(Perhaps annoying) reflection on the Boston bombings

Though they are rarely in the forefront of our minds, there are a few things that make a Peace Corps volunteer fearful. It is not about the food we have to eat knowing it will likely make us sick. It is not about the harassment we face daily. It is not about our personal safety and it is not about political happenings in country. One of the few things that make every volunteer fearful is the idea that something could happen at home while we are so far away. Car accidents. Illnesses. Death. And yes, some sort of major attack or event on US soil.

This past week, I cannot help but imagine what it must have been like to be a Peace Corps volunteer as major historical events unfolded. I had the good fortune to meet some folks who were volunteers in Ethiopia during the 1960’s. They all mentioned the lack of communication with home. Many of these people went an entire 27 months without talking to family and friends. They found it impossible to hear current news. One volunteer remembered hearing the Beatles for the first time and thinking, “These guys are pretty good” not remotely understanding their stardom.

So what was it like to be so passionately moved by the words of JFK, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” that you move halfway around the world and then find out he has been assassinated? How long after his death did they finally hear the somber news? What was the experience of volunteers serving during September 2001? How could they not only believe this atrocity happened, but cope with it? I myself only received a minor minor taste of it. But being 9,000 miles from home and seeing footage of bombs exploding in my homeland was enough to make me never want to find out what those moments must have felt like.

I love America. It is a wonderful place and through its fault, I have a greater appreciate for it than I ever thought possible. I was allowed to enjoy my childhood by being able to act like a kid. I received a high-quality education affordably. I was able to pick my profession. I was able to move to Ethiopia simply because of the language I was taught as a child. A fellow volunteer once said,  “Peace Corps is about taking young idealistic people who think they know better than America and turning them into the most red-white-and-blue, flag waving, America-loving fanatics. Mission accomplished Peace Corps, I cannot wait to have yearly 4^th of July BBQs.

We are so incredibly lucky to live in a country where the bombings in Boston are national news because it happens so rarely. Where an entire city shuts down for a manhunt because no one is willing to let him get away with this horrific act. Where people come together, from all 50 states, to support brothers and sisters whom they will never meet. We are so incredibly lucky to be known as a country where this sort of thing does not happen. Where throughout the world, people living in violent countries send their prayers and condolences because they want to imagine America is a better place than this.

A young girl from Afghanistan shows her support to a family, thousands of miles away, who just lost an 8-year old boy

A card made by Ethiopian children in Bekoji mourning the lost of a child they have no practical reason to care about

Being a Peace Corps volunteer is about experiencing life through a different lens. It is about living as an Ethiopian for 27 months, learning their culture, and allowing that to influence you. As I reflected on the tragedy that transpired in Boston, I was surprised to find how my views have changed. The overriding theme I could not get out of my head was something that never would have occurred to me a year ago.

In the time since the bombings in Boston, there are have several similar instances of death and destruction around the world. In Iraq alone, the same day as the Boston bombing, there were 15 separate car bombings, which killed 55 people and injured 200 more. But things like that are expected to happen there, I suppose. The people in those areas are so numb that they no longer feel the heartache and loss. And as the world was focusing on our tragedy and Prime Ministers and Presidents from around the world denounced the appalling events in Boston, no one stopped to reflect that in our world, this is a terrifyingly common occurrence- just not in our country. 

Americans are dealing with their own grief and I have nothing but respect for that. But, under normal circumstance, I doubt these incidences would have elicited any response from Americans. Sure, there are always pockets of people affected, but for the majority of people in our country, these types of events go unnoticed. Class time in elementary schools will not be spent writing cards to children killed in countries where the phrase, “routine bombing” exists. No little girl in America will make a sign for the child in Afghanistan or in Iraq or in Pakistan or in… who was killed due to senseless violence.

Absolutely, take the time to mourn the lost of American lives. Allow yourself to feel saddened and angered by this cowardly act. But, if we can learn one thing from this, it is to appreciate the outrage you are feeling. Appreciate that you and your country are feeling this loss and pain so deeply. Appreciate the fact that you are not desensitized to this. But also, next time you are flipping through the news and you hear about mass casualties in country where violence is to be expected, take a second to feel that too.