---

august 24, 2001, New York Times

An Uninspiring Peace Corps Nominee

President Bush's intention to nominate Gaddi H.
Vasquez as director of the Peace Corps amounts to a missed opportunity. The
altruistic agency is a unique diplomatic and humanitarian asset in need of
forceful and imaginative leadership. Any number of prominent figures from the
foreign policy community, the business world or the nonprofit sector
would be thrilled at the opportunity to lead it.

In selecting Mr. Vasquez, someone with a questionable
record of accomplishment and a great deal less stature than the
agency deserves, Mr. Bush shows a lack of appreciation for the mission and
symbolic importance of the Peace Corps. The Senate Foreign Relations
Committee should take a close look at this appointment. Upon initial examination,
Mr. Vasquez does not look qualified or suited for the job.

Mr. Vasquez, once considered a promising young
Republican Hispanic politician, has been a public relations executive at a
major California utility in recent years. This was not a chosen career,
but a form of exile after he resigned in disgrace in 1995 from the Orange
County Board of Supervisors, soon after the county went spectacularly
bankrupt as a result of the improper investment of public funds. Unlike the
county treasurer, Robert L. Citron, Mr. Vasquez was not charged with any
crimes. But a 1996 Securities and Exchange Commission report was highly
critical of him and the other supervisors.

Last year Mr. Vasquez transferred $100,000 in leftover
campaign funds to the Republican Party, a transaction that undoubtedly
helped his chances for political rehabilitation. Certainly this is not the
first administration to reward a donor with a plum position. But it is
distressing that Mr. Bush views the Peace Corps directorship as a place to park
generous donors with mediocre résumés.

The White House may also believe that the dearth of
rising Republican stars in California made Mr. Vasquez's rehabilitation
particularly desirable. This is a president who is avidly courting the Hispanic
vote.

Whatever the White House's motive, Mr. Vasquez is an
uninspiring nominee for an agency that needs a visionary leader of
unquestioned integrity. Mr. Vasquez has not devoted himself to humanitarian work
in the past and has no experience running a large organization. Nor does he
have any particular international expertise.

The Peace Corps, established by President John F.
Kennedy, is an American presence that is welcomed around the world. Now 40
years old, the agency remains a tribute to a strain of American idealism, a
statement about the value of public service and about the obligation of a
wealthy nation to help less privileged peoples around the world. Currently
7,300 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in 75 countries, often under
harsh conditions.

In the last decade the Peace Corps has expanded its
traditional mission of working on development projects in remote third-world
areas to encompass such activities as teaching English and management
skills in former Socialist countries. The next director will be called
upon to formulate a coherent role for the Peace Corps for the new century,
and to sell it energetically to the rest of the world, to Congress
and to a new generation of recruits. Mr. Vasquez does not appear to be the man
to meet this important challenge.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1555000/1555982.stm
Friday, 21 September, 2001, 12:00 GMT 13:00 UK

Flood misery in Guinea
The homeless need emergency assistance
By Alhassan Sillah in Conakry
Heavy rains in Guinea have left at least five people
dead and 30,000homeless
in the worst floods for many years.
Citizens in the western regions of Kankan, Mandiana
and Kouroussa havelost
almost all their property in the rains which not
stopped for the pastseven days.

Official reports said that hundreds of mud houses have
literally been washed away.
Guinean President General Lansana Conte, leading
relief assistance, has ordered an SOS mission to the area, comprising aid
workers and emergency
relief said to be worth about 55 million Guinean
francs ($28,000).

Inestimable damage
Weather officials in the capital Conakry said these
floods are the worst Guinea has seen in many years, and the material damage
it has left in its wake is inestimable.
The affected regions are usually the first to see the start of the rainy
season but this year, the rains were late in arriving.

Looking for shelter
Rice fields, roads and bridges have been completely
inundated, and vehicular traffic to the area has been curtailed by the
flooding. Huge areas of countries such as Chad, Niger and Mali
have recently been hit by heavy rains.
Extensive flooding has left thousands of people
displaced and homeless.

---

The National Peace Corps Association has issued a
resolution entitled "Ending Terrorism by Working For
Peace and Reconciliation". To read it, go to:

http://www.rpcv.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=399

---

Constitutional Amendment

Guinea's leader, Gen. Lansana Conté, has officially
endorsed the campaign which, if successful, would
allow him to run for another term. According to the
national constitution, Gen. Conté would have to step
down when his present mandate expires in 2003, since
he will have served two terms as head of state during
the Third Republic. However, his supporters within the
ruling PUP party have engaged since a few months in a
campaign to hold a national referendum on removing the
two-term limit. Gen. Conté had remained publically
silent until banquet to celebrate the country's 43rd
anniversary, during which he endorsed the referendum
campaign. The BBC quotes him as saying, "Such a
decision can and will only be made by Guineans and not
foreigners or international institutions," adding that
"It is only Guineans that have the right to say yes or
no to this". According to Guineenews, Gen. Conté also
criticized Guineans who "find themselves in Paris to
take instructions concerning their country."

The opposition CODEM alliance condemned the
announcement. The opposition called it a
"constitutional coup d'Etat" charging that the
referendum would lead to a presidency for life of the
very same sort Conté promised to abolish when the
military took power in 1984. Opposition leader Siradou
Diallo stated, "We are against the referendum and have
explained this across the entire country... because
President Conte has been in power for 17 years and we
don't see what more he can do by modifying the
constitution to remain in power."

References:

http://www.boubah.com/Guineenews.htm#link1645

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1579000/1579210.stm

---

courtesy of Guineenews --
http://www.boubah.com/Guineenews.htm )

GUINEA/UN NEWS
On Monday [8 October], Guinea began its term as a
member of the United Nations' Security Council. The
Council is the highest decision making body in the UN
and all member states are responsable for executing
its decisions. The Council is composed of 15 members,
5 of whom are permanent members and have the right of
veto over any decision and the 10 other members are
elected by the General Assembly for 2 years. Guinea,
along with Cameroon, are the two African members on
this body.

Also regarding the UN, a spokesman for UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan applauded the decision of the
Guinean, Liberian and Sierra Leonian heads of state
who promised to meet each other within the context of
the Mano River Union. Annan called the decision "a
new, decisive step in the restablishment of good
neighborly relations" assuring the three countries of
"the engagement of the UN to help in any way
possible... in their common efforts to create the
necessary conditions for the re-inforcement of peace
and the propogation of a culture of peace in the
sub-region."

---

GUINEA/FIFA NEWS
Last week, Gen. Conte meet with the minister of sport
and youth as well as with other high ranking sports'
officials in the country. He ordered the minister to
re-start dialogue with FIFA, the international soccer
federation. Earlier this year, Guinea was suspended
from the organization and its soccer teams expelled
from all international competitions for what FIFA
called governemental intereference in the affairs of
soccer. He suggested the the election of members for
the Guinean Soccer Federation can be re-held in the
presence of FIFA delegates.

---

Older Volunteers give the Peace Corps a chance

The Peace Corps turns 40 this month, as older volunteers join the ranks in S. Africa.

By Nicole Itano | Special to The Christian Science Monitor

MALELANE, SOUTH AFRICA - In this small town at the edge of the Kruger National Park, Mary Jo Reimer, a small woman with short-cropped white hair, is addressed with the honorary term "gogo," or grandmother. It is a sign of respect for the Californian, and an honorific that an increasing number of Peace Corps volunteers can claim.
Three months ago, Ms. Reimer abandoned her comfortable life as a hospice nurse in Los Angeles to spend two years as a Peace Corps volunteer at a home for street children and HIV-positive orphans in South Africa. Her mission is to turn Peace Haven, founded by a woman who 10 years ago opened her door to children in need, into a financially viable nongovernmental organization.

"I'm not 23, I'm not a vegetarian, and I don't wear Birkenstocks," Reimer says with a laugh. "But I think I bring experience that will help do my job here."

As the Peace Corps celebrates its 40th birthday this year, the stereotypical left-leaning, 20-something idealist who defined the corps for many years is giving way to a new type of volunteer: retired professionals like Reimer, and middle-aged, mid-career individuals who want a break from life in the fast lane.

These older volunteers, a few of whom are in their 80s, bring a whole new set of skills and attitudes to the corps, and are changing the kind of work it does. Their involvement is making possible programs, like Reimer's, that help build local institutions. One former nurse volunteering in Malawi, for example, is helping to build the country's first hospice.

When President John F. Kennedy founded the Peace Corps in 1961, most of those who answered his call were idealistic young college graduates. During the first decade of the organization's existence, 95 percent of the more than 54,000 people who served were in their 20s, and most of those were sent as teachers. Back then, only a handful of retirees - fewer than 1 percent of all volunteers, signed on.

Today, about 10 percent of volunteers are over 50. Another 15 percent are in their 30s and 40s. Also, bucking the mainly liberal stereotype of corps volunteers, many older volunteers are politically conservative Republican professionals, corps administrators say.

"We're seeing a generation of people who remembered Kennedy starting the Peace Corps, but were starting families or careers at the time," says Yvonne Hubbard, country director of the Peace Corps in South Africa, where the average age of volunteers is 47. "I've had a couple of volunteers come to me and say they had wanted to volunteer at the time, but had a baby on their hip. Now they have the opportunity to do it."

The direction of the Peace Corps in South Africa may be a good indication of where the organization is heading. While the country currently hosts a disproportionate number - almost half - of older volunteers - compared with other countries, Ms. Hubbard says that is largely because the types of projects being conducted here require the skills of experienced professionals.

Reimer, for example, who has background both in AIDS nursing and in accounting, was considered a perfect fit for her new job. She is part of a pilot program that is working to help make small AIDS Non Government Organizations (NGOs) - many of which were founded by people with little or no experience running such organizations - into sustainable projects.

When Reimer and others in her program depart two years from now, they hope to leave behind an administrative foundation to make their organizations financially solvent.

Edith Harrington, the deputy director of health in Mpumalanga Province, where an AIDS project is running , said the new corps program is important because it is helping the government provide better, more cost-effective health services through community-based organizations.

"The AIDS epidemic is starting to really strain our capacity. We cannot cope with the patient load in the hospitals and, as long as people can be taken care of in the community, that's what we would like to see happen," she said. "The Peace Corps is helping to make sustainable the kinds of organizations that can provide these services."

Hubbard, however, says programs like the Mpumalanga AIDS project are made possible largely because of older volunteers with years of professional experience - such as Reimer - who bring with them management and other much-needed skills. She adds that community members are often more receptive to elders, who are accorded respect in South African society.

Ed Oshira is a two-time Peace Corps volunteer. In 1963, he spent two years in Ghana, teaching science and health classes in a high school as part of the second class of Peace Corps volunteers. This year, after his recent retirement, Mr. Oshira returned to the corps to serve in the same program as Reimer, in part because he felt that this time he had more to offer.

"Back when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the very beginning, Kennedy was still president, and it was a heady time. We felt that we were always being watched and that we had to prove that it worked," he said. "There was a real sense of dedication and sacrifice. Now, they're more realistic. They want skills, not just enthusiastic people."

"One reason I'm here is that I don't think I was a very good volunteer when I was 22 years old. I was too impatient. I wasn't very sensitive."

For people like Oshira and Reimer, serving a Peace Corps stint, being a gogo volunteer, is a chance to stay active and give something to the community.

While Reimer misses freshly squeezed orange juice and sometimes even her car, she says the experience has given her a new attitude about life. "I enjoy simple things, like a flush toilet," she says. "Would you ever think of that as a luxury?"

---

http://www.boubah.com/Guineenews.htm#link1669

According to Guineenews, Guinean state television has
announced the issuing of a presidential directive
decreeing that legislative elections will be held on
Thursday, 27 December 2001. These elections were
supposed to be held in June 2000 but were postponed
first for "lack of funds" and later on due to the
aggressions against the southern part of Guinea.

These elections will follow a national referendum to
held on 11 November on a constitutional change which,
if accepted, would remove the two-term limit currently
in effect on the presidency.

---

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS OF KANKAN-BAMAKO ROUTE
The head of state, Gen. Lansana Conté, inaugruated the
construction project of a 354 km long road that will
link Kankan, in Upper Guinea, to the Malian capital
Bamako. The project will be financed by the African
Development Bank, the European Union and certain
Arabo-Islamique financial institutions. The
construction be overseen by a French and an Italian
construction company. [Source: Guineenews]

---

 

PRO- AND ANTI-REFERENDUM CAMPAIGNS
The campaigns for and against the 11 November
referendum on the presidential term are heating up.
The opposition has promised an "active boycott" of the
vote while the government has promised to deal
severely with any "trouble makers." The US government
and the G-7 has warned the Guinean government over the
issue, according to Guineenews, while the European
Union has expressed its "concerns."

Opposition leaders are engaging different "tournées de
sensibilisation" in the interior of the country.
Opposition spokesmen claim that when the
anti-referendum caravan tried to enter Kankan, they
were attacked by governmental troops with billy clubs.
It was claimed that the governor of the Kankan region
had banned the protesters from entering the city. AFP
reports that an opposition rally was held in Faranah
"without incident".
Codem [opposition coalition] chairman Mamadou Ba said,
"this is our last opportunity to stop this
dictatorship imposing a president for life upon our
people" adding that "Not only will we boycott the
polls, we will also ensure that our militants move
from place to place to ensure that people stay in
their homes."

In Dakar, Guinean Justice Minister Abou Camara
dismissed the EU's "concerns", calling the referendum
"a Guineo-Guinean issue" and that they were based on
"illusions." The EU was preoccuped with the vote,
according to Camara, because it was not "enlightened",
adding that the justice ministry has "a permanent
committee ready to respond to such questions..."

The minister of territorial administration and
security warned, "It is clear that those intending to
disrupt the process are acting against the
constitution, and will bear the full consequences."

[Sources: Guineenews, BBC and Agence France Presse]

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GUINEAN FOOTBALL TEAM READMITTED INTO AANOC
The Guinean national soccer program is on the road to
rehabilitation, after having been suspended by the
sport's world governing body FIFA earlier this year.
The Federation was re-admitted into the African
Association of National Olympic Committees. This
raises hopes that the Federation will be re-admitted
to FIFA and allowed again to compete in continental
and international soccer competitions.

[Source: Guineenews]