FOCUS
Investments in libraries,
ory of the assistance dies soon after
the program stops, with little if any
long-term PD benefit to the United
States.
Here is an example of how important it is to put “people on the
ground.” Responding to President
John F. Kennedy’s call to volunteer
overseas, thousands of young Americans joined the Peace Corps and
came to Ethiopia. They taught English in cities, towns and villages across the country, each
one reaching hundreds of impressionable teenagers and
young adults. Several decades later, the ripple effects continue. As I can attest, it is quite common for older Ethiopians (many now in positions of leadership) to talk about
“Miss Mary from Iowa” or another favored teacher who
made such a profound, lifelong impression on them during their high school years.
By contrast, today’s Peace Corps Volunteers mainly
work in health care supporting HIV/AIDS programs.
While that serves a critical role, no doubt saving lives, will
Ethiopians 30 or 40 years from now be talking about “Miss
Mary from Iowa” and how she taught them to use condoms?! Surely the PD value to the United States is not
the same, even though important work is being done.
Here is another aspect to consider. In the past, USAID
officials were personally engaged with the population in
rural areas as they worked in agricultural assistance, water
supplies, electrification and other areas of developmental
assistance. Those officers did the bulk of the work themselves, spending much of their time in the field.
Now, however, it is common for contractors to run aid
projects. Because these individuals are often third-coun-try nationals, the local population does not always make
the connection to the idea that we are helping them.
Moreover, no matter how diligently USAID works to
brand every outreach effort so the American people get
credit for what is being done, recipients often think that it
is Catholic Relief Services or some other nongovernmental organization that is helping them, not the U.S. government.
At the same time that USAID and the Peace Corps
were changing their focus, USIA began shutting down cultural centers around the world, thus removing yet another
level of person-to-person interaction between Americans
and foreign audiences. Those facilities have been replaced
by Information Resource Centers
inside embassies and American
Corners in outside institutions run
by partners. However, actual contact in these places between Americans and local audiences is occasional and short-term.
In addition, the emphasis in exchanges has shifted away from
sending Americans abroad to bringing foreign participants to the
United States. While such programs are certainly a great
and often life-changing experience for the participants
themselves, far fewer people benefit from them than when
an American Fulbright professor, musician, speaker or
other participant goes abroad and interacts with foreign
audiences. One Fulbright professor teaching in a university in Ethiopia for one academic year will influence far
more people than an Ethiopian professor who spends a
year in the U.S. Yet the cost is not significantly greater.
universities and other
“monuments” are a cost-
effective way to achieve our
foreign policy objectives.
Person-to-Person Diplomacy
As these examples show, the diplomatic side of assistance programs has largely shifted away from putting
Americans overseas in direct contact with foreign audiences. Such contact still occurs, of course, but not nearly
on the scale of the past.
In terms of building long-term relationships and positive attitudes toward the United States, our focus should
not be on “quality time,” but on the quantity of time that
comes from Americans living in foreign countries and developing personal relationships.
The U.S. military understands this, practicing the kind
of person-to-person diplomacy that the civilian side of government seems to have lost. In Ethiopia, for example, civil
affairs teams work directly with people in the most far-flung areas of the country, digging wells, building and refurbishing schools, and carrying out other projects that
affect local communities. Whether they work with contractors or do the work themselves, the units rack up “face
time” that can pay dividends.
Military doctors and veterinarians also take part in the
Medical Civil Assistance Program and the Veterinary Civil
Assistance Program. MEDCAP and VETCAP provide
vaccinations, checkups and medical care in conjunction
with local medical providers in villages and rural areas. In
addition, U.S. Navy port calls often bring thousands of for-
