Changing the World, One Person at a Time

You know how it's sometimes said that you can't change hearts and minds?  Well, don't believe it.   This kind of change may not be easy, and you may not even be aware of it, but it does happen.  Here's just one small example.

[As a reminder, Peace Corps' second goal is to help "promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served."]

Recently, an Azərbaycani (a/k/a "HCN" or Host Country National, in Peace Corps terminology) with whom I've become good friends confided to me that she did not always have a very good opinion of America and Americans.  (For the sake of privacy, (1) let's say she's a woman named "Ədalət," which means "justice" and I was told can be used for either a man or a woman, and (2) I'm going to keep things purposefully vague.)  

Ədalət shared with me that her views of Americans (before she actually met any of us) were based on portrayals in the media and word-of-mouth, and consequently, she had a rather dim view of our culture.  Think of all the negative stereotypes that you imagine Americans have around the world and you get the idea.  Then, let's say 6 years ago, she met a Peace Corps Volunteer ("PCV") in her community.  This PCV was the first American she had met in person.  The PCV helped her with her English (which had become excellent by the time I met her), and they became friends.

Through that PCV, she met other PCVs (of both genders) that year and in the years to come.  Ədalət said that she had many discussions about every topic you can imagine with these volunteers (religion, gender, politics, etc.), and that they did not always agree, but she came to respect them and their opinions and understand America with greater depth and nuance.

By the time I met Ədalət, she had already learned a lot about America, but we still had many, if not all, of those same discussions.  She told me that she still disagreed with certain things in America but that there were also many things that she admired, such as freedom of speech and religion.  I talked about how American values of tolerance and freedom are rooted in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and she talked about how she was guided to be tolerant of other people's beliefs and opinions by the Quran. (Two goals, one stone.  Bam!)

I don't know when exactly the shift happened; perhaps not even Ədalət could tell you, but it took the accumulation of countless interpersonal moments and connections over an extended period of time for it to pass the tipping point.  Now, she even wants to work or study in America some day.

Ədalət still keeps in touch with that first PCV, and I'm confident that we will likewise continue to be good friends long after my own COS ("Close/Completion of Service"). 

I feel blessed that so early in my service a core part of the Peace Corps mission, which can seem abstract in its loftiness, has been reified into such a clear and specific example, and I'm humbled to have been even a small part of a larger continuing dialogue that has helped promote greater understanding - and dare I say it, peace - in the world.