A Club in the Hands of the Politically Correct – Part 7

Greetings:

Now, let’s bring you up to speed: the morning of Wednesday December 2, I had just finished my session with my high school class. The media reports on PC/Albania were the sole topic for almost an hour and a half – and of course my part in the headlines. When there weren’t any more questions, nothing left to say, we still had about a half hour left. Field trip. I took the kids next door for cokes and juice and we just kicked – later munchkins, see you next week – and then I headed off for my day at the university in Tirana, pretty damned anxious whether or not the dean saw the reports and cancelled.

I had asked Megi, my former Peace Corps language teacher and my close friend, to go to the university with me and give me her feedback on the presentation. (OK, don’t be alarmed; Megi’s given me permission to use her name – everyone in PC/Albania knows who I’m talking about anyway.) She had seen her picture in the media photo of our lunch with the American missionaries. The funny thing is that when I had set up the lunch she really tried to beg off, but I told her that the missionaries would enjoy the conversation with someone close to their age. Once again she agreed, and we set off forTirana and my university presentation . She had to deal with a lot: I was rattled, she had to calm me down; and she had to handle her own front-page notoriety. Except for politicians, Albanians do not like to bring attention to themselves – and again, they are very protective of their reputations. Don’t give anyone reason or cause to speak ill of you. And now Megi had family and friends who wondered how she fit into the scandal! Did she get harassed? Holy hell.

***

Our bus back to Elbasan got in late. As we walked back along the boulevard I simply told her to go home, I felt like stopping at the Coffee House for a drink. She laughed and said if that’s what I was up to, I could buy her a tea. We sat outside and I went in to order; the place was deserted; the staff looked up, I could see they knew, I said, “Yeah, it’s been a tough day. Klajdi, Megi will have tea and you can fix me a scotch – a double.” He could see this was a bit out of the ordinary and I probably looked like hell: “Buddy, you go outside, sit and I’ll get it for you.” I joined Megi and in rapid order the staff came out one at a time. Kristina first, leaned over, gave me a big hug, “Bill, we don’t care. We know you. We love you.” Well, I’m just about a total basket case by now. Klajdi served us, another hug, and by the time we finished up, a couple more, hugs I mean.

With Klajdi and Gramoz

Now, the Coffee House in Elbasan had always been the hang-place for me. Up until the October ELTA conference events I would quite often meet my PC counterpart/former-counterpart a few mornings a week at his favorite café, make plans, and then I’d head out and set up shop at the CH (they play some nice American R&B over the pipes). I’d spend the day working with students, finishing the edits on an article contribution to a volume set to be published in the states, and prepare my lessons for the fall term. After the October Shkodra conference and Ms. Scott’s Facebook post, along with my subsequent isolation, the CH was my refuge; with the December media circus it was my safe haven. If you pull up my Facebook page you can see how much I counted on my Coffee House friends through this whole thing.

(Another note regarding the effect of the media notoriety – it’s an Elbasan sunny afternoon as I’m writing this. A couple of LDS missionaries just walked by and I looked up – they averted their eyes. Yeah, I suspect I have some noteriety in the mission home, too. Quite often during my time here I’ve bumped into different sets of Mormon missionaries in Elbasan, Durres, Shkodra, Tirana. Usually they would be the first to say hi to the American and I would give them greetings from Salt Lake City. We always had a nice visit though they knew I wasn’t a candidate. I’m guessing the mission in Albania went through some PR heat with four of them pictured just below the sex scandal headline. I haven’t spoken to any of them since this hit the national news. Very unfortunate they had to deal with it – and I miss talking to these kids.)

***

Now, this is where I left you hanging at the end of the last post – the “despicable.” Readers, the last post was the most difficult to write up to this one. And to this point this has all been about me getting through crap. This one brings horrible memories along with disgust, anger, doubt in the human capacity to do the right thing, etc. Hit the thesaurus and plug in any of the words you come up with – most of them will work. This post I have only been able to work on for maybe twenty minutes at a stretch and then I have to let it go. The recollection of these events revisits a physical ache that is almost as real as that which I felt at the time all this happened.

For just a moment measure your take on malicious gossip – is it really that big of a deal? How far-reaching is the damage? How accurately can the Politically Correct club be wielded? Is it a surgical strike – as those who hit me with it in the Pre-Service Training might have thought? Not hardly. Collateral damage abounds. The volunteer complainants and the vituperative Ms. Scott had effects that surely had not been considered, but I doubt it would have made any difference to them anyway.

(Now, an editorial note: the next bit is strewn with names redacted; I know – it can be a bit confusing. It was suggested I use fake names, but then I’d be confused! So, do your best and I’ll try to be as clear as I can.)

Six weeks after the Shkodra conference and the Pilgrim (aka Ms. Scott) posted her libel, and just a couple of weeks before the media exposure, I got this email from Megi:

From: Megi
Sent: Friday, November 13, 2015 9:59 PM
To: William Karl Martin
Subject: Hello!

I have to tell something. Today I had coffee with [redacted – the PC/Albania Language Director]'s assistant. She told me that [the Lang/Dir] asked her to tell me that somebody from PC Tirana's office has seen us at the Coffee House. And they do not want me to meet you because of Bonnie Scott. That Bonnie may write something about me and then I can’t work with Peace Corps anymore.

I don't know what to say! This is ridiculous!!

I wonder if you can fully appreciate the text and sub-text of this email. As I have indicated, jobs are scarce in Albania; even a seasonal job during the three months of volunteer training is precious, especially in the employment of a US government agency. The money and another line on the CV (which lines are few) are worth whatever it takes – and here is a bold threat to my friend’s livelihood coming out of the administrative offices of PC/Albania. I was used to getting crap from volunteers, ignored by PC/Albania staff, etc. Additionally please consider the anxiety some volunteers and staff could have had wondering if they might be the next to get hit with Ms. Scott’s self-serving club. Don’t discount this. One volunteer commented to me when I got into these “clubbing” posts, “I don’t mind you sharing my thoughts on this, but don’t do anything to hint as to who I am; I don’t want Bonnie targeting me.” Amazing. The whole damn thing was starting to remind me of a bad take on the McCarthy era witch-hunts.

Anyway, I was pissed. I connected with Megi, “This stuff is beyond belief. I don't even know what to say. I'm OK, and you are too.” I connected with a couple of close volunteers on this and they were stunned beyond belief. “What the hell is going on? Are these people crazy?” Megi and I visited quite a bit about this. “Well, kid, what do you want to do?” When she figured out what I meant, “Listen. This is not right. I will have to leave the Peace Corps.” “Whoa! Hold on! Let me talk to [redacted] – she’ll get to the bottom of this. This is not policy.” Megi didn’t have too much hope but let me give it a shot.

I talked to my staff member friend and she was just as shocked – as furious as I was. I told her that if this wasn’t straightened out in quick order there would be another complaint into the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) – hell, it wasn’t like they were strangers to disturbing communications coming out of Albania, what’s another one? Before she had the chance to visit with the Acting Director (the new director wouldn’t come on board for another couple of months) expressing my hope that he would confront the people behind this threat, I screwed up big time.

The day Megi and I first talked about this I was sitting with another volunteer, a good friend. I told him about this new piece of crap coming down. In the course of our conversation a teacher/trainer on Peace Corps staff came up. She sat down and I continued the conversation and brought her into it. I should have known better. Well, I went on, pretty animated about the whole thing and said the source of this threat rested with only one person, the PC/Albania Language Director, an Albanian. The teacher/trainer said that could not be the case; I asked her if she was crazy. “None of [the Lang/Dir]’s assistants would take it upon themselves to do anything like this without her OK. You teacher/trainers wouldn’t dare get on her wrong side and her assistants wouldn’t either. If [the Acting Director] doesn’t do something about this bullshit I’ll put a complaint into the OIG if Megi doesn’t do it first.” The volunteer was uncomfortable but agreed completely with my take on this; the teacher/trainer excused herself and left.

As I was walking back to my apartment a bit later I ran into another teacher/trainer. He and I had gotten to know each other quite well (I thought we were friends) and he knew Megi. I told him about the situation; I wasn’t ready for his response. He considered what I said for a minute and then remarked, “Bill. How do you know this is what happened? How do you know that [the Lang/Dir]’s assistant even talked with Megi over coffee?” I was blown away. “First of all, why in the hell would Megi make up something like this? For what reason can you even imagine?” He couldn’t answer that. We said goodbye but just before I walked away, “But you know, my friend, it’s certainly easy enough to figure this out. All [the Acting Director] has to do is ask [Lang/Dir’s assistant] if she had coffee with Megi and what the conversation was about, she’ll have a choice to either tell him the truth, or lie for [the Lang/Dir].” Big [expletive deleted] mistake on my part confiding in these two teacher/trainers. Megi had shown me the text message from the assistant asking Megi for coffee to discuss “something” and it should have been easy enough for the Acting Director to get to the bottom of it. But no, it got complicated, and it was my own damn fault – I shouldn’t have mentioned any of this to these two teacher/trainers who owed their positions to the Language Director’s whim.  

The next evening the Acting Director called me. I hadn’t had a conversation with him since my termination in September, and as you know he did not respond to the email I sent out to the staff regarding Ms. Scott’s October Facebook post. But now he calls – assuredly simply wanting to put out another firestorm coming out of PC/Albania. I sent this email out to him after our late night conversation:

From: William Karl Martin

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2015 11:31 PM

To: [redacted]

Cc: [redacted]; [redacted]

Subject: Megi and OIG

Dear [redacted]:

Thanks for your call this evening. I have copied [redacted] because she was the only person on staff that I felt I could reach out to regarding this situation and as you indicated you visited with her on this today. I have also copied [redacted] since he is over the upcoming PST [Pre Service Training] and this will concern him – I can’t imagine that he hasn’t been apprised of the situation.

After our conversation I was a bit optimistic, in fact I called Megi to let her know that you would handle it and get back to her. Surprisingly, this did not calm her. I couldn’t understand why. No matter what you do she gave me the sense that her days with the Peace Corps are numbered simply because she will have angered [the Lang/Dir] and “the environment will be bad.” I felt worse, of course.

I know you do not know Megi well, but until my separation she was my language tutor and still worked with me after. I have discovered that she is disarming, kindhearted, and trusting, completely honest, and hates gossip and intrigue as much as I do. I have helped her with job resumes and cover letters; she has spent considerable time talking me through my waves of depression. I also know that more than anything she just wanted this whole thing to go away and was distraught with the situation, and distressed with me getting involved. She only contacted me out of absolute anxiety and grief – that should be evident in her email. Her concern was that she was being targeted and did not want to lose her position with the Peace Corps. Consequently, I think you should call her as you sort this out – the last thing she would want to do would be to cause me any additional anxiety so if you have any question about her email to me be rest assured that Megi had no motivation to promote this.

I say this to a great degree because I know [the Lang/Dir] is a force to be reckoned with in PC/Albania. I also know that people on her staff report to her and follow her wishes in order to ingratiate themselves. There is a sense of fear which I easily picked up on during my PST. Having talked to you I’m pretty sure it was not Tirana concerns on the Bonnie Scott thing that initiated this, but one of [the Lang/Dir]’s staff here in Elbasan, [redacted], for one reason or another (she is an unhappy person and systematically reports). And that [the Lang/Dir] without conscience acted (perhaps upon [staff member] and [staff member]’s withdrawal from me – I don’t know) and gave directions to her assistant to threaten Megi. The only motivation I can possibly consider for [the Lang/Dir] is her desire for control, or sending a message to her people not to step out of line the way she defines it – I saw this in PST, too. No one could make this scenario up.

My point: While you agreed that if this was the case it was wrong (to use your word, mine were stronger), it is your use of “if” that bothers me. I can see this could get into a one-word-against-another situation, and if you are simply looking for an easy way out you might just decide to slap some hands and walk away from it – I wouldn’t agree with that action but I would understand it. If Megi were left with that, then she would have nothing, no protection against an adverse working environment.

An easier way out is simply this: you contact the Regional Office or OIG yourself and let them sort this out. I told you what I thought [the Lang/Dir]’s actions would result in back in the states; I suspect the RO or OIG would take a similar position. Or short of that, do what you will with [the Lang/Dir] and her assistant, send out a statement to all Peace Corps staff reminding them of their freedom to associate with ex-volunteers as they choose. I doubt a written apology to Megi will be in the cards – we certainly don’t want anything down on paper, right? – but a personal assurance that her position is secure and that she will be protected against reprisal and a recommendation if she decides to leave.

Give it some thought, and call me later in the week. As I said, I still intend my own option with the OIG if this is whitewashed. Please take the time, find out the facts, deliberate and do what’s right. Don’t be offended, my typically high expectations regarding human behavior, especially with Peace Corps, has been dampened of late.

Thanks for your time.

Bill

William K. Martin, PhD

Nikola Koperniku School, Elbasan, Albania

http://wkmartin.blogspot.com/

Yeah, I was optimistic this would get sorted out. This type of pressure on an employee of PC/Albania was obscene. However, nothing happened. Before my friend could visit with the Acting Director he already knew the situation and this is how it was explained to him:

It seems that all the teacher/trainers were up in arms about Megi spending time with me and they were concerned with all the rumors going around about me and the damage to PC/Albania. The teacher/trainers took it upon themselves to straighten Megi out on what was appropriate behavior and with whom she could or could not socialize. Yeah. Right. Like they would even care – and then to think they would have enough hutzpah to elect one of their members (in this case the Language Director’s assistant!) to have a heart to heart with Megi! Not hardly – initiative is not quite a hallmark trait in Albania. An assistant who has never visited with Megi outside of the confines of the training center, but now is stepping up on her own volition (without any notice to the Language Director) to do her best in explaining to Megi what it means to tow the Politically Correct line?! Not a chance – not even in a parallel universe!

Bullshit. What happened is that one or both of the teacher/trainers in whom I confided recognized how pissed off I was, my threat to go to the OIG on this, and connected with the Language Director immediately to warn her about the storm coming out of Elbasan in her direction. She set out to cover her tracks. The first thing on the day after, I can see her walking into to the Acting Country Director: “Oh [Acting Director], something horrible has happened! The teacher/trainers are spreading gossip about Megi and Bill and they got together and decided to tell Megi that she could no longer friends with Bill! I am just sick about this! I hope Megi is OK and everything can be calmed down!” Or something like that. Right. If the teacher/trainers had these feelings they would have run speedily to her rather than moving alone as a group; this was an identifying moment for the Assistant Director – and that he bought into this is a joke. An old term, “milquetoast,” comes to mind.   

I talked to some teacher/trainers coming through Elbasan after this – there had been no gossip or rumors going around about Megi and me from any of them; in fact they all liked Megi and she got along with them well. Excellent relationships and she was highly considered. Nope. My take is accurate: The Language Director guided by whatever motives (show-of-power-on-steroids is my best guess) instructs her assistant to pass the word to Megi; she expects Megi to tow the line; Megi tells me; however, I go ballistic and threaten OIG, God, or whatever; I confide in anyone that will listen; I express my outrage to two teacher/trainers; they give the Language Director a heads up and she goes into damage control; the Acting Director calls me to calm my outrage; and finally, the Acting Director buys into the Language Director’s dissembling and he whitewashes the whole episode. Yet another instance in this whole story going back to August which makes me wonder – where has the human sense of integrity fled? Are we reduced to simply fumble-butting our way through life, driven by emotions and fears? Have we lost our sense of living on purpose?

OK – a word on the Acting Director. This guy got put into a tough situation after he assumed control in the wake of the former director’s sudden departure: not only did he have to attend to his job but his expanded workload, and then he has to deal directly with a highly energized volunteer contingent up in arms about presumed sexual misdemeanor cover-ups. Damn, I felt sorry for the him. I always thought he was a pretty good guy but totally out of his depth – likely a great bureaucrat, but hardly a leader – the kind of guy who will measure the flow and just go with it. More than anything he wanted PC/Albania simply to calm down and just get back to work. But rather than get to the bottom of the Language Director’s detestable behavior and the prevarications she fabricated to cover her tracks (and in covering her own ass she basically trashed the reputations of those who worked for her), he let it go – not one of his finest moments. When I say he let it go I mean just that. Not for one second do I think he believed the Language Director – he’s too damn smart for that, he just simply ignored the problem. But this is understandable (and when I say something is understandable, don’t think I consider it acceptable) – with everything he’s had to deal, now with I’m accusing his Language Director just before PC/Albania is preparing to welcome another group of volunteers to start their service. So, a lot of work to do on the language front: picking staff, training the trainers, finalizing the course structure, etc. And here I am asking for a house-cleaning. No wonder the whole thing was ignored. It was a very pragmatic decision, but I hardly think one he will look back on (if he does at all) as a moment of where he showed up. But pragmatism has been a recurring motif in my experience with DC and Albania Peace Corps – he can console himself knowing he has plenty of company.  

(Before I turn to the rest of the story with Megi, I’d like to share an intercultural dynamic that should help you in my following take on the Language Director. Taking credit or sharing credit in Albania is a bit of a foreign idea. A leader in position here will rarely give public notice of someone else’s work when that work was in the leader’s benefit; acknowledging successful delegation somehow diminishes the individual’s reputation to do his or her own work. And if someone happens to be bypassed on credit deserved, well, the slight is either ignored or the relationship is damaged forever. The culture doesn’t applaud people for trying to right their wrongs, instead, people benefit by blaming others for their mistakes. I think those volunteers working in community development have a better understanding on this administrative mindset – and maybe completely different from mine. My time here has been in education and I’ve seen some evidence of this, but I’ve noticed that educators here are also careful not to diminish the perception of their authority – to one student’s question I once remarked, “Good question, I don’t know the answer to that.” Not a big deal, but after class some students expressed shock that I would admit this – stunned – they had never heard those words from their professors.)

Many of the volunteers in my group, individuals with significant experience in English language pedagogy have offered ideas to the Language Director to improve the language program in meeting the needs of the volunteers. Rarely were these suggestions taken into consideration. During our PST the Language Director always gave the appearance that she was receptive to suggestions regarding course improvement, I know a few who followed through and offered ideas but nothing ever happened. Some of them really took ownership in this effort to make the language acquisition easier for future volunteer groups – a lot of time and effort. But their ideas were ignored. One volunteer and I were talking about this several months ago – as you know I had some very serious difficulties getting the language down and I often wondered if for some of us there wasn’t a better way. We both knew volunteers who made some pretty good suggestions, but we both laughed when the volunteer said, “Well, can you really see [the Lang/Dir] sharing the limelight? No, she’d rather keep it her way than make it better.” Yeah, funny.

***

So what happened with Megi? She and I were having dinner at the end of a day in Tirana, I think it was my first meeting with a university and I was surprised when I got on the bus that morning that she was headed for Tirana, too. Cool. Let’s meet after, have some dinner and travel back to Elbasan. This is about three days after Megi’s coffee and mend-your-ways conversation with the Language Director’s assistant.

While at dinner the Acting Director calls her. I’d been telling Megi that he’d get to the bottom of it and things would work out. Well, she takes the call and I go out for a smoke. I come back to hear how it played out. “He called to tell me he was so very sorry that I was the target of horrible gossip; the teachers were out of line telling me to quit being your friend; [the Lang/Dir] hoped that I would continue working with the Peace Corps and not let this bother me.” Amazing. She told him if that was his conclusion she would have to quit, the environment would be horrible; the Language Director would be friendly on the outside but would turn all the teachers against her. He didn’t believe she would do that, please reconsider. Seriously? Another intercultural note here: perceived or real slights, embarrassments, etc. have the tendency here to be felt for years, lasting impressions, there was no way the Language Director could live with Megi around as a constant reminder of her misconduct. BAM! That was it; Megi was out.

Well, Megi was right. I mean she didn’t go back; she left the Peace Corps, but word got around that the reason she left was that she was a troublemaker and caused the whole problem herself. The Language Director had sent an email to all the teacher/trainers explaining Megi’s departure in these terms. I wondered why she would even send out an email; but the circumstances of Megi’s absence did cause some to wonder and the she probably felt a bit of self-justification probably couldn’t hurt. Another teacher/trainer told me about this communication (described as “bizarre”); when I asked if I could get a copy of the email, the response was (in the Albanian idiom) there wasn’t a chance in hell. Well, no problem; if the OIG follows-up on my complaint the email will be in the files.

So, a bit of transparency here; the biggest difficulty liars have is keeping their stories straight. (Did Ms. Scott remember that she had claimed the victims talked to her “directly”? Probably not. To be a good liar really takes a lot of energy and “clear” thinking.) The events surrounding Megi’s departure are transparent; the Language Director’s cover-up is so clumsy that just a small effort in checking the stories out would reveal her baseness in all of this. And it’s quite stupid, when you think about it. She screwed up, motivated by whatever, and could have just acknowledged her stupid mistake; hell, people make mistakes, errors in judgment. If anything, Americans are forgiving, but they despise cover-ups – Albanians on the other hand rarely admit to error and I doubt the teacher/trainers know how to conjugate the verb “sorry” – they certainly didn’t learn it from the Language Director.

The volunteers who got word of this blame-game knew it was all crap. Very interestingly, but not surprising, Megi’s close friends on the teacher/trainer staff avoided her after this. They knew she wasn’t a troublemaker, just as others knew I wasn’t a harasser, but both of us have lost connections with an entire group of former friends, teachers and associates. I pushed her to get a letter of recommendation from the Acting Director immediately before the Language Director screwed that up. To his credit the Acting Director sent out a glowing one within a few days.

***

One last comment on the crap Megi had to put up with in being my friend.            

Megi was my teacher/trainer for a bit during our Pre-Service Training; and later when I needed a language tutor Megi was my first choice – patient as hell. She has been my best friend and my temperature check in all of this since the initial August complaint. Others have been there in critical moments, but Megi was with me or checking in every day. And I confess for most of this time I was not good company and I treated her with ill-deserved sharpness on more than one occasion.

I think it was the week after the media reports when I had my worst moment and Megi got my worst with both barrels. We were sitting inside the Coffee House – it was far too cold outside – my volunteer next door neighbor came in and joined us. I went back to my laptop – probably looking for other media sites with the “harasser” news. I barely noticed my neighbor pass Megi a somewhat crumpled piece of paper. Megi turned to me and said, “Bill, you should be ashamed of yourself!” I went off the edge “What now!!!” It took them awhile to calm me down; the paper was simply the volunteer’s list of Albanian vocabulary he was trying to memorize. I should be ashamed because I wasn’t doing any more study, hadn’t done any for months – but what I was thinking was it’s an anonymous note to the volunteer about the sexual harasser! I know, I know, I know – completely off the charts that I would think this and even more so that I would then react this way. But I’d been hit with so much stuff I couldn’t understand and my paranoia was in full form. “Damn it!! I don’t care what it was!! You can’t say something like that to me!! Just another ‘keep-a-low-profile’ piece of crap!!”

Well, Megi tried to calm me down – but I’m not listening – and she finally got up and left. She told me much later how I had hurt her. And yeah, me – caught up in all my own bullshit, and I piled it on her; and when her picture is just below the harassment headlines, too! And here’s Megi, a bona fide innocent in all this pulled into the dirt by the gossip, selfishness, and agendas driven at the expense of hell knows what. And here I am beating up on her just a few weeks after she lost a very important job because she was my friend.

And think about it, if we track a measure of responsibility for the crap piled on this young lady, it goes back to my early days of my Pre-Service Training. Gossip, prejudice and stereotype not only affect the target of the animosity, but lead to ends that we cannot even begin to fathom. Think about that the next time you consider an untoward word – and what really is the gain? What are the damages?

During this whole time I would often decline invitations simply because I wasn’t good company at a given instance; there were so very few times when I was. That morning sitting at the Coffee House I wasn’t a friend; and as much as I wanted years later to look back on all these events as a “finest moment,” the whole thing brought out the worst in me – and this was the worst of the worst.

***

OK, enough with these Augustine/Ablelard/Rousseau confessions, let me finish this post with some good news, some outstanding news. Megi had a pretty tough time dealing with losing her job with Peace Corps. Now, we had spent hours and days in the months prior working on her CV and job search skills. She wasn’t unhappy with the Peace Corps, but her work was seasonal and Megi has an MA in language and translation – fluent in English and Italian, and exceptional in Spanish. A lot of applications, a few interviews, a difficult time, and now unemployed. (And we all can relate how much easier it is to get a job when you have one!) In January she interviewed with an international company with offices in Tirana. She and her skills were just what they wanted; they hired her and put her on the fast-track. This last week was her third trip abroad for training as an account executive handling foreign corporate clientele and their international conference requirements. YAY! for Megi!! Certainly life after Peace Corps and possibilities greater than she had imagined! When she got picked up, ear-marked as a future exec, well, we were both happy beyond measure. How cool is that!!

With Megi at my Coffee House office - just before another trip abroad!

***

All in all not a bad way to end this post, huh? I know, I started with four “clubbing” posts in mind and this is the seventh. Well, one more to go and that will wrap it up. And then back to more pleasant and interesting posts on my life in Albania – I can hardly wait to give you the news!  

My best to all of you. XOXO

A Club in the Hands of the Politically Correct – Part 6

Greetings everyone:

Before I get any further, I’d like to hit something to maybe offer a better understanding as to why I’m even posting this damn story.

Despite all appearances, I’m sick of this stuff. I have been living with this situation for over six months – over a half year, every day. I have rare moments when I can forget about it. I bet I’ve watched close to a hundred and fifty films during this time – sometimes two or three at a time just because the cinematic opiate is not quite doing the trick; and probably two dozen books – I’m reading three now, including War and Peace for the second time!

OK. This last week I had a conversation with a volunteer passing through Elbasan. This volunteer has talked me through a lot of this going back to when I first got hit with the sexual harassment complaint in August. He wondered why, even though I did not name people (other than Ms. Scott, that was a given), I would quote people so much – “And why bring some of this stuff up anyway?”

I completely understood his take. The conversations volunteers were having regarding the general environment of sexual harassment in PC/Albania had disturbed to the point of charging that PC/Albania was minimizing, ignoring, covering up, etc. For quite some time before the August complaint against me, volunteers had been up in arms against the Peace Corps in general and crying out for “transparency.” My part in the whole thing just served to fuel the prevailing meanness and distrust for PC/Albania – and if the volunteers serving here were honest about it, many of them would have to admit their own complicity in energizing this destructive environment. Americans are big on causes; and this was considered a cause for rights, honesty, fair-play, and protection for victims, real or assumed – but the way many of the volunteers acted, if they pause to give considered reflection, it should cause embarrassment to a lot of them.  

Well, the fact is, Peace Corps has screwed up from time to time; sometimes tragically – Google “Peace Corps Volunteer deaths,” etc. for some information on this – yeah, even scandalous at times. Now, whether PC/Albania has been inattentive to serious matters such sexual misbehavior, assault, violence, etc., I’m afraid I have little idea, but I doubt it. I know the PC/Albania Security Director quite well and as far as I could tell, the PC/Albania staff is quite attentive to the safety of their volunteers and volunteer behavior with each other and with Albanian nationals. But the clamor emanating from PC/Albania was hard to ignore – and, in my opinion getting out of control.

So, to the volunteer’s thoughts; by the time I put up my first “clubbing” post, a little over a month ago, things had started to calm down: a new country director and visits from regional people explaining positions – what had been done in the past and what was being reviewed, and volunteers were getting back to work. And now I’m bringing it all up again.

Yeah, an explanation; maybe some of you guys are thinking the same thing. My story is not simply recovering from a false accusation and just getting on with my life, is it? Despite the Country Director’s thoughts, it wasn’t and it isn’t. As a result of the continuing gossip about me, Ms. Scott’s Facebook post forced me to disrupt my life, my comfort, in favor of people I really cared about – I wanted to lessen their anxiety. Interestingly enough, due to this fresh announcement of my supposed transgression on this more public forum, they entirely disassociated from me – all the staff and my NGO friends and contacts that I had developed since my first days in Albania – all these relationships ceased, immediately. They knew these slanders were untrue, they knew me, but they also knew the perils to their reputations (remember the university professor from years before?). Continued friendship or support of a rumored sexual harasser is problematic at best and to keep our friendship would require some guts. It seems they could handle the malicious gossip of a few, but this type of publicity along with Ms. Scott’s amplifications proved to be too much for most. Still close to me in a significant way was one language/cultural trainer, one member of the PC staff and one administrator at the university; all the rest, save close volunteers and the Albanians (and they knew all about this stuff, too, as you will see), have absented themselves from my life – probably the most painful outcome in the whole thing.

You might think that their absences are simply due to my separation from the Peace Corps and making my way by other avenues. No, not the case; during the month immediately after my separation in September there was a lot of activity, plans others made on my behalf. But from the time of Ms. Scott’s post in October not one word – emails unanswered, no call backs, silence. My letter to PC/Albania elicited no response, save one – one courageous (I have to call her that) staff member who simply reasoned when I asked why she didn’t abandon me with the rest, “Well, Bill, I know right from wrong.” Yes, this person has proven this in word and action over the months since. Gossip, prejudice and stereotype not only affect the target of the animosity, but lead to ends that we cannot completely fathom. Tragically and despicably, lower PC staff who remained my close friends were pressured to disassociate and when one refused she was forced out of her Peace Corps position (my next post will be devoted to this). For most, the possibility of any public connection with “a sexual harasser” was too great to contemplate.

What has happened with me and my time with PC/Albania is so amazing that (if I’m able to remove myself from the overwhelming emotional side) it’s a hell of a case study on human nature. Not just the harm that comes from stereotype and prejudice and the damage of ensuing gossip, but how people have handled the events. Some just simply remove as much as they can, others energetically embrace it for their emotional gain, for many it was a chance to participate in a reality-TV experience and keep up with the latest dirt, and for others it showed that they were simply happy to be a passive part of the unthinking herd. For everyone, I think, if they paid any attention at all, it told them something about their own character, their own level of integrity if you will. Many did not show up well; but a few should look back with a high degree of satisfaction that they kept their integrity intact and did not abandon the rigors of Critical Thinking. (I very much liked and appreciated the comment on the last post from Will B: “That these events transpired as such is truly disappointing to those of us who do make use of our critical thinking capabilities...” BAM!)

I never wanted to address this story on a public forum. The “last PC post” was good enough for me; for those I cared about or who cared for me, I’d have private conversations and the rest could think what they wanted. I simply wanted to regroup – any beef I had with PC/DC dealing with my termination would be dealt with once I got the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) report (yeah, after six months I’m still waiting!). But Ms. Scott’s hubris, her posts, and especially her future actions changed all of that.

But getting back to my volunteer friend: I tried the keep-the-story-simple approach six months ago. But it got far more complicated – not simply a dismissed complaint between them and me, followed by a laughable PC termination excuse – too many players now, and for better or for worse they’re part of the story. Relative to Ms. Scott’s agenda I’m just a side-show – though a pretty damned good one for her purpose. Some of the supporting cast, like the volunteer at the Shkodra ELTA conference, are there to bring into sharp relief the knee-jerk, unthinking inhumanity in the whole affair; others, happily, to give a nod that not all were afraid to show up; and finally how some innocents in this whole damn thing got pulled into it, got their lives disrupted because of small-minded and selfish people.

There were some public voices of reason (to a small degree) in all of this. On September 6, in the week following my termination and the Country Director’s resignation, the PC/Albania Volunteer Action Committee sent out an email (I hadn’t been taken off the list yet). This is a small elected group of volunteers, kind of an advocate body but acts more as a liaison to the PC/Albania staff.

Your VAC representatives are seeking an emergency meeting with staff in order to discuss the implications and repercussions of [the Director’s] sudden departure. Your need for transparency has been heard and recognized…As VAC communicates with staff over the course of the coming week, I am personally asking all of you to refrain from gossip. Inaccurate information is not only damaging to the members of the Peace Corps community, but also to entirely innocent parties.

Well, everyone knew it was for “personal reasons.” When the director told me I didn’t ask, he didn’t offer. As I said, it wasn’t any of my business; I didn’t see how it was anybody else’s. But “Let’s get the whole story, it’s our right!” Really? And “implications” and “repercussions”? Here’s a thought: no fear that PC/Albania is shutting down, you signed up to do service, how about just getting back to work? The last is also a bit remarkable – didn’t we learn this in kindergarten? But, I guess a timely reminder for a group of twenty-somethings and above. Many I think were paying attention, others were not – Ms. Scott was still on the mailing list and it’s obvious she didn’t give a damn.

Yes, the call for transparency cuts in ways that can be embarrassing. I get it; transparency, full-disclosure, whatever, can bring discomfort. I understood my volunteer friend’s wonder why I would get into this now; most of the volunteers had gotten back on track. However, I was still getting hammered and tired of explaining. I finally decided that when I got hit with the notoriety I could simply say, “Read my posts on this – any questions get back to me.” Nothing here is meant to damage reputations; but if you see yourself in here perhaps you will have cause to congratulate yourself for showing up, or perhaps you will reconsider the question “Why do I think the way I do?” And some will have cause to ask, “Why did I act the way I did?”

***

So Ms. Scott’s Facebook post changed everything. The immediate response from the HR Director at Aleksander Xhuvani University was that she would not rescind my application. I had simply told her that I was afraid my presence would be embarrassing to the school, PC/Albania, any professors on staff associated with the Peace Corps, and other volunteers. She is a very abrupt and straight-speaking person – I like her a lot. “Well, no. That’s not going to work; I already forwarded your information to the Faculty Director, so plan on it.” Now, I hadn’t talked to her about any of this stuff – crap, another heart-to-heart. “OK. Listen. Let’s have dinner and I’ll explain what the hell is going on.” After a lengthy dinner, questions, explanations, etc., she said, “I understand, but it doesn’t make any difference. Students are wondering what classes you are teaching, the department head is planning it, and the professors all like you.” Nope. Moving to Tirana and finding another position. She wasn’t happy with that, but told me if that was my decision I would need help getting interviews. She, along with the PC/Albania staff member spent the next weeks making up lists, and secured appointments with universities in Tirana.

Things were looking good. Some great opportunities: meetings with university rectors and faculty, tours around the schools, salary discussions, course possibilities, invitations to conferences, lecture addresses to students – it was all coming together. I was even scoping out the locations for an apartment – and I gave my landlord notice on my “Peace Corps apartment” in Elbasan. All that was left was the final chorus and the finishing BAM! on the drums.

This is an email that I received from one of the schools – a top choice:

From: [redacted]

Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 11:08 AM

To: William Karl Martin; [redacted]; [redacted]

Subject: Wednesday's visit

Dear Prof. Martin,

Thank you for your visit and the pleasant conversation last week.

I discussed with [redacted], who is the Head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, and with [redacted], who is teaching the course American Government and Politics (cc to both in this email), the possibility of inviting you for an open lecture with students attending this course. They are both pleased to have you, if you wish to do so.

Given that your PhD thesis is quite interesting and related to the content of this course, I would kindly ask you to present on this topic. We are thinking to have your open lectures on Wednesday, December 2nd, at 1 pm.

Kindly let us know if this is OK with you.

Kind regards,

[redacted]

Dean

Faculty of Law, Arts, and Sciences

I had met many of the university’s faculty, students, and attended a conference the school sponsored at the Tirana International Hotel in early November. At the conference I made more contacts and received invitations to speak at other university conferences inside and outside of the country. This lecture was basically a job talk – the final exam. About fifty students, a half-dozen professors and the dean attended. I nailed the presentation on the propaganda inherent in American imperial maps – I know, riveting. Great interaction and the Q&A afterwards was pointed and on the mark – well, except for the first one, “Do you like strawberries?”! Wonderful visit with the students and the faculty after; all in all it was a great success – which is shocking given how my day started.

***

I had gotten word the day before that Ms. Scott had made headlines in the media with interviews with her typical beat-up on PC/Albania – didn’t think too much about it. That morning I held my weekly morning session at Nikola Koperniku, a private high school in Elbasan. My former Peace Corps counterpart had made the introduction for me immediately after my PC separation the first of September. I taught a group of seniors, advanced English language students. The director told me that the course of instruction was basically anything I wanted; the primary goal was to get the students to beef up their conversation and writing. At this point I had been teaching the class for almost three months; and after the first of October at the time of Ms. Scott’s Facebook post, this was now the only teaching I was doing. (Other than doing some informal language tutoring and working with some university students on their papers and research when they would stop by my Coffee House office.)

So, it’s the morning of December 2, Wednesday, 9:30am – and I’m headed for another life shift. I was handling some housekeeping matters, outlines due, reading assignments, etc. All during this time one of the students kept raising her hand and interrupting – fast becoming a pain in the neck. Also a lot more side chatter that I usually got out the class. Finally I finished up, the student persisted. “OK. I’ll take five minutes and then we have to get going; what’s up?”

“Dr. Martin, I have a question about the stuff in the newspapers about the problems in the Peace Corps here in Albania.” Well, I wasn’t ready for this – I’m thinking, “Are you kidding me? How would these kids even know about this?” But, as difficult as the conversation would be, surely they deserved a response. I started and then got interrupted again, “But what about you? Why is your picture in the story?” “Are you serious?” “Yeah. My parents were talking to me about it last night and showed me the article, with your picture.” Great – another BAM!

The next day I sent this to the director of the high school:

From: William Karl Martin

Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2015 2:09 PM

To: [redacted]

Subject: Yesterday and my name in the media

Hello [redacted]:

I really wanted to visit with you yesterday after class but I had to be in Tirana. I suspect you are aware that I have hit the Albanian media just this week in an especially distasteful regard. We talked very little about my separation from the Peace Corps in our initial visit when [redacted] introduced me to you and [redacted]. But I have attached Peace Corps communication regarding my separation so you would be assured in that regard. However, with this notoriety I do not want to cause the school, students, or either you or [redacted] any embarrassment.

When I hit class yesterday the kids were more animated than usual. After I settled them down they asked me about all the Peace Corps news. They informed me that I was named in the Albania media as the “sexual harasser” and they told me that the article says that I had a history of this going back a few years in the states. Well, I tabled my lesson of course and told them that we needed to talk about this.

So, a session with the kids: fortunately we’ve spent a lot of time talking about critical thinking, stereotyping, prejudice, why we think the way we do, etc.; so I laid my whole Peace Corps experience out to them – outspoken, can rub people the wrong way, trying to be sensitive to fellow volunteer feelings, instances of irritating the women in our group, the initial complaint, the full investigation (the results which determined any charges were without basis or merit), and then my termination from the Peace Corps due to application omissions. In the end they were calm (some of them voiced disgust with the whole situation). I told them that if any of them or their parents had any concerns whatsoever, they needed, and were certainly obligated, to talk to you or [redacted]. They responded that they loved our class and didn’t care. Kids.

But regarding the current events. My attorneys and I have been waiting on a full disclosure forthcoming from Washington DC on these charges. As I said, I can irritate people with my manner and blunt observations, and I certainly did with a few Peace Corps volunteers, to my detriment. With these new events I have been advised that we need not wait for the DC records and I will meet with a Tirana law firm to take immediate action against the woman (who I have never met) pushing this negative agenda against the Peace Corps (I just happened to be caught in the fall-out) and the local media. Nonetheless, it is important, if the school is still happy with my association, that I answer any of your questions or concerns.

I am leaving for Tirana immediately after my session with [redacted]’s kids this afternoon and will be back in Elbasan late Saturday afternoon. Please let me know if you would like to visit before next week. Again, I am very concerned that I do not cause you or the school embarrassment. Thanks.

Bill

William K. Martin, PhD

Nikola Koperniku School, Elbasan, Albania

http://wkmartin.blogspot.com/

By the end of the day I got two emails from the school. The first one from the director and the owners after a meeting with staff and parents: they wanted to let me know that no one had any concerns with my continued teaching. The director got back to me and her message was somewhat less formal:  

I read your e-mail carefully. I recall the day that you said that something happened to you which made you leave Peace Corps. I also recall [redacted] and I remarked how much the kids love you, and that's true. It was [redacted] who told us that they feel lucky having classes with you and that every student here should at least have one class with you.

Now, that was certainly nice to hear at the end of a couple of brutal days. I’ve only shared this when a few people wondered about the media impact on my position at the school. I only bring it up here to serve as a specific example of an association that was really not more than a couple of hours a week over three months, and the contrast to the reaction of others (on the PC/Albania staff and PC/Albania partners) who determined to purposely estrange themselves from me regardless of what they knew or believed to be true.

Also note how communications can morph original content. The student thought the article said I had problems like this back in the states – and maybe I came to Albania to get away from that scandal. Well, the article (or other articles) said nothing like that – nothing about past history, true or false. Amazing.

The university relationships were another matter altogether.

***

As soon as I left the high school I checked my text messages for a cancellation on my university talk. Nothing. I got to the bus stop and pulled up the internet at a local coffee shop. No emails. I checked my text messages every five minutes until I showed up at the door of the university. Still nothing.  I had cut the travel time close and the dean hurried me into the auditorium with about ten minutes to spare. No discomfiture with her but I told her that we needed to talk. She said she would have to leave my talk a little early and would be tied up the rest of the day, “But connect and we’ll set up a time.” When she walked out during the Q&A session she gave me a big smile and thumbs up. I’m thinking, “We’ll see...”

Before I could send the dean a request for a time she had already sent me a message on when she would be available along with this comment: “I would like to thank you for your interesting, lively and insightful lecture. I enjoyed it very much, and I wish I were there for the questions part. I am sure that our students also benefited substantially from attending your talk.” Well, great possibilities that in the end came to naught. I immediately responded and copied the links to the media reports – if she didn’t know by now, she and the staff and probably many of the students would know soon enough and better they heard it from me. A couple of days later I met with her and the university Vice-Rector. It was a very pleasant meeting; they thanked me again for the presentation; extended regrets for all the notoriety; said it must be tough; the rector hoped I would take legal action – I told him I was meeting with an attorney the next week; I told them I would be out of town for a couple of weeks but I would connect after the first of the year, and then I left.

After the first of the year I got back to them and a couple of other universities that looked promising. Nothing. No response. One from another school answered the phone and told me that he was in a meeting but would call me back. Nothing. Zip. Which is unfortunate because I would have been able to tell them that I understood their concerns with having a “sexual molester” on staff; and maybe I could have – possibly but not likely – kept my chances open later when all the dust had settled and I could at least show some legal resolution or some communication from the Peace Corps regarding the initial harassment complaint. As it was I was cut off; I had to start all over again.

My chances of living and teaching in Albania were slowly and inexorably reducing to nothing. You understand this, right? A very bleak moment. To make matters even more painful, at the beginning of the year the faculty director at Aleksander Xhuvani University connected with me to wish me a good year, hoped I had found a place to teach, would be missed in their department, etc. So damned ironic! I had evidently destroyed my one sure opportunity to pull it together. This out of concern for PC/Albania and in the absence of any decent word from that quarter following Ms. Scott’s initial Facebook announcement in October, I realized too late that I shouldn’t have given a damn; the university HR Director, my dear friend, has reminded me of this in our lighter moments. I really am smiling now to think how stupid I was. Just like in the PC pre-service training – should have just taken care of myself and said to hell with everyone else.  

***

So, what was in the media? Well, the typical stuff from Ms. Scott’s posts. CBS News had picked up on the news coming out of PC/Albania and published a story on their website the week before, “Peace Corps Volunteers Blamed, Punished for Reporting Sexual Assault?” – quoting Ms. Scott. My name was not mentioned; CBS had better sense. The Albanian media got a hold of this and connected with Ms. Scott – or Ms. Scott, as driven as she had proved to be, reached out herself. (An unscientific poll on this leans to the latter.)

As soon as I got to the bus stop for my trip to Tirana and the university, I hit the café and pulled up the links. In bold headlines in the lead story (could it be otherwise?), “Skandalet seksuale ne Korpusin e Paqes.” You don’t need to know the language to figure out what that meant! And yep, my smiling face. The photo was taken from my blog and shows me having lunch with four Mormon missionaries and my Peace Corps language teacher! Amazing. I doubt that the media reporter did any investigation on his own since I doubt he would have located the blog on his own initiative – also evidence of this is that he didn’t even bother to crop the photo! Plenty of other great blog photos were there to choose from, including the one with me holding up a flayed goat with a knife between my teeth! Now, that would have sent a message.

Yeah. In consideration of lawsuits, my legal advisor had me do a search and I numbered close to a dozen media sites – all pretty much cut-and-paste. My name was mentioned but not one person from any of the outlets had made the effort to contact me for comment. And why should they? Ms. Scott had already made news in the states and certainly her bona fides were beyond question. This was big news in Albania: sex, scandal, cover-up, retribution, Peace Corps, Americans running amok, and Ms. Scott rising above it all at great professional risk, as the Pilgrim proclaimed, “as an independent volunteer, honoring my commitment to the Albanian people.” I’m sure the Albanian people appreciate it; the media certainly did in discovering this great story.

***

Yeah. A great story. A good friend of mine is a face on one of the Albanian television stations. “Bill, you can’t let this go; your reputation is shot. My producer wants you to come on one of our programs and tell your side of the story.” Now, I love this guy; he’d introduced me to his colleagues and all of us brainstormed ideas about starting up a web-based student newspaper for the university. However, I couldn’t imagine how this could possibly be a good idea – just another he-said-she-said instance, though certainly a well-publicized one. What a nightmare.

Ms. Scott on the other hand was more than happy to make herself available to national television. This last month or so she appeared on very popular Albanian show, again beating up on the Peace Corps and the former director in particular. I didn’t see the program, a few volunteers told me about it. Again the typical stuff with one surprising turn – on one of her posts, the Lone Pilgrim (yeah, in caps, like the “Lone Ranger” or the “Masked Marvel”) had explained how helpless the victims of the former director’s abuse, harassment, assault, etc. had felt in their plight. The Pilgrim says, “I was the initial contact for the victims. I was the whistleblower.” Perhaps the interviewer had read her post, perhaps not. Nonetheless, when asked about her conversations with the alleged (my word – neither Ms. Scott nor the interviewer used this term) victims she hesitated and then admitted that she had never spoken “directly” to them. (What the hell does this mean? Like “I spoke to them, but not directly”??) This brought home to many of the volunteers the inherent malicious irony; in the words of one, “‘I heard it from someone who heard it from her husband who heard it from the victims that I never met...’ I wish I could use that line and have everyone eat it up as the truth...‘no I didn't witness it I just heard it...’”

***

I’d like to take a moment to address Ms. Scott’s admission – that is, despite her previous assertion that the victims reached out to her, when confronted she admits that her information is second and third-hand. Obviously it questions her credibility in everything she had heretofore asserted – the validity of all of her charges against the Peace Corps, PC/Albania, and the former director. I took only some heart in this: I knew there were no women regarding the complaint against me who under examination could make good any claim that they had suffered harassment, groping, etc. at the hands of a molester – well, I mean if they could it certainly wasn’t by me. And the fact that Ms. Scott is a liar would come out plain enough in the civil action and criminal prosecution  (Now, can you appreciate how that will make for an interesting he-said-she-said moment?) The fact that she is a liar is a given; and the damage she has done to me, my friends and to others with her false assertions and half-truths is, well, also a given.

What I want you to consider is the damage beyond this.

You may recall my earlier post regarding victims: there are victims, they are real; we all know victims – whether or not we even know them as such or have any idea of their painful circumstances. And there are victim advocates; people who selflessly defend those who have experienced these horrible things. Do you recognize how a person with as little integrity as Ms. Scott diminishes the positions of both the victims and their advocates? Don’t compromise your desire for fairness by making friends with those less fair or honest; “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is not always true, and hardly ever palatable. If we desire to live in a fair and honest world (which I understand is impossible), the ends simply do not justify the means. Is Ms. Scott’s voice honestly one you would opt for in the service of any reputable cause? As one volunteer commented on the previous blog post, Ms. Scott has shown herself to be driven in promoting her own “self-expression” and “self-enhancement” – both of which are hardly compatible with any sense of service. Another commented on the same post sums up her character pretty well, “Bonnie has always been about Bonnie.” Like I have said, I have never met Ms. Scott and I didn’t know her. But I feel I have gotten to know her through her writing and her actions. It will be interesting to get to know her a little better – and I’m looking forward to getting her response on any of these posts. And I promise, Bonnie, no deletions.

***

So, the end of another post. Let me recap some of the foregoing just so you don’t lose track: harassment complaint, regroup; termination from the Peace Corps, regroup; Ms. Scott’s Facebook post, regroup; media headlines/Scott remarks, regroup; university set-backs, regroup. Wow. I tell my kids that my favorite part of the day is when I wake up in the morning – I can hardly wait to experience another one. Don’t be surprised if I still feel that way, though I think living in “interesting times” might be a little much after a while – I really could use a break from all this.

Yeah, damage and fallout and regroup – and not just for me: the next post will relate the most painful experience in the all of this. Despicable is the immediate word that comes to mind. Not a very promising note to end this post – but hang in there, reader, as another volunteer commented, “Hopefully your ‘story’ has a positive ending, even if it has not transpired yet.” Thanks, buddy – stay tuned.

All my best.

XOXO