-mails I sent to my husband: the first ones to rotate back to the U.S. Evacuees who walk “There was just a man at my interview window who up and get the promissory note presented to them ask us lived on Canape Vert. He was here with his Amcit son. I if they have to pay because they are missionaries or doctors asked if Hospital du Canape Vert was still there. He told or whatever. “Everybody is special,” has become our me that it was totally pancaked. His son’s school in Keskea motto. One of the doctors asked if they had to sign the is gone, too. I remember that name. He also thinks our note, too. I affirmed, “Just like everybody else who is evac- house is gone. [We lived in Port-au-Prince from 1998 to uated.” He said, “You don’t even know what we have been 2000. Two days later, I saw the rubble of my old house through.” And he just started crying really hard. They had with my own eyes. Indescribably shocking.] ... amputated so many limbs that they did not have a place to “It is the little things that remind me of the personal dispose of them. They had seen so much misery.” tragedies of this disaster. A woman had this cute, pink J.C. Judith van Zalen Penney file with dots for all her documents. This makes Eligible Family Member you realize again that she is not just an anonymous victim Narcotics Affairs Section of the earthquake. The same with the guy who had the Embassy Nassau

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THE FRENCH CONNECTION any flights had been affected, and inquired as to the sta- All three American embassies in Paris gathered on Feb. tus of any American citizens who may have been traveling 12 to remember the victims of the Haitian earthquake and between Kingston and Haiti. raise money for the Locally Employed Staff Emergency Next, I ventured to Régine’s apartment, where she was Relief Fund. With a substantial number of staff who are already on a conference call with the Operations Center. from Haiti, have worked there or are currently volunteer- We both listened in on situation briefings. I helped her ing there, those of us at the American embassies feel par- try to contact Haitian relatives until midnight, when ticularly close to our colleagues coping with the aftermath phone lines began to resume functionality there. And I of this natural disaster. A silent auction of Haitian art and provided the chargé d’ affaires with contact numbers for rum raised $2,200 for the relief fund. Embassy Paris’s Haitian embassy counterparts. public affairs section also organized a moving musical trib- The next two days were filled with news and stories ute to the victims. about the hardships colleagues and friends were facing in Andrew Young Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo. Kingston quickly be- Political Counselor came involved in the evacuation planning, as well. Embassy Paris That Saturday, Jan. 16, the chargé called an Emer- gency Action Committee meeting, which I attended in my capacity as duty officer. We were informed that Sec. Clinton would come to Jamaica that evening on a C-130 KINGSTON AND HAITI military aircraft that also carried 53 American evacuees. As fate would have it, I was not originally assigned to The Secretary would disembark the military plane and be the duty officer for the week that began on Jan. 12. I board the State Department jet, carrying approximately had switched with another officer to accommodate leave half of the evacuees back to the States with her. plans. Foreign Service personnel, eligible family members My week was already off to an unusual start because and locally employed staff all joined forces as we formed Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Deputy Assistant teams and set up shifts for work ranging from answering Secretary Julissa Reynoso was visiting Jamaica. As duty correspondence to logistical planning for evacuee officer, I was asked to sit in for the week’s country team overnight lodging, health care and onward travel. Staff meeting. set up a press conference and prepped for the Secretary’s Due to several agency briefings for DAS Reynoso, the arrival. meeting ran past the normal 4 p.m. close of business. I re- As duty officer, I had only slept about two hours the turned to the consular section to retrieve my bags and night before, fielding calls from the Operations Center, shut off the lights. As I reached for the light switch, I felt the U.S. military, Jamaica air traffic control, interested pi- the earth move. Was I worn out from the long day or the lots and aspiring volunteers. But I felt no fatigue. I excitement of the official visit? Or did the entire building thought only of the hungry and scared children we would really just shake? I was uncertain, but headed for my car. be greeting in a few hours as they left the only home most As soon as I got home, I turned on the TV to hear of them knew; the displaced adults who lost family and CNN blare: “7.0-magnitude earthquake hits Haiti; friends, who were leaving Haiti for a destination many had tremors felt in Cuba and Jamaica.” I immediately never traveled to; and Régine, who would be departing thought, “If I could feel tremors all the way here, how the next day for temporary duty in Haiti, where she would frightening and devastating are things in Haiti?” do her best to assist relatives and loved ones who had lost A few minutes later, at 6:12 p.m., the duty phone rang. everything. It was the consul general calling to inform me that there Sec. Clinton arrived that evening. Evacuees were ac- had been an earthquake in the region and I might be counted for, their documentation and eligibility for on- called upon as duty officer for follow-up. He also asked ward travel reviewed, and some departed with her. The me to check on our colleague Régine René, who has close remaining evacuees were shuttled by embassy-provided relatives and a significant other in Haiti. vehicles to a nearby Hilton, where consular officers staffed I immediately contacted local airports to see whether an all-night command center in the hotel’s conference

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room. And for the next 24 hours, In addition to performing faces before us. embassy staff from every section did What was most rewarding to me all that was necessary to ensure their many duties, Foreign was seeing people through the en- their safe departure to the United tire process. I pre-screened evac- States. Service personnel in Haiti uees outside the embassy walls, That night was just one compo- translated and processed paperwork nent of our efforts. Our part in the served as counselors, in the courtyard, distributed food crisis is ongoing, and we may con- and water inside the lobby, moti- tinue to be a stopping point for entertainers, first-aid vated people to contribute to main- evacuees. taining a sanitary area, conducted In the coming days, our thoughts assistants, janitors interviews behind the lines, used a will be with everyone there, and our megaphone to redistribute travel hopes will be set on the healing and and much more. documents, loaded people onto rebuilding of Haiti. buses, assisted in boarding them on Kelia E. Cummins the airplanes, and explained our Vice Consul consular efforts in Creole at a press conference for local Embassy Kingston journalists. It was rewarding to be thanked for my dedication even by those I sternly turned away for presenting fraudulent information. They appreciated the fact that my colleagues STRENGTH IN THE MIDST OF CRISIS and I were doing our best to carry out a fair and transpar- A significant turning point of my young, yet eventful, ent adjudication process. FSO career is undoubtedly my TDY experience in Port- I learned that the Haitian people are among the au-Prince following the Jan. 12 earthquake. All of my strongest in the world. They will make the best of what- consular and cultural expertise rose to the surface and al- ever challenge faces them. They will not give up hope lowed me to maintain a pleasant demeanor even while until they find solutions to their problem. During this ex- coping with tremendous stress. I felt valuable to the State tremely stressful situation, what kept me going was the Department and was proud to serve my country during random smiles and jokes I was able to share with the evac- this time of need. uees. Many of them had lost just about everything, yet Many memories come to mind: 16-hour shifts, the they were still able to share a smile with me. blazing sun, loud Air Force engines, random stenches, I am grateful that the long hours I had put in at the never-ending thirst, sleeping under a desk, and “Meals visa interview window in Kingston trained me to reach Ready to Eat.” Of course, we TDYers only had to face decisions in a short amount of time. I even appreciate the those challenges for a short period. And relatively speak- demanding American citizens who came to my window ing, such adjustments are a piece of cake when compared there, training me to handle difficult situations and reach to the bigger picture: the fact that a country like Haiti, al- solutions. ready facing so many challenges to its infrastructure, I now see the value of the French and Haitian Creole crumbled in less than a minute. American citizens and classes that my parents forced me to attend as a child. many other people turned to the U.S. government for as- And I am grateful for the strength I gained as a Hurricane sistance. Katrina survivor. All of these previous challenges gave me In addition to performing their many duties, Foreign the strength to be an effective officer during this emer- Service personnel in Haiti, whether assigned there or on gency evacuation. TDY, served as counselors, entertainers, first-aid assis- Still, when I returned to my post in Jamaica, I was most tants, janitors and much more. I operated purely on grateful for my comfortable bed! adrenaline. I could not sit down, but constantly kept mov- Régine René ing. Not only did we improve the situation we were fac- Vice Consul ing, but we managed to bring a smile to the devastated Embassy Kingston

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THERE, EVEN AT 3 A.M. Soon the calls began to come in. I am an entry-level officer in Washington, D.C., who “I ran out of my house in my T-shirt and shorts with my volunteered for multiple shifts with Task Force 2 and 8 purse and my cat. Can someone help me shop and find a (the Haiti Adoptions Task Force). While working at TF-2 place to live?” one night, I received a call from a gentleman seeking up- “I’m arriving at Reagan [National] Airport tonight with dated information on his unaccompanied American child. no papers. By the way, do you know how my friend is I checked our database and updated the man. doing? I helped to dig her out of the rubble.” He responded: “You all are doing a great job. I imag- “I just picked up my adopted Haitian daughter, and ine not many folks say that to you. The other night I had she’s sick. Can someone take us to the pediatrician if she’s insomnia because I was worrying about my son in Haiti. not better by tomorrow?” It was 3 a.m. or so, and I wondered whom I could talk to Volunteers are actively supporting families with clothes, about this, so I decided to call the State Department and toys, strollers and car seats, babysitting, rides to the pedi- get an update. To my surprise, State Department em- atrician and playtimes with other Foreign Service kids. ployees were there, answering phones. It felt wonderful to One volunteer, Meg, said it best: be able to talk with someone about my son and his situa- “Helping is truly the easy part. Each of us was likely tion. Thank you for the work you do.’“ moved by the fact that we all know too well in the Foreign Nice work, everyone! Service that life can change in an instant. Having been Danette Sullivan evacuated from post within 11 hours after a death threat 147th A-100 against my husband was substantiated in 2003, I wanted to Washington, D.C. give to the families in any way I could. I will never forget what it is like to arrive in the United States wondering what in the world had just happened to my life.” Ann La Porta LIVELINES VOLUNTEERS OFFER AAFSW LIFELINES TO FAMILY EVACUEES Washington, D.C. On Jan. 14, just two days after the earthquake hit Haiti, Naomi Ritchie, crisis officer for the Fam- ily Liaison Office, was on the telephone to Faye Barnes, president of the Associates of the Foreign Service Worldwide, asking if AAFSW might help the embassy families being evacuated from Haiti. Perhaps its volunteers could meet planes or provide them with warm clothes. I volunteered to coordinate the effort by sending a plea for help out through Livelines, the AAFSW- sponsored Yahoo group for Foreign Service families and employees. Within 24 hours, 60 people had volunteered — Foreign Service officers and spouses, their parents and their siblings, new re- cruits in the A-100 course, those in language training and those who teach at FSI, specialists and those from other agencies, Red Cross volunteers and even someone who works at the Pentagon. We had iden- tified members ready to drive to all area airports; arranged donations of warm clothes from infant At this “Breakfast for Haiti,” and other events, the American In- through adult sizes; and lined up toys, cars, extra stitute in Taiwan community raised more than $8,000 for the re- rooms to lend, and driving and babysitting services. lief effort.

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SMALL NUMBERS, “We all work for the same strengths and expertise. BIG HEARTS The State Department is one of Despite being half a world away, government, and you have the many external agencies in- the staff of the American Institute in volved in this crisis with a perma- Taiwan pulled together to help raise skills that make you valuable nent presence in the command. funds for disaster and emergency re- And, as SOUTHCOM liaisons mi- lief in Haiti. in Haiti right now. grated to other U.S. government Taiwan itself is still recovering agencies, representatives from out- from the effects of Typhoon Mora- We’ll be fine here. Go.” side military and civilian organiza- kot, which washed away roads, tions rushed to join our team in this homes, and an entire village in Au- whole-of-government response. gust 2009, causing more than 460 deaths and hundreds of Within days the number of staff at the command swelled millions of dollars in agricultural losses. considerably. Perhaps because of this, members of the AIT commu- Initially the command’s priorities centered on coordi- nity dug deep, hosting Breakfasts for Haiti, Super Bowl nating search-and-rescue operations, providing emer- parties, and other events. These raised more than $8,000 gency medical care and delivering supplies. Within for Haiti relief, including more than $5,400 for the FSN hours, U.S. Coast Guard personnel were conducting Emergency Relief Fund (approximately 5 percent of the medical evacuations and airlifts of injured Americans — funds that were raised worldwide in 2009). including a military colleague I had served with on a pre- Dianna G. Kim vious tour abroad. I found myself, along with fellow For- Community Outreach Group eign Service and interagency colleagues assigned to American Institute in Taiwan SOUTHCOM, at the “epicenter” for the coordination of these relief efforts. We established timely and effective communication among military staff, leadership in Wash- ington and Embassy Port-au-Prince. ATTHE“EPICENTER” OF RELIEF EFFORTS As SOUTHCOM provided critical theater logistics sup- Within minutes of the earthquake that rocked the Hait- port to deployed forces, the interagency and multinational ian capital of Port-au-Prince, the United States govern- partners, State personnel at the command, the Bureau of ment sprang into action. While high-level deliberations Diplomatic Security’s Miami Field Office, the U.S. Pass- took place in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Southern Com- port Agency and the Florida Regional Center all worked mand quickly engaged in what is likely the largest human- diligently to coordinate operations. Our combined efforts itarian assistance and disaster relief mission in the successfully enabled the immediate deployment of DS command’s history. Operation Unified Response is now agents, consular officers, equipment and supplies to Haiti. the highest priority for the U.S. military in the region. Joint All this provided much needed support to Embassy Port- Task Force Haiti was swiftly established to support the ef- au-Prince and facilitated the safe and expedited repatria- forts of the U.S. Agency for International Development tion of thousands of American citizens on military aircraft — the lead federal agency for providing humanitarian as- to designated safe-haven locations in the States. sistance and disaster relief to the Haitian people. Concurrent with these efforts, Foreign Service col- SOUTHCOM is the joint U.S. military geographic leagues from various agencies are collaborating to refine combatant command tasked with conducting military op- objectives and desired outcomes as operations transition erations in Latin America and the Caribbean and promot- from emergency response functions, to providing ing security cooperation to achieve U.S. strategic object- broader relief to earthquake victims and, eventually, to ives. But it is more than a military command — it’s truly reconstruction efforts. an interagency-oriented organization. Joseph I. Nieto Because of SOUTHCOM’s outward focus, there were Supervisory Special Agent already many representatives aboard from various federal Diplomatic Security Service organizations, and we quickly drew on each other’s Liaison Officer to SOUTHCOM

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“AIDE AYITI” ical evacuation. One very memorable patient arrived with On Jan. 27, the 148th A-100 class teamed up with Tony two broken legs and was in shock. Another survived the and Abigail Opare, owners of a Washington, D.C. restau- collapse of a five-story building, but lost three friends who rant, to host a fundraiser for two different charities: Doc- had been standing at her side. Their lives and those of sev- tors Without Borders and the Foreign Service National eral others were saved that night by the efforts of our em- Emergency Relief Fund. The “Aide Ayiti” event at the bassy team. Ghana Café, raised more than $3,600 in just one night; Some of what I experienced continues to haunt me. more than 300 people attended the benefit. While driving to the airport to check if it was operational, “This event was wildly successful and we are so happy my driver and I came across an embassy bodyguard stand- we were able to come together as a Foreign Service coming next to his broken-down car. Crying violently, he told munity to help bring financial support to our FSN col- me that his concrete house had collapsed with his family leagues and to two very worthy organizations,” said Justin inside, killing his wife and two of his children. Sitting in Davis, one of the event’s organizers. the car was his only surviving son, his chest covered in The Opares agreed to donate 20 percent of the profits blood. I helped the man push his vehicle more than half from all alcoholic beverages sold during the night to the a mile to one of the few hospitals still standing, only to find Haiti relief fund. The A-100 class also collected donations out that it refused to take patients. at the door, ran a coatcheck and operated its own bar in The scene was something from a nightmare: dozens of the restaurant. All the tips from that also went to the Haiti bleeding victims lying at the hospital’s gates, pleading with support fund. the doctors on the other side of the fence to treat them. Lauren Dunn, one of the event’s organizers, said the Knowing that the guard and his son would not receive 148th A-100 class was glad to be able to increase the prof- treatment there, we quickly returned to the embassy, its and support a small, local business in addition to raising where I watched my wife scrub the open wounds on the funds for Haiti. bodyguard’s broken hand with a brush. While he and his Natalie Laber son both survived, I am unable to drive past the hospital 148th A-100 Class without thinking of those who lost their lives that night, Consulate General Hermosillo just feet away from medical care. I never ended up participating in the phone calls with Washington. But I know that what we did that night made a real difference in the lives of many of those who most THOSE WHO MOST NEEDED OUR HELP needed our help. Our house in Port-au-Prince had not even stopped Dominic Randazzo shaking when my wife and I made it out onto the street. Vice Consul The instinct to act kicked in immediately: we ran from Embassy Port-au-Prince door to door, checking on our neighbors and guards, and shutting off broken water pipes. Our neighborhood sus- tained remarkably little damage, and only one colleague was injured. Within an hour, we traveled to the embassy, PARTNERSHIPS AND TECHNOLOGY hoping to communicate the events to Washington. HELP SAVE LIVES The earthquake destroyed many of the major hospitals In a development speech at the Peterson Institute for throughout the capital. Without a place to turn to, Amer- International Economics on Jan. 6, Secretary of State ican citizens began arriving at the embassy seeking treat- Hillary Rodham Clinton invited the world to assist devel- ment. We ransacked the medical unit and, with the oping nations not only with material contributions, but also expertise of Dr. Steve Harris, our courageous Centers for with talent and ideas. Less than a week later, the earth- Disease Control country chief, treated many people in the quake hit Haiti, and the world’s response vividly demon- parking lot. strated this new paradigm. By the next morning, all of the chancery’s cafeteria ta- One of those who answered the Secretary’s call was 23- bles had become stretchers holding patients awaiting med- year-old Josh Nesbit. The head of a sub-Saharan nonprofit

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organization, Nesbit specializes in What we did that night in Haiti, translated them from Cre- providing health care via mobile ole into English, and then geo- phones. He thought a short mes- made a real difference coded and reported the messages saging service (aka texting) system for use by rescue personnel. The could be crucial in Haiti. Joined by for many of those who Ushahidi group also reached out to a Caribbean cell phone company the Haitian diaspora to participate and Google, he launched 4636 — a most needed our help. and take over ownership of the number Haitians could use to text process. information about the injured and “Wiki” means fast, and the de- people trapped under rubble. The State Department also partment has learned to use Web-based wiki software to joined the effort and helped route messages to the U.S. organize and disseminate information and mobilize people Coast Guard and Red Cross responders. working on common projects. State’s Crisis Management More than 20,000 texts were received, translated and Center has long used the interagency Intelipedia wiki as a forwarded to rescuers on the ground. But the numbers focal point for crisis management information, and it did so only tell part of the story. Some text messages helped res- effectively in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. In- cue personnel find and free victims trapped in collapsed telipedia is available worldwide to share information buildings. One text even helped get care to a woman giv- among the U.S. government’s foreign affairs and national ing birth. “4636” saved lives. security communities that provide support for relief efforts. Mobilizing Manpower Internally, the Bureau of Consular Affairs and the In- Because Haiti is multilingual, most of the text messages formation Resource Management Bureau’s Office of were not in English, the primary language for many of the eDiplomacy used the Diplopedia wiki, which is hosted on emergency personnel. So State is using another informa- State’s internal network, to mobilize an outpouring of vol- tion technology initiative, the Virtual Student Foreign unteers — from desk officers to lawyers, contractors and Service, to recruit U.S. college student volunteers via other support staff — representing every bureau in the de- Facebook and other social networking tools for translation partment to staff the round-the-clock Haiti earthquake and mapping services. consular task force. Helaina Stein of Tufts University was one of the students who used the Ushahidi Web site (http://haiti.us Person Finder: hahidi.com) to map the locations of injured people. The A Tool for Welfare and Whereabouts Ushahidi volunteers received SMS messages from those After the Jan. 12 earthquake, a number of organizations quickly offered Web sites aimed at helping people report or search for information about the welfare and whereabouts of missing people. Recognizing that a fragmented effort would impede efforts to find information, State initiated a conference call to interested organizations — public, private and nongovernmental — to coordinate a central service and to share the data. Within hours Google.org, the nonprofit arm of Google, helped to build Person Finder. The system is available in English, French, Spanish and Creole, and includes an option for other organizations to embed it on their own Web sites. At one point, the service handled about 70 requests a second, and Public Affairs Office, Embassy Kingston Sec. Hillary Clinton discusses Haiti relief with Jamaican Prime within weeks had accumulated more than 58,000 Minister Bruce Golding in Kingston on Jan. 16. records.

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Text HAITI: Coordinating Within hours of the quake, American engagement across a Contributions wide spectrum of diplomatic is- State played a key role in another State personnel coordinated sues. The U.S. and the State De- very successful effort to help Haiti. partment will continue to expand Immediately after the Jan. 12 earth- with cell-phone companies the use of such statecraft partner- quake, people and organizations ships and technologies. called and e-mailed the State De- to develop “Text HAITI,” Office of eDiplomacy partment in a rush to donate to re- Department of State lief efforts. Within hours of the by which individuals could Washington, D.C. quake, department personnel coordinated with cell-phone companies make immediate donations to develop “Text HAITI,” by which cell-phone users could make imme- via text message. LESSONS FROM ACEH diate donations via text message. The Jan. 12 earthquake that “Text HAITI” generated $400,000 devastated the Haitian capital of the first day and more than $32 million in the first month. Port-au-Prince occurred less than a month after the fifth Katie Stanton, a special adviser to Sec. Clinton, helped anniversary of the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami. develop another system to coordinate specific needs with Sec. Clinton, immediately recognizing the parallels be- the extensive level of donations. She explains: “We- tween the two disasters, drew upon the knowledge the HaveWeNeed is basically a Craigslist for Haiti. The prob- U.S. had attained during the tsunami relief and recon- lem we’re trying to solve right after the earthquake was struction efforts to formulate an initial strategy for inter- that all of our e-mail inboxes exploded” because people national response to the Haitian earthquake. from the private sector were so generous. The challenge An estimated 225,000 people died in the 2004 tsunami. was to get those contributions to the people who needed The hardest-hit area was Aceh, Indonesia, the closest area them. WeHaveWeNeed coordinated the donations from to the epicenter of the earthquake, where an estimated more than 100 organizations, offering everything from 165,000 people lost their lives and 500,000 survivors were medical supplies to tents. left homeless. The outpouring of international relief assistance was unprecedented. Over 100 countries pro- In the Future: vided an estimated $6.7 billion in funding for recovery The Power of Partnership and reconstruction activities, $400 million from the U.S. A natural disaster on the scale of Haiti’s stretches all re- government alone. sources very thin — especially communications, logistics, Why were subsequent Aceh reconstruction efforts suc- organizational manpower and supplies of basic needs such cessful? USAID Jakarta cites three key factors that helped as food, shelter and medicine. The response demonstrates ensure this success: local Indonesian leadership and re- the power of partnership and technology to marshal the sponsibility for leading reconstruction efforts; broad-based resources of the international community; to link rescuers sectoral assistance to repair the damage and simultane- to victims; to connect individual donors to relief organiza- ously address sources of administrative, financial and civil tions; and to connect families to their relatives in the dis- conflict; and the fact that the structures of the Indonesian aster zone. central government continued to function. “We are lucky,” says Stanton. “Technology is already in What should the United States focus on as interna- the hands of so many. There are roughly 4.6 billion mobile tional recovery assistance to Haiti proceeds? Mission phones out there. The challenge for us is how do we tap Jakarta suggests the following: into it and help make that more useful?” • Support government priorities and efforts. The 21st-century technologies and partnerships em- • Start by building the infrastructures that support ployed in response to the catastrophe in Haiti provide an basic human needs. early model not only for effective, collective response in • Use local resources and involve the community to a major crisis, but also an example of more proactive support social, logistical and rebuilding efforts.

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• Emphasize the need for What should the ceived inequities in distribution of constant dialogue and open and national finances and foreign aid transparent communications. United States focus on in reconstruction efforts, as well to • Remain mindful that all cit- differences of opinion in the allo- izens must perceive they are ben- as international recovery cation of jobs and government- efiting in some manner. This supported projects. underscores the importance of assistance to Haiti As Sec. Clinton noted in her public awareness campaigns; pub- Jan. 25 remarks on Haiti, “It is lic emphasis on positive changes; proceeds? critical that the same energy and provision of mechanisms and ac- generosity that is being put into tivities in which all can partici- the humanitarian effort is main- pate; and provision of tools tained over the long term.” whereby individuals can regain control over their lives Aceh’s emergence over the past five years from the and personal decisions. depths of the tsunami’s devastation reminds us that, • Regenerate community and family-level livelihoods while the road to recovery will be long for Haiti, there is to instill self-sufficiency and self-confidence, and give great potential for positive, long-term results. ■ back control to the individual and family. Brigid Reilly Weiller • Ensure equitable distribution of relief, recovery and Political Officer and AFSA Representative economic growth. Social violence is often linked to per- Embassy Jakarta

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REMEMBERING THOSE WE HAVE LOST

ONE FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER, THE WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN OF AN FSO AND AT LEAST SIX FOREIGN SERVICE NATIONALS WERE AMONG THE CASUALTIES.

BY SUSAN BRADY MAITRA

he devastating January earth- a fellow student, Dorothy Ledger, then on a educational quake in Haiti took the lives of at least 230,000 individu- break from her own diplomatic career, who introduced als and decimated the country’s physical and institutional Ms. DeLong to the Foreign Service. She joined the FS in infrastructure.T Among the casualties were a long-time 1983, shortly after completing her degree. According to Foreign Service officer, the wife and two children of an Ledger, who remained a lifelong friend, it was a career FSO and at least six dedicated Foreign Service Nationals. choice that Victoria DeLong never regretted. “She ab- Victoria DeLong, 57, a veteran of the Foreign Service solutely loved it,” Ledger told the Washington Post from and an AFSA member who served as the cultural affairs her home in Kentucky. “She loved the travel. She loved officer at Embassy Port-au-Prince, was killed on Jan. 12 her job. She just loved all of it.” when her home collapsed. Posted in Haiti since Febru- ary 2009, she had fallen in love with the country’s people ‘She Loved Her Job’ and culture and called this tour the highlight of her 27- In addition to Haiti, Ms. DeLong served in El Sal- year diplomatic career. vador, Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, Germany, Aus- “Victoria was a veteran Foreign Service officer who tralia, Kuala Lumpur, the Philippines, the Democratic worked tirelessly to build bridges of understanding and Republic of the Congo and Mauritius. In Mauritius, as respect between the people of the United States and the part of a small embassy staff, she worked closely with people of Haiti,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clin- then-Ambassador Cesar B. Cabrera on issues such as ter- ton said on Jan. 15, after speaking with the DeLong fam- rorism and piracy, accompanying him on a trip to Djibouti ily. “She served her country with distinction and honor, to meet with U.S. military officials stationed there soon and she will be sorely missed.” after his arrival. Foreign Service work is “a vocation,” Born and raised in Southern California, Victoria De- Amb. Cabrera explained in an interview with the Wash- Long joined the Navy in 1973. After completing her tour, ington Post on his work with DeLong. “It’s a calling,” he she served at the naval station in San Diego while work- said. “She had the calling.” ing on her bachelor’s degree at National University. It was The intelligence and determination Ms. DeLong brought to her work were impressive, former U.S. Am- Susan Brady Maitra is the Journal’s senior editor. bassador to Haiti Janet A. Sanderson told the Post. But it

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wasn’t just that. “She had a won- She had fallen in love with friend and humanitarian. She was derful sense of humor, which you cheerful and full of life in all her have to have in Haiti, even in the the country’s people and endeavors and accomplishments.” best of times,” Sanderson recalled. AFSA President Susan Johnson “Victoria is deeply missed by culture and called this tour presented the DeLong family with those who worked with or near a U.S. flag on the occasion. her,” says training classmate and fel- the highlight of her 27-year She is survived by her mother, low Africa public affairs officer Sheila DeLong of Rancho Cuca- Kristin M. Kane. “Her profession- diplomatic career. monga, Calif.; two sisters, Rita alism, poise and public diplomacy Gima of Temple City, Calif., and skills were an example to us all. Pamela Watson of Alta Loma, May her loved ones know what a great service she did for Calif.; a brother-in-law Michael Gima; two nieces, Jen- our nation.” Lois L. Bozilov, a colleague who served with nifer and Amanda; and a nephew, Kyle. her in Kuala Lumpur, concurs: “She was a valued co- To honor Victoria’s memory, donations can be made to worker and friend who will be missed by all her Foreign the Little Flower/Rosa Mina Orphanage in Haiti where Service colleagues.” she volunteered. Online donations cn be made through “We served together in Bonn. She was remarkably tal- the Partners in Progress Web site (www.piphaiti.org/). ented and dedicated. Together we traveled over much of Europe, and she especially en- AN ‘UNIMAGINABLE’ joyed visiting the myriad of Christ- TRAGEDY mas markets,” recalls FSO Frances At Sec. Clinton’s Jan. 26 town Parish. “She enjoyed all of her as- meeting for State Department signments but particularly those as and USAID employees, there was a public diplomacy officer, where a moment of silence in honor of all she was able to meet many new those who lost their lives or were friends and mingle with the local still missing in the Haiti disaster. cultures,” Parish adds. “Victoria In addition to Victoria DeLong, was a wonderful person, and I will Sec. Clinton paid tribute to Lau- miss her warmth and friendship.” rence, Evan and Baptiste Wyllie. An avid reader with a special The wife and two young children liking for historical fiction, Ms. of FSO Andrew Wyllie also per- DeLong also loved to travel. ished in the earthquake. Apart from the work that took her Heartfelt support has gone out round the world, she made a trip to from colleagues to Wyllie, an offi- Victoria DeLong Ireland to kiss the Blarney Stone cer in the Bureau of Population, and, in 2007, went on a Zambezi Refugees and Migration on River safari. A serious photographer, she took many pic- assignment in Haiti, who tures of her travels and her friends. “inconceivably, unimagin- She also had a passion for scuba diving, a sport she took ably” — as Sec. Clinton put up during her assignment to Papua New Guinea. Family it in her emotional acknowl- members recall her enthusiastic reports of dives in that edgment — lost his wife on area and the exquisite beauty of diving on the Great Bar- her birthday and his 7- and rier Reef. Later, she took up golf with equal relish. 5-year-old children. FSO Andrew Wyllie with On Jan. 30, at a Memorial Service in Whittier, Calif., his family in happier times. “Laurence was a lovely family and friends gathered to celebrate her life and to foil to Andy, a soulful artist say good-bye. “Victoria cared deeply for her family and and a patient friend,” FSO Chase Beamer, who considers friends,” her family said. “She was a wonderful sister, Wyllie a close friend and mentor, wrote in tribute from

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Embassy Bratislava. “Their children combined the best in things in our daily routine, the world would be a better both of them. Baptiste had an impish streak and loved place. spraying my dog with the hose in the backyard while also “Rest in peace and joy, friends,” he concluded. flirting with the ladies.” “Throughout the entire tragedy, it has been Evan’s words that ring most often in my ears,” Beamer continued. “When Evan was young and Andy and Laurence As part of honoring the memory of those we have lost, would visit, they would typically put him down in our bed- AFSA opened an online condolence and remembrance room after dinner. I have never witnessed anyone with page at www.afsa.org/haiti.cfm. such an unbridled joy for bedtime. ‘Le lit, le lit, j’adore le Please share your thoughts on those who gave their lit (I love bed!)’ he would squeal as he rolled himself up lives with an e-mail to [email protected]. They will be in the covers. If all of us had just a tenth of that joy for the posted each day. ■

t least six Embassy Port-au-Prince Foreign Service National employees lost their lives in the earthquake, and many are still miss- Aing. All have suffered grievous losses in terms of homes and extended family members. The Foreign Service National Emergency Relief Fund enables the Department of State to respond to crises affecting locally employed staff overseas. To donate, send a check to the department’s Gift Fund Coordinator Donna Bordley, RM/CFO, Rm. 7427, 2201 C Street NW, Washington DC 20520. Make checks payable to the U.S. Department of State, designated for the “FSN Emergency Relief Fund.” State and USAID employees may also check their intranet for guidance on donation by cash or credit card.

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AFSAAmerican Foreign NEWSService Association • April 2010 Iran and the Ghosts of History Limbert Draws Capacity Crowd at Book Signing BY FRANCESCA KELLY hat do you do when you and your col- the State Department as deputy assistant secre- leagues are barricaded behind steel tary for Iran, was the featured author at a book- Wgates, with a mob of several hundred signing hosted by AFSA. As a former ambassador agitated and possibly armed students threaten- to Mauritania and a past AFSA president, Lim- ing you? bert believes deeply in the importance of AFSA’s If you’re John Limbert, you go out and try to mission. reason with them. When that fails, you spend AFSA Executive Director Ian Houston gave a 444 days as a hostage and live to tell the tale. warm welcome to the large and diverse audience, The year was 1979, the students were Iranian, followed by AFSA President Susan Johnson, who and the workplace-turned-prison was Embassy introduced Amb. Limbert. Limbert spoke can- Tehran. And the tale that Ambassador John Lim- didly of both a policy failure (bringing the de- bert has told, 30 years later, is detailed in his book, posed shah to the U.S. for medical treatment, Negotiating with Iran: Wrestling the Ghosts of His- which greatly increased anti-American sentiment tory, newly published by the United States Insti- in Iran), and what he calls a personal failure: not FRANCESCA KELLY FRANCESCA tute of Peace. Amb. John Limbert speaks at AFSA being able to successfully “talk down” the student On Jan. 26, Limbert, who recently returned to HQ on Jan. 26. Continued on page 59

USAID AFSA Members Survey Results Morale and Independence Are Key Concerns BY USAID VP FRANCISCO ZAMORA he fourth annual survey of USAID membership has The top priority in previous surveys was always overseas yielded valuable information not only for AFSA but for comparability pay. As you know, AFSA was successful in help- TUSAID management and others involved in international ing convince Congress to phase in this benefit over a three-year development. We hope that our new Administrator, Dr. Rajiv period, starting with a 7.7-percent increase that is showing up Shah, will use these results to make well-informed decisions in your paychecks this fiscal year. Currently, 58 percent of mem- about our organizational and personnel needs. bers surveyed request that AFSA continue lobbying for full im- More Washington-based officers responded this year: 32 per- plementation of overseas comparability pay. cent, compared to 21 percent in 2007 and 28 percent in 2008. After a long battle by AFSA and other organizations, same- This is most likely the result of the employment surge of in- sex partners of FSOs are now receiving key benefits. Still, 60 coming Development Leadership Initiative officers. percent of respondents want AFSA to continue to lobby for ad- The largest response rate (36 percent) was from officers at ditional same-sex partner benefits. (Predictably, we also heard the FS-4 rank and below. from unmarried opposite-sex couples who want us to help Equalizing benefits among all foreign affairs agencies is the them obtain benefits, as well.) We also received comments ex- top priority favored by 59 percent of respondents (see p. 56). pressing a great need for improved maternity/paternity benefits. While the gap between State and USAID benefits is closing, we The regulations currently in use force many FS employees into realize there are still areas that need attention and will continue financial hardships unique to overseas service. our negotiations with the agency. This includes such things as Regarding agency management, the Human Resources Of- the Difficult to Staff Differential and language training for fice continues its downward spiral. In the 2007 survey, 24 per- spouses. Continued on page 56

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A F S A AFSANEWSBRIEFS N E W Financial Aid Scholarship Rivkin Award Winner Featured S Established in Washington Post Upon the death of its president, James F. Smith, FSO Jeffrey Collins, who won AFSA’s Rivkin Award in December, the Foreign Service Retirees of South- for constructive dissent in 2009, was featured as a “Fed- ern Arizona organization has disbanded. The eral Player of the Week” in the Feb. 16 Washington Post. group’s remaining funds of $1,400 have been do- Collins’ work with activists in Turkey, as well as his nated to the AFSA Scholarship Fund and will be be- stowed as a need-based Financial Aid Scholarship ideas for streamlining human rights reporting, led to in FSRSA’s name for the 2010-2011 academic year. his nomination for the Rivkin Award. Now posted in For more information on AFSA’s Scholarship Pro- La Paz, Collins is focusing on drug trafficking, working gram, please contact Scholarship Director Lori Dec with the Bolivian government for solutions. at [email protected] or by phone at (202) 944-5504. You can read the article at this online link: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/ Life in the Foreign Service 2010/02/16/AR2010021601335.html ■ BY BRIAN AGGELER Clements Expat Youth Scholarship Applications Due May 13 Clements International is now accepting applications for its second annual Expat Youth Scholarship program. Scholarships totaling $10,000 will be awarded to six individuals. The contest is open to students ages 12 to 18, of any nationality, who have lived outside of their home country for more than two consecutive years. Applicants must submit an essay and creative media (photos, illustrations, etc.) in which they discuss and illustrate their lives as expatriate kids. For more information on this year’s essay theme, please go to www.expatyouthscholarship.com/. The deadline for entries is May 13.

AFSA HEADQUARTERS: Staff: Governing Board: Executive Director Ian Houston: [email protected] (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 PRESIDENT: Susan R. Johnson Business Department STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: Controller Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] STATE VP: Daniel Hirsch (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 Assistant Controller Cory Nishi: [email protected] USAID VP: Francisco Zamora Labor Management USAID AFSA OFFICE: FAS VP: Henry Schmick (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 General Counsel Sharon Papp: [email protected] FCS VP: Keith Curtis FCS AFSA OFFICE: Deputy General Counsel Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: [email protected] RETIREE VP: Robert Houdek (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 Senior Staff Attorney Neera Parikh: [email protected] SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org Staff Attorney Michael Willats: [email protected] FSJ: [email protected] Office Manager Christine Warren: [email protected] TREASURER: Andrew Winter PRESIDENT: [email protected] USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: [email protected] STATE REPS: Carleton Bulkin, Jorge Delfin, STATE VP: [email protected] USAID Staff Assistant Patrick Bradley: [email protected] Mary Glantz, Les Hickman, Joyce Namde, RETIREE VP: [email protected] Member Services USAID VP: [email protected] Member Services Director Janet Hedrick: [email protected] Julia Stewart, Mike Unglesbee, Sharon White, FAS VP: [email protected] Member Services Representative Michael Laiacona: [email protected] Teresa Yata FCS VP: [email protected] Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Ana Lopez: [email protected] USAID REPS: Michael Henning, Glenn Rogers Communications, Marketing and Outreach Retiree Counseling & Legislation Coordinator Bonnie Brown: [email protected] FCS REP: Rebecca Balogh AFSA News Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: [email protected] FAS REP: Melinda Sallyards Legislative Director Casey Frary: [email protected] IBB REP: Al Pessin Editor Francesca Kelly: [email protected] Executive Assistant to the President Austin Tracy: [email protected] (202) 338-4045, ext. 516; Scholarship Director Lori Dec: [email protected] RETIREE REPS: Fax: (202) 338-8244 Scholarship Program Assistant Jonathan Crawford: [email protected] Janice Bay, Robert (Bill) Farrand, On the Web: Exploritas Administrator Bernard Alter: [email protected] David Passage, Molly Williamson Marketing & Outreach Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: [email protected] How to Contact Us: to Contact How www.afsa.org/fsj and www.fsjournal.org Special Awards & Outreach Coordinator Perri Green: [email protected]

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A F V.P. VOICE: STATE ■ BY DANIEL HIRSCH S A N E W S Own Your Future

everal years ago, I met an FS member who did not want ones are not there. to be promoted. He enjoyed working at his current • Highlight accomplishments, not duties. This is par- Sgrade and knew that he was good at it. He had many ticularly important for people whose duties involve long- positions to choose from, and he saw no reason to rise to a term tasks. “Continued to monitor the activities of the higher level that would offer fewer options and less of the Sangria Party” is not an accomplishment. “Provided Wash- hands-on work he loved. ington a pre-publication copy of the Sangria Manifesto” is. I found his position refreshing and healthy. But for • Think of your own portion of the EER as a personal many of the rest of us, promotion concerns are a major appearance before the board, who will see your statement source of stress and discontent, and AFSA sees many com- as the best window into what sort of person you are. plaints and grievances related to Employee Evaluation Re- Display only those traits that you want the board to see. ports. This being EER season, I offer the following advice: Dispute negative statements objectively and respectfully, • Own your future. There are many aspects of the de- and, where you were at fault, own up to it and explain why partment’s rating system that are beyond your control. But it won’t happen again. Double-check your grammar and your chances for promotion are bet- spelling, and obtain at least one ob- ter if you act as if your future were jective third-party opinion. entirely in your hands. To the degree Your chances for promotion are • Ensure that your relationship possible, take charge of your own better if you act as if your future with your rater is accurately por- EER, ensuring that it goes where it trayed by the reviewer. A “collegial” needs to go, says what it needs to say were entirely in your hands. relationship is a different level of and is submitted on time. closeness than a “professional” rela- • Keep track, throughout the tionship, for example. year, of significant accomplishments and dates. In par- • Ensure that your area for im- ticular, document counseling sessions, and note any nega- provement does not recur in any of your last five EERs. tive comments. Be mindful of the requirements of your own cone. Again, • Don’t wait for counseling sessions, or EER time, to what might be harmless in one cone might be detrimental solicit feedback from your boss or others concerning your in another. performance. Without overdoing it, regularly show your • Solicit recognition. If you objectively believe that you boss and others that you want to give them the product they deserve an award, and none seems to be forthcoming, ask are seeking. for one — without cash if money is an issue. It may appear • Sell yourself. It is folly to believe, as many of us do, unseemly, but having that award may distinguish you from that your actions will speak for themselves. Make sure that your competitors. you provide input both before the EER is written and after • Choose assignments to advance your career. Promo- you receive a draft. Remind your rater not only what you tion boards want to see progressively greater responsibility did but how you did it, and why it is important. Make sure and increasing breadth of knowledge. Staying in the same your EER reflects the full range and difficulty level of your country or type of job for too long (especially in Washing- duties. ton) will not help you. In particular, those whose duties • Explain everything involved in your accomplish- vary little from post to post should look for larger em- ments. If your rater or reviewer is of a different cone or bassies, more visible posts and any duties that can distin- specialty than your own, make sure that he or she knows guish them from others in the same field. those skills that should be emphasized for promotion in Ultimately, your advancement in the Service comes your skill code, as well as the buzzwords that flag certain down to you. If you want to advance, you must make a con- traits to reviewers. Make sure the good ones are used in stant effort — not a last-minute foray — to ensure that your EER (include them in your own input) and the bad what is in your file is accurate and competitive. ❏

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A F S V.P. VOICE: USAID ■ BY FRANCISCO ZAMORA Legislative Update: A The Federal Budget N BY CASEY FRARY, E LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR W S The True Challenges for n Feb. 1, President Barack Obama released his Fiscal Year the New Administrator O2011 budget request. AFSA is pleased to report that the president’s FY lmost immediately after Rajiv Shah assumed his new post as USAID Ad- 2011 request for the international affairs ministrator, he was faced with a challenge of epic proportions: the Jan. 12 budget (Function 150), which includes Aearthquake in Haiti. While this was a great test of his crisis management funding for the State Department, ability, it will not be his most important trial. Due to disastrous decisions USAID and the International Broadcast- made over the last 15 years by several administrations and Congress, a much ing Bureau, was extremely strong. more vital undertaking for him is to rebuild USAID to its former standing — Specifically, the administration requested and beyond. $58.5 billion for international affairs, On Jan. 29, I had an opportu- which is $6.1 billion above FY 2010 ac- nity to brief Dr. Shah about AFSA tual spending, or an 11.6-percent in- and our role at USAID. I explained crease. The international affairs budget A much more vital that over the previous three years, accounts for less than 1.5 percent of the AFSA has surveyed its members in federal budget. undertaking for Dr. Shah an effort to find out directly what is to rebuild USAID to its concerns them most. I presented This crucial increase will give our former standing — and beyond him with a copy of the latest survey and highlighted the main re- diplomatic and developmental sults. corps the resources to face the Prime among them was that employee morale has sunk precip- challenges of the 21st century itously over the last three surveys to the point where 54 percent of Foreign Serv- as part of an expanding ice officers believe things are getting worse. This is an unsustainable situation, commitment to global security. one which the Administrator must address. Our people are USAID’s most important asset, without which our mission will never be fully realized. The meeting was cordial but frank. We discussed what is not working, and This crucial increase will give our what is. No topic was avoided. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding: let us diplomatic and developmental corps the see what Dr. Shah does with the information I gave him. resources to face the challenges of the My parting recommendations to him were that he: 21st century as part of an expanding 1. Seek more control over budget, policy and planning within USAID. commitment to global security. The FY 2. Return certain administrative functions and services to USAID mission 2011 budget calls for important increases executive officers overseas. in personnel, over 400 new Foreign Serv- 3. Improve operations at the Human Resources Office by adequately staffing ice officers at the State Department and and training employees to be more client-centered. Additionally, he should another 200 for USAID. Additionally, abandon plans to move the office to a separate building in Washington (State this budget provides the resources for the Annex-44 at the Federal Center Building). Such a move will create serious serv- FS community to meet its expanding ice disruptions. missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and other 4. Strengthen the career Foreign Service by judicious and limited use of mid- “frontline” nations. level and Foreign Service Limited hiring. Hire additional Civil Service em- The Foreign Commercial Service and ployees and reduce the number of contractors doing inherently governmental Foreign Agricultural Service, which are work. not funded through the international af- 5. Continue aggressive intake and training of new employees. fairs budget, also received increases Forty-five minutes was inadequate to discuss — not to mention resolve — in the FY 2011 budget proposal. AFSA such important issues. However, Dr. Shah seemed attentive and stated that he will be working hard over the next few would arrange additional meetings with AFSA. I am satisfied that, at least, he months, encouraging members of Con- is aware of the challenges before him. ❏ Continued on page 54

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A F V.P. VOICE: FCS ■ BY KEITH CURTIS S A Good News for FCS N E here is good news from this corner. Much of our hard are Commerce Secretary Gary Locke W work is paying off, and things are finally looking up for and our management team. Sec. Locke S Tthe Foreign Commercial Service. While Washington went to bat for us with the Office of continues to dig out of one storm after another, we can see Management and Budget, making a special appeal for in- some clear skies in our effort to restore FCS to strength. creased resources. This push from management included a re- I reported last month that Congress approved an extra freshingly proactive Congressional Liaison Office. $9.5 million above the president’s request for our Fiscal Year However, just as important were our friends in business, 2010 budget, which was already a solid increase over FY including the National Association of Manufacturers, the 2009. Nevertheless, we are still facing a significant budget U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several of the in-country shortfall to cover costs this year. American Chambers of Commerce, the District Export Far more significant is the substantial increase in the pres- Councils and the Business Council for International Under- ident’s budget request for FY 2011. He has asked for the standing. AFSA’s labor management office also proved very largest increase for the International Trade Association and effective. But in the end, congratulations go to those of you the Commercial Service in our budget history. ITA would in the field, both on the domestic side and overseas, for get some $90 million, roughly two-thirds of which would go demonstrating our value in key encounters with our senior to the Commercial Service. This would not only make us management and with members of Congress. whole again, with a manageable budget, but would also allow Substantial challenges lie ahead with the congressional us to begin to rebuild. process. We may not see the results of this effort until after As I mentioned in an e-mail to the field, these two important a new Congress convenes next year. In the meantime, we successes were brought about by a team effort. First among must continue to demonstrate our vital role in keeping the those to thank for the success of the FY 2011 budget proposal U.S. economy strong. ❏

V.P. VOICE: RETIREE ■ BY ROBERT G. HOUDEK Connecting with Colleagues

hen I ran for this office, I was not overjoyed at the This year’s directory also provides prospect of campaigning, and felt somewhat em- a wealth of information on topics like Wbarrassed composing letters and e-mails to col- Medicare B, long-term care insurance leagues with whom I had not been in touch for years. and When Actually Employed work. But the response to my outreach was incredibly satisfying I’ve already received several sug- for reasons that had nothing to do with the election result. I gestions for improvements to the 2011 edition, such as in- heard from a host of former colleagues, learning of their ac- cluding the names of spouses. This is easily accomplished: complishments in retirement, rekindling friendships and fos- start sending us those spousal identifications, and we will en- tering connections on similar interests. sure their inclusion in the next edition. You should all have received a copy of the 2010 AFSA Di- Another suggestion is to put the directory on a compact rectory of Retired Members: use it well to reconnect with old disc. It would be cheaper to produce, maintain and update, friends. but it probably would require us to abandon the printed edi- The 2010 directory is an improvement on last year’s di- tion, as we could not afford to produce both. The recent re- rectory not only in information contained, but also in layout tiree survey showed that over 90 percent of our retirees are and presentation. It is more than a phone and address book; technologically literate. it is a valuable resource. But my bottom line, until otherwise persuaded, is not to In the first 25 pages, spouses will learn how to report the go the CD route if it cuts off our oldest and most loyal AFSA death of a FS annuitant. The directory goes on to elaborate members, who are totally reliant on the print copy of the di- the mechanics of survivor annuities and elections. Although rectory. So while you’re busy connecting with your retired facing this can be difficult, you do need to know this critical colleagues, also reach out to AFSA and let us know which you information and should alert your spouse to its location. prefer. ❏

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A F S V.P. VOICE: FAS ■ BY HENRY S. SCHMICK Legislative Update • Continued from page 52 A gress to support Pres. Obama’s FY 2011 international affairs budget request. On Jan. 29, the Senate Foreign Rela- N Up or Out: The Five-Stars tions Committee announced the intro- E (Part One) duction of its version of the Foreign W Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal S espite the efforts of an active foundation, a space Years 2010 and 2011. This is the main flight center and one nearby high school, George piece of legislation providing authoriza- DCatlett Marshall could very well be the most un- tion language for spending, as well as the known famous soldier of the 20th century. When asked to name famous gen- mechanism for changing policies at State erals and admirals of the World War II era, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Bradley, and amending the Foreign Service Act Nimitz and Patton all come to mind before the very first five-star general — (Title 22). George C. Marshall. Most importantly, this bill includes Marshall, as many biographers have documented, was an unusual soldier. He the critical Overseas Comparability Pay fought his battles around conference tables, commanded the logistical buildup language that AFSA has long fought of the U.S. armed forces and supplies during World War I and World War II, but for. The House passed its version, H.R. never led troops into battle. Although a hard-core soldier, he received the 1953 2410, on June 10, 2009. AFSA will Nobel Peace Prize. Marshall’s name is most frequently mentioned in the sense closely monitor the progress of this key of the need for a new “Marshall Plan” to address the problem of the day (disas- legislation, and urge the Senate Foreign ter, continued underdevelopment, soaring food prices, etc.). After his long serv- Relations Committee to move swiftly ice in the Army and a brief stint as a special envoy to China, Marshall served as on this bill. ❏ the 50th Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949. Among the many changes Sec. Marshall instituted was extension of the armed forces “up or out” personnel system to the Foreign Service. Marshall’s interest in the “up or out” system developed out of his own career path, and that of his AFSANEWSBRIEFS mentor, General John J. Pershing. Despite being known as an able officer, Pershing was denied promotion to Welcome to Two New colonel. The Army based promotions on seniority rather than an evaluation of AFSA Staff Members personal accomplishments or merit. To be promoted you had to know the right Jonathan Crawford has joined the people and you had to have been waiting a sufficiently long period (a similar AFSA staff as a scholarship program as- statement would have applied to the Foreign Service, and most of the U.S. gov- sistant, supporting Scholarship Director ernment, at that time). In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt promoted Per- Lori Dec with an expanding scholarship shing to brigadier general (skipping three ranks and upsetting all the officers and financial aid program. Born and passed over). In short, the existing personnel system did not work for Pershing. Marshall served as one of the top assistants to Pershing in World War I. Dur- raised in Yonkers, N.Y., Jonathan moved ing his tenure, the U.S. Army grew from roughly 27,000 to more than three mil- to Alexandria, Va., in 2002. He is cur- lion soldiers. Throughout Marshall’s career, Pershing acted as a sounding board rently attending classes at George Mason for his attempts to reform the military system. Like Pershing, Marshall suffered University, pursuing a degree in geogra- long periods of no advancement in his career before being selected by President phy. Franklin D. Roosevelt to oversee the expansion of the U.S. armed forces to over Patrick Bradley is the new staff assis- 10 million soldiers by the end of World War II. In short, the existing personnel tant supporting both our labor manage- system did not work for Marshall either. ment and USAID offices. He is working Marshall and his fellow service chiefs were behind the 1946-1947 Officer Per- on grievance and member issues, among sonnel Act, which brought the “up or out” system to all the armed services. The other duties. Originally from Syracuse, related 1946 Foreign Service Reform Act brought the same system to the Foreign N.Y., Patrick holds a degree in business Service. To close, we should note that the only “double” five-star general was General administration from Drexel University H. H. Arnold (Army, 1944 and Air Force, 1949). Upon his retirement from the and worked at Hormel Foods before be- Air Force, Arnold was one of the founders of the RAND Corporation, which has coming a self-employed investor. A self- provided many of the academic reviews of the “up or out” system. In Part Two proclaimed “fan of efficiency and we will skim the historical record on why Marshall, Eisenhower and other key analysis,” Patrick has a long history of leaders thought “up or out” was the appropriate personnel system to bring “youth volunteering for such organizations as and vigor” to their officer corps. ❏ Special Olympics and Habitat for Hu- Please look for Part Two of this article in the May AFSA News. manity.

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A F The Secretary of State’s Outstanding Volunteers S A BY FRANCESCA KELLY N n Dec. 8, the Associates Dodson Tragen Award (for ef- of the American Foreign forts to enhance the global E OService Worldwide held rights and benefits provided to W their annual awards cere- Foreign Service family mem- S mony, which includes the Sec- bers) to Mette Beecroft. Sheila retary of State Award for Out- Switzer, spouse of AFSA Com- standing Volunteerism Abroad. munications Director Tom Swit- This award recognizes out- zer, received the Lesley Dorman standing volunteer service per- Award, given to an AAFSW formed overseas by employees, member who has performed family members, domestic part- outstanding service in all as-

ners and members of house- MARK STEWART ROBERT pects of the organization. hold in the following areas: Award recipients at the State Dept., Dec. 8. From left: Jan Irene Miller, Mette For full coverage of the Beecroft, Bernadetta Ruch, Sec. Clinton, Jay Taylor, Erin Sweeney, Lara Cen- remarkable service to the Amer- ter, former AAFSW President Lesley Dorman, JanMarie Flattum-Riemers and SOSA awards and to learn how ican community; outstanding Sheila Switzer. to nominate a colleague, please activities directed toward the visit the AAFSW Web site at host country; and exceptional service in dad who teaches popular adult swim- www.aafsw.org. ❏ emergencies. ming classes. Class participants include This year, Secretary of State Hillary combat military troops, translators and Rodham Clinton was present to bestow senior Foreign Service officers, as well as awards on six individuals. women from Ethiopia, the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Day Erin P. Sweeney, a consular officer in territories and Iraq — countries where oreign Affairs Day, including Lagos who helped establish the Con- physical activity for females is highly AFSA’s annual Memorial Plaque sulate Community Program, recruited discouraged. Taylor also helps those Fceremony, will take place on May 7 both American and Nigerian staff to with a lifelong fear of swimming and at the Department of State. We are sad keep the program sustainable. The those with disabilities. to announce that three names will be group has assisted the Pacelli School for Marine Sergeant Bernadetta Ruch added to the plaque: Victoria J. DeLong, the Blind, the Ife Oluwa Maternity expanded and directed several impor- who died in the earthquake in Haiti; Clinic and the Nigerian Anti-Trafficking tant community projects in Dushanbe Dale J. Gredler, who died en route to the in Persons Shelter. despite working in an understaffed de- U.S. from Kazakhstan; and Terrence L. JanMarie Flattum-Riemers, the re- tachment at post with a 35-percent hard- Barnich, who was killed in Iraq. The gional medical officer in Jakarta, pro- ship differential. She served Thanks- plaque ceremony will begin at 10:25 vided medical services at the Baktir giving dinner to more than 100 people a.m. in the C Street lobby, and Secretary Luhur Orphanage and established an and brought 140 children to the em- of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is ex- embassy recycling program offering bassy for the annual Marine “Toys for pected to preside. We invite all mem- employment opportunities for the Tots” drive. bers of the Foreign Service community mentally disadvantaged adults of the or- Jan Irene Miller, a family member in to join us for this solemn occasion. phanage. She also trained Indonesian Panama City, brought 20 years of expe- (Please note that the ceremony will also caseworkers to help treat neglected chil- rience in global technology to the be broadcast by BNet.) For more infor- dren in scavenger communities. Panama Chamber of Commerce proj- mation, please e-mail AFSA’s Coordina- Family Member Lara L. Center, who ect to resolve metropolitan transporta- tor for Special Awards and Outreach holds a master’s degree in museum tion issues. She coordinated hundreds Perri Green at [email protected]. studies, launched a strategic plan for of research reports and manuals from On a more cheerful note, that same Luxembourg’s National Military His- global expert sources, constructing a afternoon AFSA will host its traditional tory Museum, expanding outreach, cre- Web site to serve as a central repository. reception for all members, from 3:00 to ating a mobile museum service, men- Her analysis made its way to the incom- 5:00 pm. During that time we will also toring university interns, upgrading the ing government, which established a present our high school merit and art museum Web page and liaising with the Cabinet-level position to lead a multi- awards to local winning students. We U.S. National World War II Museum in billion-dollar, five-year mass transit so- look forward to seeing you here at AFSA New Orleans. lution. headquarters (2101 E St. NW, Washing- Joseph A. Taylor is an FSO in Bagh- AAFSW also presented the Eleanor ton, D.C.). ❏

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A F USAID AFSA Members Survey Results • Continued from page 49 S cent of the respondents graded HR serv- Poor HR support may be one question on USAID’s institutional sta- A ices as poor. In the 2008 survey, this fig- tus, providing more response options. ure increased to 33 percent. The 2009 of the principal reasons for Nevertheless, once again an overwhelm- survey shows a staggering 52 percent of poor agency morale. ing majority (81 percent) voted to have N the respondents making this assessment. USAID obtain independent Cabinet- E While it is necessary to delve into the 54 percent — think that things are get- level status. Respondents seem to reject W reasons for this, the accelerated Devel- ting worse, not better. Clearly, raising the increasing trend to merge the agency S opment Leadership Initiative and the morale will be a key challenge for Ad- with the State Department and are con- high turnover at HR may be significant ministrator Shah. cerned that the fragmentation of foreign causes for the degrading of services. The A slight change occurred regarding assistance is detrimental to our mission. office’s employees will need additional questions about service in the Critical Finally, we at AFSA are pleased that mentoring, training and supervision to Priority Countries of Iraq, Afghanistan, 85 percent of you rated highly our ef- improve their performance and develop Pakistan and Sudan. In the last survey, forts on your behalf. That is the reason an improved “client service” mentality. some 60 percent of FSOs opposed di- we appreciate your comments about the Poor HR support may be one of the rected assignments, compared to 48 per- things still left to do, and we read every- principal reasons for poor agency mor- cent in the current survey. While this is thing you send us. Thank you for let- ale. Respondents who believe morale is still high, it is possible that FSOs are be- ting us know where we can improve. poor jumped from 22 percent in 2008 to ginning to accept the increased likeli- To read the survey questions and full 31 percent in 2009. In fact, more than hood of a CPC assignment. results, please visit www.afsa.org/usaid/ half of the FSO survey respondents — We rephrased the previous survey’s 0110vanguard.pdf. ❏

56 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2010 49-62_FSJ_0410_AN:firstlook 3/16/10 6:02 PM Page 57

A F S A N E W S

— CHARTS PREPARED BY JOSERELDA BOON, ADVERTISING INTERN

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A F S MILESTONES: TEN YEARS AT AFSA A Cover Girl: Christine Warren BY FRANCESCA KELLY N E here she is — warm smile, beauti- lationships — both familial and profes- W ful face, in a glamorous setting — sional — is evident when talking to her S Tright on the cover of the April officemates. 1996 Society magazine, with the cap- “I consider Christine a valued and tion: “Christine Warren: Why Mumbai trusted colleague,” says Badrich, “but Loves the U.S. Consul General’s Wife.” more so, a dear and deeply respected Turns out “our” Christine, who is of- friend.” fice manager for AFSA’s Labor Manage- “We are all privileged to have Chris- ment department, has led — and tine as a colleague,” says Labor Man- continues to lead — a fascinating life. agement Specialist James Yorke. “Her She’s a Foreign Service spouse, a mother many skills — Vietnamese poetry, pho- of four and a published author and tography, cooking and, now, crocheting poet. — continue to amaze us. What can be Christine’s life changed forever when next?” ❏ she met a junior FSO named Louis War- ren, posted on his first assignment as part of a military advisory team. At the time Christine, who had grown up as AFSANEWSBRIEFS SHARON PAPP one of 11 children, was working for the Christine Warren at her desk. South Vietnamese government near her Manatt Elected hometown in the Thu-Duc district out- of contacts within and around the de- President of CAA side of Saigon. At the end of Louis’ tour, partment through her many years at Ambassador Charles T. Manatt has they were married. AFSA and her prior experiences with been elected president of the Council of Since then, Christine and Louis have the Foreign Service.” American Ambassadors, a nonprofit asso- lived in Muscat, Algiers, Jakarta, New General Counsel Sharon Papp adds, ciation comprised of more than 200 for- Delhi and Mumbai. They have raised “If AFSA is the voice of the Foreign mer and incumbent non-career U.S. four children: John, Peter, Suzanne and Service, Christine Warren is the face of ambassadors who have served presidents James. Now that her husband is retired the labor management office. She is the of both political parties. and working in the private sector, Chris- glue that holds us together.” And Exec- Amb. Manatt, founder of the law firm, tine finds that working at AFSA keeps utive Director Ian Houston notes that Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, served as her in touch with old friends from their her “pride in her work” and her concern the U.S. ambassador to the Dominican FS years. for the well-being of the staff are “qual- Republic from 1999 to 2001. He has also served as chairman of the board of “I was already acquainted with AFSA ities that are invaluable.” trustees of The George Washington Uni- when my husband was in the Foreign Christine is constantly challenging versity and is a former chairman of the Service,” she explains. “However, when herself. One of her many passions is Democratic Party of the United States. I started working here [in March 2000], keeping Vietnamese traditions alive in I realized the full extent of AFSA’s abil- her family. “I decided to write poems AFSA Keeps You ity to solve problems and to point peo- about my childhood to remind the Up to Date ple in the right direction for personal as older generation and to share with the Are you signed up to receive our well as professional issues.” younger,” she explains. Christine’s po- AFSAnet listserv messages? These Christine has taken AFSA’s mission etry has been published in San Diego periodic e-mail announcements keep to heart. “AFSA Labor Management is and Washington, D.C., newspapers. She you up to date on issues affecting you more than a grievance office,” she de- has also authored a cookbook with and your career, and also let you clares. “It fulfills a vital customer serv- recipes she used for representational know what AFSA is doing on your ice function.” events overseas. behalf. Signing up is easy as pie: “She knows exactly what to say to All her children have left the Fairfax, Simply go to ww.afsa.org/forms/ maillist.cfm, enter your e-mail, and place a person at ease,” says Deputy Va., nest, and Christine now enjoys click “subscribe.” Please note that General Counsel Zlatana Badrich. “She “hanging out” with grandchildren AFSA does not ever sell or share your often goes out of her way to answer Schuyler, Gwendolyn, Page and Eve. e-mail address for any purpose. questions, having accumulated a wealth The care with which she cultivates all re-

58 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/APRIL 2010 49-62_FSJ_0410_AN:firstlook 3/16/10 6:02 PM Page 59

A Limbert Book Signing • Continued from page 49 F revolutionaries who had taken over the subtitle of his book, S bottom floors of the embassy. guides his negotiating A During his time in captivity, Lim- strategy. “Whenever bert, a Persian-language speaker, con- we deal with the Irani- N tinually tried to establish a relationship ans, there are going to with the hostage-takers. “I felt I knew be ghosts in the room. E something about these young people,” We’re going to have to W he explained. “I tried to reach out, be aware of them, and S achieve little victories, and at least es- we’re going to have to tablish myself as a person rather than as deal with them.” He a subhuman enemy.” This effort, over admitted that the pro- many months, taught him not only pa- cess will take patience, tience but the value of communication, and that it would be

on many levels, between two opposing necessary to “put aside KELLY FRANCESCA AFSA President Susan Johnson (left) and author John Limbert at AFSA sides. our negative assump- HQ, Jan. 26. “When we and the Iranians finally tions and preconcep- end our 30-year estrangement, how do tions.” “You change policy from below,” allud- we do it?” he asked the audience, which Limbert answered several questions ing to making one’s case to the general included foreign affairs experts, diplo- from audience members before signing population rather than the higher lev- mats and journalists. He acknowledged copies of the book. To a query about els of government. “That’s why I love that his bias as an historian, clear in the how to change policy, he answered, AFSA.” ❏

AFSANEWSBRIEFS AFSA Announces Sinclaire Language Award Winners BY SPECIAL AWARDS AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR PERI GREEN

roficiency in foreign languages is one of the most valuable and Pimportant skills in today’s Foreign Service. AFSA’s Sinclaire Language Awards program honors language students for outstanding accomplishment in the study of a difficult language and its as- sociated culture. AFSA established this language-award program based on a bequest from Matilda W. Sinclaire, a former Foreign Service officer. The purpose of her bequest was to “promote and reward superior achievement by career officers of the Foreign Serv- ice of the United States while studying one of the ‘hard’ languages under the auspices of the Foreign Service Institute of the Depart-

ment of State.” The guidelines were amended and updated in Oc- JOSH tober 2001 to expand eligibility for the awards to any career or career-conditional member of the Foreign Service from State, This year’s winners are: USAID, FCS, FAS or IBB. Joshua Baker Arabic Candidates for the award are nominated by the language-training Alfred Boll Serbian supervisors at the FSI School of Language or by language instruc- Laura Brown* Arabic tors at the field schools. They are selected by a committee com- Alan Clark Mandarin Chinese posed of volunteer AFSA members, a member of the AFSA William M. Coleman Japanese Governing Board and the special awards and outreach coordinator. Scott Hansen Mandarin Chinese Each of the winners receives a check for $1,000 and a certificate of Adam Hantman Thai recognition signed by the AFSA president and the chair of the Zachary Harkenride Dari Awards Committee. Meredith Rubin Icelandic AFSA congratulates the 11 winners of this year’s Sinclaire Lan- Denise Shen Mandarin Chinese guage Award, and commends the School of Language Studies at Vincent Traverso Dari FSI for its dedication in preparing students of hard languages for *Laura Brown was a Sinclaire Language winner in the intense challenges of modern diplomacy. 2003 for Serbian.

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A F S A AFSANEWSBRIEFS TRANSITION CENTER SCHEDULE OF May 22 MQ230 Going Overseas: Logistics for Children N May 25 MQ000 Developing Virtual Job Opportunities E COURSES for April-May 2010 To register or for further information, e-mail the FSI Transition Center at [email protected]. W Apr. 10 MQ116 Protocol S Apr. 12-13 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar Apr. 14 MQ302 Transition to Washington for Foreign-Born Items from Korean War Sought By Spouses and Partners Embassy Seoul Apr. 14 MQ855 Traveling With Pets Embassy Seoul is seeking photos, documents and other rele- Apr. 19-20 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar vant items that depict the role of the embassy (or diplomatic Apr. 22-23 MQ104 Regulations, Allowances and Finances efforts in general) during the Korean War. June 25 will mark the Apr. 26-29 RV101 Retirement Planning Seminar 60th anniversary of the start of the war, so the embassy is host- Apr. 28 MQ851 Raising Bilingual Children May 1 MQ802 Communicating Across Cultures ing commemorative activities including an online display of May 3-4 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar various historical items at its Internet café, Café USA (http:// May 5 MQ916 A Safe Overseas Home seoul.usembassy.gov/). For more information, or to make a May 6 MQ000 Special-Needs Education in Foreign Service submission to the project, please contact Public Affairs Assistant May 7 MQ950 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief Dylan Davis via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone May 15 MQ116 Protocol at (82) (2) 397-4793. May 17-18 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar May 19 MQ119 Orientation to State Overseas May 19 MQ854 Legal Considerations in the Foreign Service Correction: May 21 MQ950 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief USAID Representative Michael Henning’s name was mistak- May 22 MQ200 Going Overseas for Singles and Couples enly omitted from the Governing Board photo in the AFSA May 22 MQ210 Going Overseas for Families Annual Report (March AFSA News). We regret this error. May 22 MQ220 Going Overseas: Logistics for Adults CLASSIFIEDS

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Realist or Ideologue? honest about his inability to stop Sadly, Haass George W. Bush from launching the in- War of Necessity, War of Choice: himself has not vasion. Still, while his dispassionate A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars analysis was badly needed to counter Richard N. Haass, Simon and Schus- absorbed the lessons the neocons’ cherry-picking of “intelli- ter, 2009, $27, hardcover, 278 pages. of this elegant and gence” in their rush to war, one can ask insightful book. whether some of the passion Haass REVIEWED BY STEPHEN BUCK musters here would have been even better used in a public resignation on This is an important and wise book principle against a war he rightly saw as from a foreign policy insider who has Haass includes the full text of a top- ill-considered and likely to have disas- been president of the Council on For- secret memo he wrote in September trous consequences. eign Relations for nearly seven years. 2002, long before the invasion, outlin- As Afghanistan replaces Iraq in pub- Having been a key White House offi- ing in great detail lessons from the past lic debate, one wishes that this elegant cial during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and the likely cost of an invasion of and insightful book had come out in and director of policy planning at the Iraq. He even made some of these 2006, rather than three years later. State Department in the run-up to the concerns public at the January 2003 Sadly, however, there is reason to be- 2003 invasion of Iraq, Richard Haass Davos World Economic Forum, but lieve that Haass has not yet absorbed provides unique insights into the roots, ruefully concludes that “I was not rep- his own lessons. conduct and aftermath of both wars. rimanded so much as I was ignored.” On Jan. 22, he published a com- Throughout this book, the latest of In his final chapter, Haass candidly mentary in Newsweek, “Enough Is 11 he has written or edited, Haass gives compares the Iraq wars of Bush 41 and Enough,” in which he claims to be a some riveting descriptions of crisis de- 43, finding that the latter “contributed “card-carrying realist,” yet advocates cision-making at the White House significantly to the deterioration of the more active U.S. support of regime level. (To his credit, the author is forth- absolute and relative position of the change in Iran. It sparked a fiery de- right in admitting that he was on the in- United States in the world.” It is quite bate and prompted accusations that, side prior to the first war, and on the possible, he concludes, that “history will rather than cautioning Sec. Powell be- margins before the second.) While he judge the [2003] war’s greatest cost to fore his now-infamous United Nations lets President George H.W. Bush off be opportunity cost, the squandering by speech portraying Iraq as an imminent lightly for giving Iraqi’s Shia population the United States of a rare and in many threat, Haass went along. It is also little support after his 1991 remarks ways unprecedented opportunity to sadly ironic, for the U.S. invasion led to that appeared to call for an uprising, he shape the world and the nature of inter- the installation of Iran-backed Iraqi is otherwise candid and thorough. That national relations for decades to come.” Shia religious parties and politicians, he makes no mention at all of State’s Haass is at his best when he pithily delivering a significant boost to the very Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in his compares the two wars as one of “ne- Iranian regime Haass now decries. discussion of decision-making is dis- cessity” and the other of “choice.” He The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq over- couraging to this veteran of NEA. is also to be commended for being so turned 1,400 years of Sunni control and

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WWW.FSJOURNAL.ORG accomplished what Ayatollah Khome- Click on the Marketplace tab on the marquee ini was unable to do in eight years of war with Saddam Hussein (1980-1988). Bosco makes an effective AFSA Legacy Given that history, and the dangers of www.afsa.org unintended consequences, it is diffi- case for Security Council cult to fathom how a consummate “re- AKA alist,” who rightly opposed regime dominance of the stay-aka.com change in one country (Iraq), can now Arlington Court Suites Hotel ardently promote it in another. United Nations. arlingtoncourthotel.com During a 39-year career, now-retired Clements International Senior Foreign Service officer Stephen clements.com Buck served at eight posts in the Arab a political analyst and journalist. Cort Furniture world, including as deputy chief of mis- His book takes us behind the scenes cort1.com sion in Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq of a stage where American idealism has War. He consults and lectures fre- been repeatedly dashed by Russian and Diplomatic Auto. Sales quently on the Middle East and has Chinese vetoes and consistent interna- diplosales.com served on the Foreign Service Journal tional criticism — largely coming from Fox Hill Editorial Board since 2003. dictators and despots who were them- foxhillseniorcondominium.com selves threats to collective security. Not surprisingly, disillusionment about the Georgetown Suites “And in the Darkness body set in soon after its 1945 creation, [email protected] Bind Them” and Bosco treats us to colorful quotes Hirshorn Company, The full of exasperation. For instance, for- hirshorn.com mer U.N. Secretary-General Dag Five to Rule Them All Hammarskjold memorably observed David L. Bosco, Oxford University ProMax that the organization was designed “not promaxrealtors.com Press, 2009, $24.95, hardcover, 320 pages. to bring humanity to heaven, but to SDFCU save it from hell.” sdfcu.org REVIEWED BY DAVID CASAVIS The central theme of the book — and its main contribution to the litera- Strategic Studies Quarterly Most FSJ readers are at least gener- ture — is the role of the Security Coun- au.af.mil/au/ssq ally familiar with the history of the cil in managing the postwar world. Tetra Tech United Nations, and are aware that the Bosco views the Council’s ability to tetratech.com Security Council has increasingly come unite to pressure smaller member-states to dominate the institution. But there as the key to conflict resolution, and United States have been surprisingly few organiza- makes an effective case that the firm Institute of Peace Press tional histories of the body. hands of the five permanent members bookstore.usip.org Fortunately, author David Bosco, an of the Security Council deserve more WJD assistant professor of international pol- credit than they generally receive. Yet it wjdpm.com itics at American University, is well- is hard to deny that the Council’s trans- placed to fill the gap. In addition to a formation into an elite club — one to stint as senior editor at Foreign Policy, which nonpermanent members strive he served as deputy director of a joint mightily to gain admittance, and resent United Nations/NATO project to repa- their exclusion — is more reminiscent When contacting an advertiser, kindly triate refugees in Sarajevo, and also of the classic diplomacy of Metternich mention the Foreign Service Journal. worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina as and Bismarck than of the idealistic (if

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impotent) League of Nations. a microphone under his nose. Cautionary Tale Readers may not be surprised that These and other tidbits keep the President Franklin Roosevelt insisted story interesting, even as Bosco slogs or Prophecy? on China’s inclusion in the Security through lengthy accounts of what may Council over the misgivings of Great seem to be minor bureaucratic details Ultimatum Britain. But how many know that FDR to many. Matthew Glass, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009, $24.00, hardcover, also advocated the inclusion of Brazil? The one drawback to the book is 433 pages. Or that Atlantic City and Cape Cod that it offers a quintessentially Ameri- were serious contenders to host the can view of the United Nations’ role. REVIEWED BY JOSH GLAZEROFF U.N. headquarters — as was Rhode Is- But the final chapter, “The Council in land, which offered to find space any- Context,” takes a more objective stance. China and the United States will go where in the state for the organization? So if you are pressed for time, do read to war in the near future over re- Bosco also introduces us to now-for- that, at least. sources. Agree or disagree? Discuss. gotten luminaries such as Krishna Ultimatum is a novel, but it would Menon, India’s top man in New York in David Casavis, a periodic contributor be better classified as a foreign policy the U.N.’s early days. A dramatic pres- to the Journal, teaches at the John Jay study. Because it is set in the future ence, he collapsed while speaking dur- College of Criminal Justice. He is writ- (2032), it offers us the chance to con- ing Council debates on Kashmir in ing a book about the 1971 murder of sider the present with a little bit of per- 1957. A joke soon circulated that the Foreign Service staff officer Donald spective. As climate change becomes surest way to revive Menon was to wave Leahy in Equatorial Guinea. real, how far are we willing to go to

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preserve not our way of life, but our planet itself? Can more than 190 nations come together to overcome the “tragedy of the commons,” making sac- rifices for a global good? And how do key countries take the lead? Assuming the G-2 (i.e., the U.S. and China) are all that really matter, how does “Chimerica” align interests sufficiently to avoid mutual destruction due to skyrocketing levels of CO2 emis- sions? Perhaps most importantly, when will we stop putting the resolution of this matter in the hands of our children and grandchildren? Glass sets the stage by having U.S. President-elect Joe Benton come to office with a mandate for change (yes, it sounds familiar). Committed to com- pletion of an overwhelming domestic agenda, including the relocation of millions of Americans from areas ravaged by hurricanes, floods and drought, Benton finds out during his transition period that the effects of climate change are going to be much worse than previously predicted, and the bil- lions of dollars thought needed are really trillions of dollars. Undaunted, Benton appoints a Sec- retary of State willing to confront some difficult policy choices. Larry Olsen identifies China (already the number- one greenhouse gas emitter for a quarter-century) as the problem at the heart of the impending global disaster. Successive Kyoto Protocols have failed to enforce any real changes in behav- ior. Without Chinese acquiescence — and, by implication, that of India and other “developing” nations — to real cuts, the effects of climate change will continue to spiral in a fateful feedback loop, and country after country will face unlivable conditions for millions of their citizens. After negotiations fail repeatedly, a

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series of ever more grave confronta- tions lead to the truly ultimate in ulti- matums. And there I will pause so as not to give away the plot. Glass asks us to consider not just how China policy is made, but how China’s policy is made. How do the decisions of the political apparatus and the interest of the nation, the Com- munist Party and the individual leader intersect with those of the rest of the world? How much do Chinese political leaders care about the fate of the millions of their people affected by environmental disruptions? Today we look to Beijing to take on a global role in its “peaceful rise,” but instead we see crackdowns, censor- ship, exchange-rate manipulation and saber-rattling. Its own people face ter- rible pollution, destructive infrastructure projects (e.g., the Three Gorges Dam) and limited methods of protest. Project this out along the historical line and where will we be? Recall that in the recent film “2012,” it is China that moves out the locals and constructs world-saving “arks” in complete se- crecy. Just try doing that in Wyoming! Ultimatum speaks to those of us working to determine how the United States can come to grips with a China growing both in global power and sig- nificance, but lacking the same set of priorities, outlook on events or political system as the West. It also asks each of us to decide whether an atmosphere with manageable levels of greenhouse gases is something worth fighting for. And if it is, how far are we willing to go to secure America’s future? And how far must our president go? ■

Josh Glazeroff, a Foreign Service officer since 1997, is currently visa chief in New Delhi.

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REFLECTIONS

Courage

BY ELISABETH MERTEN

uesday, Jan. 12, 2010, at 4:53 All night, people seeking food, med- p.m., was when I first experi- Time slowed to ical attention and safe refuge came to Tenced true fear. This was a fear forever; the roar our house, along with embassy officials that cut through the mind like a scythe who helped my father try to locate the and penetrated all barriers of reason of the quake rest of the embassy community by and sanity — it was a fear of death. was deafening. radio. An injured man arrived from the In Haiti, earthquakes are the type Hotel Montana with broken ribs, a bro- of trauma people least expect. Politi- ken arm and cuts all over his body. My cal upheaval, civil unrest, hurricanes mother tried to clean his wounds, and and kidnappings are the most common asked me to help. dangers. During a 7.0 magnitude tically for us to get out of the house. I Stunned into silence by the sight of earthquake, there is only one chance saw my sister burst from her room, a so much blood, I put on the rubber to make it out alive. Sometimes, that look of utter horror on her face. We gloves from our small emergency care chance is pure luck. followed our mother’s voice outside kit. Then I realized that she didn’t need The earthquake came as a small and into the garden, where we began my help to clean wounds; she needed tremble, as if the earth had felt winter’s to scream for our father. Soon he me to keep her strong. I passed her the breath and shivered in the cold. I was rounded the corner with a panicked bandages and Neosporin. lying on my bed, studying for a world expression. We were all relieved to be That night, everyone slept outside on history exam. The trembling refused to alive. I was shaking as violently as the cushions from the patio furniture. Af- stop, and became worse and louder. ground had. tershocks continued. At around 1 a.m. Louder? The trembling transform- It was not long before we became we felt another big shock, this one a 5.3. ed into violent shaking. I saw my mirror aware of the screaming across the city. The city kept screaming. in the corner swing wildly on its nail. I It engulfed us, while the thin, ochre veil After the earthquake, I stayed calm watched helplessly as my most cher- of dust from the collapsed bidonvilles and did what I was told; got necessities ished books flew off the shelves. The (shanty towns) on the mountains flowed from upstairs, calmed the dog, played porcelain lamp on my desk rattled and down on us like a toxic gas. The house- with the smaller children, made the fell, shattering on the ground. The hot- hold staff emerged, their hands raised makeshift beds in the yard, brought out water heaters burst and flooded the to the sky chanting “Mesi, Dieu!” what food and water we had, and stood floors. (Thank you, God!) for their survival. by as my mother dressed wounds. I lay petrified on my bed as it moved For a while, we all stayed in the That was how I showed my courage. farther away from the wall. I screamed driveway. The aftershocks continued to I didn’t panic or break down, because for my sister in the next room until my shake the ground and terrify us. I went I knew I would have time for that voice was hoarse. No response. I clung with my mother to look for a more open later. ■ to my quilt and squeezed my eyes shut. part of our garden, where trees were Time slowed to forever, the roar of the less likely to fall. Elisabeth Merten is the 14-year-old quake was deafening, and the 1939 am- I could hear the shouts of despair as daughter of Ambassador to Haiti Ken- bassador’s residence shook back and clearly as if I were in the streets. So neth Merten and his wife, Susan. This forth like tall grass in the wind. many the emotions coiled up inside me account is adapted from a longer essay As soon as the trembling began to — guilt, thankfulness, fear, depression, she wrote for a 9th-grade school as- subside, I heard my mother shout fran- concern, confusion and sorrow. signment.

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