1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping to promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Today in conversation club, our topic fell into goal two. I asked my students to go back to the days before they knew an American and to think about what they thought of America or Americans.
Something I had forgotten I had, but recently came across, was a note I received once from a man who attended a presentation on domestic violence I did with my organization. It was a month into my service at site and I was still learning. I didn't know much about Azerbaijan's policies and cultural norms, other than what I had been taught in pre-service training. Certainly, I wasn't yet sure how individuals and families cope with domestic violence issues. When my counter-part (CP) asked me to help him present, I said I was willing to discuss what options are available in America, but I didn't know enough about Azerbaijan to talk about domestic violence in AZ. He agreed.
During our presentation, I discussed how incidences of violence are reported to the police and how it's handled (or not) in America. I asked questions about how these incidences are handled in Azerbaijan. After the presentation, some of the women at the university stopped to ask me questions, one young man waited patiently to exit the room and shake my hand. As he shook my hand, he gave me a piece of paper. My CP happened to see this and asked what it was. I hesitated opening it in front of people, just a gut feeling, but with a little more coaxing (and grabbing) from my CP, I opened it. The note read "You speak about violence. Americans hate Muslims. They rape and kill women every day. Americans are one of the most violent nations in the world." My CP and the students I came with were furious. They thought it was disrespectful, but I just remember being embarrassed. It knocked a bit of the wind out of me, mostly because of how much truth was scrawled on those four lines.
As Americans, in the international community, we are known only as we are seen on the news or within the countries we have invaded or gone to war with. To an international observer, I cannot see in the past ten years (or so) where we have lived up to our reputation as one of the world's greatest nations. We may be the world's "most powerful," but we've taken that title by being bullies. For the past ten years we have been engaged in war. Since we entered Afghanistan, 13,000-34,000 civilians have been killed. This says nothing of the individuals who have lost their homes, families and livelihoods. In 2003, we invaded Iraq, we (finally) "left" in the middle of last year (seven and a half years later). In Iraq, approximately 122,000 civilian deaths have been reported. In one incident, an air raid near Lake Thar Thar in October 2007, 6 women and 9 children were killed. There were also claims of American soldiers raping and killing women. If these are what you see about America and you've never met an American, what would your opinion be?
The question I posed today to my group about America, stemmed from the note I mentioned earlier. I wanted to know what they thought of America. Many of the students' comments were kind. Most seemed to hold the opinion "like in any country, there are good people and there are bad people and it is not your nationality which is important." However, that wasn't the opinion of all the students.
I thought one of the most interesting comments was Ibrahim's "People in our country like America, but no one likes Americans." I will disagree with him briefly; I don't think the entire country believes this, that would be imprudent, but I would say there is a fair percentage who would find that statement to be true. Ibish (his nickname) went on to talk about how people want to go to America because of their democracy, economy and many opportunities, but certainly not because of the American people (at that point I laughed and said that I was obviously never inviting him to visit). A few other students chimed in, nodding in agreement. One student began to talk about the wretched years of George W. Bush, citing the various deeds of America during his time in office. He went on to discuss President Obama's initial rise in the international community, with the world feeling hopeful, only to take on the role of the Presidents who came before him. As another student so ardently put it, "He tells other countries what to do, when he should solve his own country's problems."
I recognize that my ability to openly and incandescently criticize my country (and its depravity) also reveals one of the greatest parts about being an American, our freedom. But recognizing my countries triumphs, doesn't mean I'm blind to its failings. It's these failings which I am frustrated and embarrassed by that sometimes make it difficult to work towards "helping to promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served." Heck, sometimes I don't even understand Americans. However, I recognize that in being honest with my students and admitting that I find these acts deplorable, I am helping to fulfill goal number two. I also recognize that sometimes, they're tough conversations with an even tougher audience.
Something I had forgotten I had, but recently came across, was a note I received once from a man who attended a presentation on domestic violence I did with my organization. It was a month into my service at site and I was still learning. I didn't know much about Azerbaijan's policies and cultural norms, other than what I had been taught in pre-service training. Certainly, I wasn't yet sure how individuals and families cope with domestic violence issues. When my counter-part (CP) asked me to help him present, I said I was willing to discuss what options are available in America, but I didn't know enough about Azerbaijan to talk about domestic violence in AZ. He agreed.
During our presentation, I discussed how incidences of violence are reported to the police and how it's handled (or not) in America. I asked questions about how these incidences are handled in Azerbaijan. After the presentation, some of the women at the university stopped to ask me questions, one young man waited patiently to exit the room and shake my hand. As he shook my hand, he gave me a piece of paper. My CP happened to see this and asked what it was. I hesitated opening it in front of people, just a gut feeling, but with a little more coaxing (and grabbing) from my CP, I opened it. The note read "You speak about violence. Americans hate Muslims. They rape and kill women every day. Americans are one of the most violent nations in the world." My CP and the students I came with were furious. They thought it was disrespectful, but I just remember being embarrassed. It knocked a bit of the wind out of me, mostly because of how much truth was scrawled on those four lines.
As Americans, in the international community, we are known only as we are seen on the news or within the countries we have invaded or gone to war with. To an international observer, I cannot see in the past ten years (or so) where we have lived up to our reputation as one of the world's greatest nations. We may be the world's "most powerful," but we've taken that title by being bullies. For the past ten years we have been engaged in war. Since we entered Afghanistan, 13,000-34,000 civilians have been killed. This says nothing of the individuals who have lost their homes, families and livelihoods. In 2003, we invaded Iraq, we (finally) "left" in the middle of last year (seven and a half years later). In Iraq, approximately 122,000 civilian deaths have been reported. In one incident, an air raid near Lake Thar Thar in October 2007, 6 women and 9 children were killed. There were also claims of American soldiers raping and killing women. If these are what you see about America and you've never met an American, what would your opinion be?
The question I posed today to my group about America, stemmed from the note I mentioned earlier. I wanted to know what they thought of America. Many of the students' comments were kind. Most seemed to hold the opinion "like in any country, there are good people and there are bad people and it is not your nationality which is important." However, that wasn't the opinion of all the students.
I thought one of the most interesting comments was Ibrahim's "People in our country like America, but no one likes Americans." I will disagree with him briefly; I don't think the entire country believes this, that would be imprudent, but I would say there is a fair percentage who would find that statement to be true. Ibish (his nickname) went on to talk about how people want to go to America because of their democracy, economy and many opportunities, but certainly not because of the American people (at that point I laughed and said that I was obviously never inviting him to visit). A few other students chimed in, nodding in agreement. One student began to talk about the wretched years of George W. Bush, citing the various deeds of America during his time in office. He went on to discuss President Obama's initial rise in the international community, with the world feeling hopeful, only to take on the role of the Presidents who came before him. As another student so ardently put it, "He tells other countries what to do, when he should solve his own country's problems."
I recognize that my ability to openly and incandescently criticize my country (and its depravity) also reveals one of the greatest parts about being an American, our freedom. But recognizing my countries triumphs, doesn't mean I'm blind to its failings. It's these failings which I am frustrated and embarrassed by that sometimes make it difficult to work towards "helping to promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served." Heck, sometimes I don't even understand Americans. However, I recognize that in being honest with my students and admitting that I find these acts deplorable, I am helping to fulfill goal number two. I also recognize that sometimes, they're tough conversations with an even tougher audience.
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