An Unfortunate Turn of Events

Well we all know what they say about "best-laid plans".

As fate would have it, upon arrival at Dulles airport a week ago I was informed that (despite the information given me by the Russian Consulate months ago) I would need a transit visa to travel through Russia regardless of whether or not I was leaving the airport. Although initially freaked out a bit by this quick change of events, I was able to quickly reschedule my flights in order to fall in line with Russia's rules and regulations regarding out-of-towners and planned on leaving a week later on Sunday, June 4th from Newark, NJ. Erin was nice enough to make a late-night run down to DC and I have been here In Philadelphia ever since relaxing, reading, and watching "The Deadliest Catch".

For those of you that have been following the news lately, security in Kabul has degraded over the past week or so following a number of riots and a pretty large, negative shift in anti-American sentiment. On Thursday morning I received the following email from my supervisor/host Nasrine Gross:

Hi Joe,
You probably have heard of the troubles in security in Kabul on Tuesday. I
was caught in the Parliament building with so many bullets flying all over
and I had a major problem getting back home (new home is too isolated and
nobody was willing to take me there, etc.). Right now the sentiment in the
city is extremely anti-American. Even my very good Mujaheddin friends are
cursing and hostile in front of me. If this continues which I think it
will, I am not sure how safe the place will be for. In the normal
situation I have a secure environment. But now, the situation is
very critical and I know that I cannot provide the kind of security needed
and necessary. Even the government is incapable of providing
security. All of a sudden, ISAF and the Coalition have disappeared from the
streets. There are no more patrols, no foreigners can be seen on the
streets, everyone is afraid to talk to or talk about foreigners, which is a
very different situation than a week ago.

If it is not too much of a trouble and loss of funds, it would certainly be
better if you come later in the year, perhaps in late Autumn, or next
year. I feel very bad as I have loads of work waiting for you to come and
dive in. But at the same time, I have to be very frank with myself and see
the reality of the situation right now. Please let me know of your
decision.

With many regrets,
ng


With the support of the Clinton School, I have decided that I will not be travelling to Kabul this summer. Though I am willing to accept a certain amount of risk, I feel that continuing on with my plans under the circumstances would unfairly pass the burden of my safety onto others and would limit my (and my host organization) ability to achieve any substantive goals this summer. At this point, making it all the way to Afghanistan only to spend my entire summer shut away in a house for the sake of safety would be an even bigger disappointment than not being able to go at all.

Though I will not be abroad this summer I do hope to maintain a working relationship with Nasrine and the Roqia Center. Hopefully I will be able to help them out in some small way while still here the States. Looking ahead, I'd like to try again to make the Kabul trip a year from now after the completion of my Capstone project in the spring.

I doubt I'll add to this blog for a few months, but I'll have it up and running again when I begin my Capstone project with the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative this fall.

Thank you all for the kind emails and comments and I hope to talk to you soon.











107 anti-malarial pills and no malaria!

Clinton School Announces Inaugural Class Internships

Announcing my internship at a Clinton School press conference in Little Rock. Also pictured, fellow classmates John Spears and Dawn Zekis.


By ANNIE BERGMAN Associated Press Writer

LITTLE ROCK (AP) _ After one year in the classroom, the inaugural class at the Clinton School of Public Service will soon begin internships that will take them around the globe in pursuit of social change.

Newly-appointed Dean Skip Rutherford said the internships, which are a requirement of the students' work toward a master's degree, will allow the students to use their skills and knowledge in the field.

''This takes public service to a whole new level,'' Rutherford said. ''It's good for Arkansas, the nation and it's good for the world.''

Thirteen of the 16 students will participate in internships this summer. The other three are working on different projects and will do their field work at a later date. The school opened last fall.

The students chose to work in countries including Bolivia, India, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and St. Lucia. Some also will work in New York City or Washington, D.C. The students each receive $5,000 to cover costs related to the work.

''This was something that they had to put a lot of effort into,'' said John Hill, an associate professor who helped coordinate the internships. ''It's something that they've been working really hard to accomplish.''

Each student had to choose a non-governmental organization as a sponsor for their work. And while the school helped students make contacts and find sponsors, some students knew exactly where they wanted to work when classes began last August.

One such student is Joe Ballard.

Ballard, who said he knew last summer that he wanted to work in Afghanistan, will be interning with the Roqia Center for Women's Rights in Kabul. As part of the program, he will work on literacy and education.

''I can't imagine a better learning lab for someone interested in aid and development,'' Ballard said. ''Basically, everything that needs to happen for a country to be successful needs to happen in Afghanistan.''

Ballard said he understands there are risks associated with traveling and working in a country where the U.S. is fighting and he will take precautions to ensure his safety.

''When people hear Afghanistan, they think Iraq. And it's not the same,'' Ballard said.

Another student, Malcolm Glover, will be in southern Sudan working with Winrock International in Little Rock to rebuild the country after a civil war there destroyed much of it. He will also help create a documentary about Winrock's work in the country.

Glover said he will spend his time in Juba and Rumbek, and said he wasn't worried about his well-being despite large-scale violence in the Darfur region that erupted there in early 2003.

''I know there are so many things that I'm meant to do,'' Glover said. ''I'm just excited about being in a place that I've always heard about but I've never been.''

Hello Everyone

First, let me apologize for, once again, failing to stay in contact with many of you.

Just a brief update. Over the past 10 months I have been living in Little Rock, Arkansas working on a Master's Degree at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. As a member of the Inaugural Class I, along with my 13 classmates, have had some incredible experiences, met some amazing people, and have been given unparalleled opportunities to take public service in exciting new directions. How I got the chance to be a part of this bold experiment I'll never know, but there is nothing I'd rather be doing right now.














With Jeffrey Sachs

As we close out the school year most of us will move directly into a 10-week summer internship project. Classmates of mine will be working all over the world with organizations in New York City, DC, Grenada, Bolivia, the Netherlands, Sudan, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. I will be working in Kabul, Afghanistan with the Roqia Center for Rights, Studies, and Education under the direction of Mrs. Nasrine Gross.

The Roqia Center is a local Non-Governmental Organization that has been working in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban and has been the only group that has, among other things, organized and implemented successful coed literacy courses. Given tradition and the nature of gender relations in Afghanistan, this success is unprecedented in recent times. Please read about Nasrine and her work: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-6MGTTV?OpenDocument

My trip will begin in just two days. I will fly to Philadelphia to spend some time with Erin, my girlfriend who is studying at Temple University. On Wednesday the 24th I will take a bus to Washington, DC for some siteseeing with my classmates. On Saturday the 28th I will leave DC for Moscow where I will spend a nice restful 38 hours in the airport before my flight into Kabul, via Baku, Azerbaijan. I'm looking forward to the corkscrew/surface-to-air missile evasion landing technique going into Kabul International Airport.

I hope to update this blog at least once a week. Please check back often, leave comments, and email me! I hope to hear from everyone.