I couldn't sleep thinking about this, especially after reading some of the comments people were leaving at the bottom of the article. (One comment reads: "Typical moonbats. Stop caring for people who won't care for themselves. Simply bomb those countries out of existence and all the problems are solved. The Army and the Navy get work and we rid the world of bloodsuckers; win-win.") It pains me to see people showing such unconcern for the well-being of people in other nations. I just want to express some personal thoughts and maybe convince some people to take a stand for peace and rally behind the Peace Corps.
The U.S. is a great nation. I am usually proud to be an American and realize how fortunate I am to have been born in the States. I have especially come to see how much of a blessing it has been since moving here to Guatemala. I received a decent public education, enjoyed a well-stocked library, ate food and took medications that were likely inspected and approved by some government agency, sent mail without worrying about if it would make it to its destination, could count on the fire department to respond in an emergency in a timely fashion, etc. all thanks to having a government that can provide for my well-being. Guatemalans and other people living in developing nations can't count on these things. (Just a note-in saying 'developing nation' I don't mean to imply anything about inferiority. I'm simply using a translation of what some Spanish speakers from these countries have used with me-un país en vias de desarrollo). Many don't have access to roads, electricity, water, etc. Why are they in this state? Is it because they are lazy? Are they ignorant of how to advance? Do they just not care?Well, that's not really the case. Guatemalans are some of the hardest working people I know. Women literally work all day. They have to gather wood, some have to travel to collect water, they make all three meals for their families, they constantly wash clothes and clean the house, sometimes they work in a store or sell in the market. Guatemalans also generally have an idea of where they want to be (typically they envision a life like the Americans they see on the television screen) but they aren't always sure of the many routes to improve their life (or the danger of living like an American). Moreover, their government doesn't have the capacity as ours does to help out with the process. And yes they care. Parents want the best for their children. Parents will sacrifice everything so their child can have a better, easier, happier, healthier life than the one they have led. They scrimp and save to send kids to private schools in hopes that it will help them in the future, and when that doesn't happen (because there are no jobs), they despair again and continue looking to immigration as the only way out. Development is so multi-faceted and complex, I don't really have the space (or the attention span) to spend a long time explaining it here. I myself don't even know that much about the topic-mainly I know what I have witnessed in my time abroad and what I have read in books or talked about in classes. There are many reasons a country gets left behind and people find themselves without things we take for granted every day. Perhaps there was a bloody civil war, or ethnic tensions that led to a regression in the living situation of people. Perhaps one president was overthrown and a military general took his place and started persecuting a group of people, leading to terror and lack of progress in society. Maybe it's geography-a country that falls victim to several tropical storms/hurricanes a year or faces other natural disasters (mudslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes) frequently. Whatever the reason, let's not blame the people for their situation. In fact, in some cases our own beloved America is to blame. Especially learning the history of Latin America, one will hear of the countless times our government/military (are they one and the same?) intervening in democratic elections to replace a government who perhaps wasn't super friendly with U.S. interests with a government who would actively repress many in his country to favor U.S. interests over the interests of his own people. Or also to suppress an uprising led by the people against a government they did not support so that a government that favored the States would remain in office. U.S. intervention has happened in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, etc. I don't have time to give the specifics of each instance, but feel free to look it up on wikipedia or in a book. I'm not going to say all intervention is bad (though it almost always is), but in many cases our past leaders contributed to impeding the development of these countries. And don't even get me started on the carbon footprint of the U.S. versus that of Guatemala and countries in a similar situation. People here almost always take public transportation, don't buy as many packaged products, don't watch as much t.v. or sit in front of a computer as much, don't buy new clothes every month, etc. Yes, there are ways in which Guatemala contributes to climate change and contamination of the environment, but our own impact as consumer-oriented Americans is much, much larger. And who is suffering more for the climate changes we are seeing, who is more vulnerable? In America, we can take a few hits and keep on going. In Guatemala a few years ago, there was a drought and corn didn't grow as well, so people went without food. Last year there was too much rain, so again corn crops were destroyed and some people had to do without. Chronic malnutrition here is already high, and I imagine this just gets much worse when changes brought about by climate change ruin corn yields. Some of these changes are natural, but I think we're beyond calling climate change a theory and to the stage of accepting that it is indeed causing changes in our world today.
Here are a few questions I have been asking myself throughout my service, and moreso lately.
What do we owe people living in other countries? Should we help them lead better lives? Should we spread ideas and encourage them to implement their own ideas or motivate them to demand improvements in their well-being? I believe that we should look out for our fellow global citizens. Yes, maybe I am an idealist who is too in love with the world. But I was taught to help those who are less fortunate than me. Peace Corps has given me the opportunity to do this. I hope that people can show love over selfishness and it harms me to see that so many people refuse to believe that promoting the well-being of people is worth the money. Also, it's not always about altruism-helping people can help us too. For example, here in Guatemala people burn their trash, all the time. These chemicals are moving into the atmosphere and help add to the chemicals released from wood-burning fires throughout the developing world. If people are taught how to properly dispose of trash, which types can be burnt and which no, how to use stoves/cooking techniques to use less wood (all things that Peace Corps works on), this would improve the lot for the rest of us.
What is my impact? I don't mean to brag, but with my partner, I am directly impacting the lives of 5,630 children (I just crunched the numbers) who we talk about health and revise hygiene with, in addition to the 250 teachers and directors we work with on a daily basis. I have also talked to hundreds of parents, and have worked to support other volunteers and the NGO in town with workshops to educate more teachers or students about things like HIV/AIDS, trash management, environmental degradation, etc. Not everyone I work directly with will change their lives. Some kids won't brush their teeth no matter how many times I tell them it's important. I mean, I am just a crazy gringa. But I think it's a bargain that the image of the United States sending help to Guatemala is being spread to all these people for the low price of under $4,000 a year. Spread that around the 300+ million people who live in the States and that is a very low contribution. I know I'm only one volunteer and there are thousands like me who have finished their time or who are currently working or in the process of applying to be a volunteer. But when you look at the impact this $4,000 is having, the U.S. government is spending less than $1.00 per person per year to improve the lives of these people.
Is what I am doing sustainable? In other words, is this a good investment that will last past the end of my service? That's a tricky question. I am fully aware of sustainability and do what I can to make my work sustainable. Peace Corps is facing severe budget cuts, and we already know that we won't have as many people working in my program in the future, so the reality is that volunteers won't always be here to lead these programs. This is why I work more with teachers than with students. I motivate the teachers, show them how to actively teach health education, encourage them to implement their ideas and use their creativity to build a healthier school. I have also been able to pinpoint leaders in each school, teachers who have taken a very active role in Healthy Schools and who are truly implementing changes in their classrooms and schools. I will rely on these teachers to continue my work when I am not here. At the beginning of this year, teachers automatically knew that they had to have their rincones de salud up and needed to start practicing habits. Lots of people found their own ways to fund projects without even telling us or asking us for money. I truly believe that if Peace Corps had to pull out from Guatemala tomorrow, the project would keep going to some extent. Some schools would probably stop doing what we are asking them to do, but the majority, I believe, would continue to fight for a healthier school. So yes, I believe that at least some of the work I am doing here is sustainable.
Why not make it private, non-profit based instead of supported by the government? Well, I don't know a lot about running private NGOs that would be able to work on the scale that Peace Corps does. Also, why shouldn't our government help other nations? Also, many NGOs have failed at development work and aren't really doing a better job then we at Peace Corps are. Also, Peace Corps helps benefit the image of the U.S. abroad. Some Guatemalans believed that Americans were snobby and suffered from a superiority-complex, but we are trying to show that we aren't all mean-hearted people out only for our own good. This can help ease tensions when negotiating trade or other multi-national agreements. It also leads less people to participate in violence against the States or Americans abroad. I can honestly say I would feel safer traveling in a country where Peace Corps participation has been widespread because we do send a positive message to people that we do care about their well-being. Not all Peace Corps volunteers present a positive image, but I think most of us do. If the work we are doing would be privatized, I don't think the U.S. would get the same image boost.
What to cut if we don't cut Peace Corps? Another hard question. Who is less deserving? Which programs are not effective? Or, how can we raise more money? I strongly promote raising taxes of the richest Americans or at least improving the taxing system to more fairly tax the richest. They receive huge tax breaks that they do not need. I know, I know. They worked hard for their money, why can't they keep it? Well, the simple fact is that many people making millions of dollars are taxed at a lower rate than the rest of us. See an article in the New York Times written by Warren Buffett recently for more details. Also, defense can probably be cut. Even just a little bit would go a LONG way to reduce our debt. In the article I reference in the beginning of this blog post, it is mentioned that the entire Peace Corps mission in Sierra Leone costs the same as sending one soldier to Afghanistan. $700 billion to build more nuclear weapons? Is that necessary? Is that something we really want? I know deterrence worked during the Cold War, but $700 billion? That's a lot of money. I know promoting peace and human development doesn't work with most crazy warlords, but is building a giant nuclear arsenal really how to deal with the problem? Also, I support our troops. I know they still lack important equipment to promote their safety. But what are we accomplishing still fighting in this long, dragged-out war? We have already wasted so many lives and so much money on fighting and haven't seen much from this heavy cost. Reduce our military presence and save a ton of money that can be used for peaceful means of promoting peace and democracy.
Phew. My hands hurt and my head is fuzzy. These again are just some thoughts. They might not be well thought out because I was kind of running on rage and now I'm just exhausted and ready for bed (not to mention I have a cold). Sorry if I insult someone or say something that really makes you angry in response to my anger. I just wanted to give my perspective on things. If you feel as strongly about Peace Corps being a worthwhile investment as I do, write to your Congressman and tell them not to cut our budget. I already have my letter typed up (and it wasn't in a fit of rage) that I will send out the first chance I get.
Thanks for making it through this large post. I'm sure there's a lot that I want to mention but that my brain is refusing to think of right now. Hopefully I won't regret writing this in the morning and I hope it doesn't sound too angry/unrealistic/etc. Maybe I am just too much of an idealistic hippy after all. I apologize for any grammatical mistakes, misspellings, etc. I also apologize for not doing the proper research to complement this article-I am simply lazy and tired. And feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts. As always, I hope life is going well and I wish you a "feliz fin de semana" (Happy weekend!).
