Paul Wisser wants to change the world by working abroad. Paul is alienated from a pre-millennial America that seems obsessed by the militia movement and fears of U.N. black helicopters. The Oklahoma bombing made him realize that he had probably accomplished what he can in America through his work with dolphin-safe tuna and letter writing for Amnesty. International work beckons, and 1999 Uzbekistan, while overly concerned with fighting Islamic extremism, was changing and seemed pro-American.International development is not what Paul expected: he inadvertently causes a security incident, finds that his program is fixing a series of toilets (and this is a good thing) and realizes his taxi driver is becoming a good friend. Paul finds himself working with two other people - Pamela, a U.S. Embassy attache going through bureaucratic assimilation, and Rashid, a well meaning Uzbek traffic cop. They become involved in producing success stories together. A donor's quickening (and unrealistic) expectations, the uncanny ability of Peace Corps Volunteers to make the best of a bad situation and dealing with the demands of an autocratic regime, combine to create a development program that ultimately becomes too successful for its own good.This work would fit in well with similar satires such as Salmon Fishing in the Yemen or perhaps Florence of Arabia.
Paul Wisser wants to change the world by working abroad. Paul is alienated from a pre-millennial America that seems obsessed by the militia movement and fears of U.N. black helicopters. The Oklahoma bombing made him realize that he had probably accomplished what he can in America through his work with dolphin-safe tuna and letter writing for Amnesty. International work beckons, and 1999 Uzbekistan, while overly concerned with fighting Islamic extremism, was changing and seemed pro-American.International development is not what Paul expected: he inadvertently causes a security incident, finds that his program is fixing a series of toilets (and this is a good thing) and realizes his taxi driver is becoming a good friend. Paul finds himself working with two other people - Pamela, a U.S. Embassy attache going through bureaucratic assimilation, and Rashid, a well meaning Uzbek traffic cop. They become involved in producing success stories together. A donor's quickening (and unrealistic) expectations, the uncanny ability of Peace Corps Volunteers to make the best of a bad situation and dealing with the demands of an autocratic regime, combine to create a development program that ultimately becomes too successful for its own good.This work would fit in well with similar satires such as Salmon Fishing in the Yemen or perhaps Florence of Arabia.
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