Follow the Energy
It was a frigid winter in 1993, and Damian Jones (Nepal 1987–91) was shivering in a sleeping bag inside his car some- where near the Eastern Market in Washington, D.C.. His big idea, to bring aid to Nepal through artisan trade, was just beginning to take off. Large entities like UNICEF and Save the Children had begun exploring small-scale handicraft initiatives in developing countries, but not in a way that Jones saw as sustainable. “Nepal receives a ton of aid, and none of it makes its way back to the villages. All this money comes in, but then it’s kind...
American Moon, Tongan Sun
January 6th is a date most Americans will not soon forget. Looking back now, after the insurrection, I marvel that, in 1988, 400 of us Returned Peace Corps Volunteers were invited to spend 24 hours in the Capitol Rotunda with little more than the directive that we provide our names and Social Security numbers—and this was after closing hours! The event, dubbed “Journals of Peace: A Very Special Commemoration by the National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers,” was first announced in the Fall 1988 issue of this magazine, WorldView. The announcement read: “Come join us for this singular event....
Where is the Peace?
Those concerned with the state of global peace might be forgiven for succumbing to a melancholic, even defeatist point of view given the events of the past few years. The world is experiencing the highest level of violence since World War II, with armed conflicts simmering, enduring, or raging in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Israel/Palestine, to name just a few. In 2022, more than 2 billion people lived in conflict-afflicted areas, and 110 million were displaced by violence, according to the United Nations. And the 2023 Global Peace Index, one of the most reliable measures of current levels of...