Recalling the Peace Corps

All the Jahan-SHAH's men!

Wow! I see the battle lines are drawn already and all the JJ's men are zooming their telescopic rifles on me. Why you Califoranians (Californian + Iranian) are so sensitive to be even mildly criticized? I am a free thinker because I refuse to succumb to your self-censored, self-congratulatory, and self-denying ways of thinking. Sorry that I may upset you from time to time (if I can pass through JJ's current paranoia with keeping his site "clean") but if, for instance, I suggest that there is/was a potential for espionage under the banner of Peace Corps, and show you documented evidence, then why suddnely all the fuses are blown?

It is not so difficult to pass through all the filters set up by the IRI. But it is impossible to pass through the last filter: JJ's censorship.

Hameh Jasoos Nistan...

For some people it is not believable that some out there give up the comfort of their home to go and help others and experience the beauty of interacting with people of other cultures. They think that the Americans who join the Peace Corps are being paid to go and live for two years in areas without electricty and running water to spy on the population of the country! Even in Iran those who were part of the Sepah Danesh and so on were accused of being SAVAKI.

Even though the American govt. might have had its ulterior motives in setting up the Peace Corps be assured the Americans that sign up are interested in helping the people of the world and showing the human face of America which is often lost in the midst of bombs, guns and shows like "Wife Swap" and "Jerry Springer"!

My Experience

I have heard the "Peace Corps are CIA agents" tale, too.  I met an American woman who had served in Kandehar for three years in the early '70's.  She had returned to US to become an English teacher with a very modest lifestyle.  I remember looking at her collection of pictures and memorabilia of Afghanistan which she shared with such joy and nostalgia, remembering every young Afghani girl's name in those pictures and sharing stories about them.  She also spoke fluent Farsi with a beautiful Afghani accent.  She was not a spy for anyone.  She was a decent human being who loved humanity, taking on the hardest volunteer job anyone could assume.

I have a side observation about this newly-emerged Free Thinker:  When he first showed up with this unregistered name several days ago, in his comments on some other posts he said he was living inside Iran, reporting on what Iranians really think and want these days, telling the rest of us living in the US to "shut up" about what is needed for Iran.  Certainly, "free thinking" should also enable people to tolerate different and opposing points of view.  Since Free Thinker has to go through so much hassle to access the filtered Iranian.com from Iran, I suggest he use the opportunity to start his free thinking process by generalizing, labeling, and accusing others less and respecting others on the site more.  A decent dialogue can only ensue after that. 

Free Thinker?

Some "Free Thinker" you are... :o)

Any American doing anything in the world is a potential spy, in your eyes. The CIA has put so much fear into your head that you see a CIA hand in every scenario. Keep thinking, freely!

There have been CIA spies in the Peace Corps. There have been CIA spies among American journalists, businessmen, and of course diplomats. These facts do not make me believe that the Peace Corps is an arm of the CIA, it does not make me suspect that every American journalist is a spy, etc.

The Peace Corps is a spent idea. It does not have the importance it once did. It's a shame. Today America speaks through it's military. And that's worked beautifully :o)

These young men and women of the Peace Corps went to rural areas, built essential facilities, and generally brought goodwill and showed American generosity and true care.

I want to hear their stories.

Hmmm.. sounds familiar

I remember many years ago I read an article in a reformist weblog in Farsi arguing in favor of the same idea. Among the comments made under that article were a few from pro regime visitors to the blog who suggested that the Peace Corps was effectively an arm of the CIA. Now I am not suggesting that JJ has "adopted" the idea from the reformists but where there's smoke there's fire!

The CIA connection:

http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/2000/0011/0...

And if you still have doubt, guess who was the American ambassador in Chile at the time of the coup that brought General Pinochet to power: Nathaniel Davis - the former director of Peace Corps in Chile (see "Peace Corps: The Urban Front" here:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=United_...)

What are you up to JJ?

How about Sepahees?

JJ, looking for peace corps American folks, photos and articles is a good idea but how about our own Sepahees?  Sepah-e Danesh, Sepah-e Behdasht and Sepah-e Tarveej va Abadanee.

I think there must be a lot of people with stories and pictures of their years in service. A little while ago, there was a story about this sarbaz guy in a remote village of Iran sharing his story with people on the web and people chipped in and got his school a computer and he and his students were able to blog and talk to the people around the world.

So if you add present days sarbaz, or sarbaz from the past 30 years since revolution, the pool gets even bigger.  The stories these people have are very good.  I think Majid was a sepahee, I remember him commenting on one of these photo albums that the pictures brought him tears from where he was a sepahee in that village. I tried looking for his comment but no luck. 

Maybe you can have an Invitation to write an essay or something to contributors to share any special memories they have from their Khedmat years with iranian.com

Ahvazi, Donna Shalala!!! was the President of Hunter College

for many years.  It is the same one. Not sure if she was there when our Fearless Leader was, but ask him if he remembers her.  She may have been foolish enough to confer a degree upon him. In which case,

definitely not to be trusted.

LOL

Rosie

Peace Corps.

Peace Corps is one of the greatest people to people diplomatic creation. I have met Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Iran who still speak Persian with the accent of the area they served in all over Iran.

Donna Shalala served in a comunity near Ahvaz. There is also John Limbert, who i believe served in the province of Kurdistan, and was one of the US hostages. 

Here are some links to Peace Corps/Iran related sites....

Donna Shalala

http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/...

Jim Limbert

http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/...

Jennifer B-C Seaver (Iran 1966-68)

http://peacecorpswriters.blogs.com/blog/iran/index...

Ahvazi

Actually jj, there's ANOTHER Peace Corps. PS Kadivar

It is right here.

t is true.  Bridges must be built.  This website cannot be an echo chamber anymore. It should BE a peace corp.  THE global English-language Iranian Internet peace corps. 

We have almost a half a million hits per MONTH from individual computers and extraordinarily high google rankings for most topics on modern Iran.  Often first or second and usually posting to google within minutes of posting here. 

People come here not just from the U.S but  from all over the world using English as the lingua franca to find out about Iran at this crucial juncture.  The days of the echo chamber are gone, good-bye.  It is time to build bridges.  Bridges spanning the entire planet.  (of course...hamisheh omidvaram, always the optimist...)

Do you remember the slogan a few of us came up with last October when everyting was going TOTALLY crazy here? I BET you don't.  It was:

Zendeh baad Iraanrikaa.  Margh bar margh.

So let's build some bridges, jj.  Sounds about right to me.

Peace.

Robin 

PS Kadivar, you OWE me.  Some campy quote from some vintage movie.   And NOT the Love Guru AGAIN.     ;op       R.

Here's a lead...

What a great idea! 

I went to Peace Corps Online (http://peacecorpsonline.org/) and searched under Iran.  I found a number of former Peace Corps members who served in Iran.  Each of them have posted their names and addresses, asking other volunteers to contact them.  I suppose it would not be a hard thing to establish contact with one or a few of them who may lead us to some more if they have maintained their friendships over the years.  Here, for example is the profile of one of the volunteers, Douglas Rife, who served between 1974 and 1976:

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Douglas Rife can be contacted at DRifeaDougRifedcom

Country of Service: Iran

Training Group: Vocational Education

Cities you served in: Shamsabad, Tehran

Arrival Year: 1974

Departure Year: 1976

Work Description:

Diesel & auto mechanics, drafting at Amuzeshgah Herfei, Shamsabad (year 1); Workshops Supervisor, Queen's Project School, Evin, Tehran (year 2)

Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:

Married Assyrian Iranian while in Iran post-Peace Corps. Evacuated February 1979 after fall of Shah and return of Khomeni.

Any thoughts you have now looking back on peace corps days?:

Peace Corps was one of most significant events in my life.

Anyone you are looking for or would like to hear from?:

John Pugh, the Barrets, the Spurlocks, the Winters, and others from our 1974 group.

Originally posted: January 10, 2007

And here's someone, Richard Levine, who served between 1964 and 1967 both in Siahkal and Shiraz:

 Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Richard J Levine can be contacted at RL44Wanihdgov

Country of Service: Iran

Training Group: Iran 4

Cities you served in: Siahkal, Shiraz

Arrival Year: 1964

Departure Year: 1967

Work Description:

Community development, laboratory instructor in biology and microbiology at the Pahlavi Medical School in Shiraz, instructor in English as a foreign language at the Iran-America Society in Shiraz and at the Nemazee Hospital School of Nursing

Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:

Earned an M.D. and M.P.H. Joined the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the CDC, serving in Alabama and Bangladesh. Career in medical research, epidemiology. Currently a senior investigator in the Epidemiology Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with major focus on preeclampsia.

Any thoughts you have now looking back on peace corps days?:

The most important and formative experience of my life.

Anyone you are looking for or would like to hear from?:

Anyone who would like to chat.

Originally posted: February 19, 2005

EXCELLENT SUGGESTION JJ !

Absolutely that is a great suggestion. I think there are so many photos and films that are hidden in the attic that are like Ali Baba caves to be.

Look forward to exploring our social history and common bonds. I would also say that with an Iranian diaspora community worldwide it would be good to see such photos and testimonies from France, Germany, England and so many other countries. 

OPEN SESAME !