News Summary

Letter to the Editor

I am the mother of a "young" (age 23) Peace Corps volunteer. He has been near Dhaka, Bangladesh, for three months and has just received his permanent assignment, where he will be close to the border of Bangladesh and India.

I have been reading the Dayton Daily News’ articles and truly appreciate the investigative reporting on the Peace Corps issue.

Brandon received two days of training in Seattle before leaving for Bangladesh. He was truly in a culture shock. He grew up in a suburb of Chicago and attended the University of Iowa, majoring in English.

He has always had a "heart" to serve others, yet was in complete culture shock. I could hear it in his voice the first time we had a chance to speak. We were not at all prepared for the lack of communication, etc.

He will be more than an hour away from any English-speaking person. Obviously, we are very concerned about his safety and his mental health.

He was told that he will be in a dangerous area, since there are surrounding villages that have been known to harbor terrorists.

The DDN articles have heightened my fears, and my intuition agrees with the paper’s findings.

I applaud the DDN for its investigative pursuits.

Susan Thorne-Devin

Glen Ellyn, Ill.

[From the Dayton Daily News: 11.04.2003]