Over the last year and a half of my service we´ve had countless EAPs (emergency action plans) and even one consolidation where all the volunteers were brought together in one place because of an upcoming referendum and the potential unrest that could ensue. But throughout all the EAPs, marches, protests, riots, and bloqueos I was never actually worried that anything was going to happen to us. It was just something that you delt with being a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia. There had been lots of evacuation talk over the years, but I never bought into it. ¨It´ll blow over just like all the times before.¨
Typical bloqueo outside of Tarija.
Bolivia has a way of getting dangerously close to the edge of disaster then at the last moment, as if suddenly realizing just how bad things are, backing slowly away from the edge. I was never really worried until a little over two weeks ago. It was a gray day. So overcast the sun was totally blocked out of the sky. I was walking through the usually loud and bustling streets of Bermejo, but that day they were almost completely empty. Shops were shut up, mini bloqueos of rocks cutting off everyother street corner. There was a paro civico that day so almost everything was shut down and little traffic other than the occasional moto was on the street. I found the one internet place open in town and checked out the local news.
Just the night before I was watching on the news violent riot scenes in Tarija. They were actually throwing dynamite at one another and one man managed to blow his hand off. Ofcourse a camera was right there to flim the grizzly aftermath. This guy stumbling down the street, dilirious from blood loss, looking down and grabing what was left of his mangled hand with his one good remaining hand. The film crew following him along recording every second, but never actually offering to help. The next day the man was on the news again. This time weeping saying that he made his living laying bricks and looking back on it, the 300 bolivianos he was given to participate in the riot was not worth it. Yes, Bolivians from all political spectrums are regularly given money to participate, or fined for not participating, in political demonstrations. My friend´s family had to pay 300 bolivianos (a lot of Bs for the average family!) for not participating in their town´s bloqueo. And University students can actually have their grades lowered for not participating in marches, protests or other demonstrations. Yeah, to say it politely...it´s really screwed up.
Anyways... back to the point. Things were getting pretty hairy, even in Tarija. Usually, while the rest of the country is going up in flames, Tarija is pretty tranquilo. I saw the unrest as a bad sign of things to come. Over the next few days things only seemed to get worse. Protests and riots continued in many cities. A few people were killed in Sucre and the worst in Pando with over 30 dead. And among the riots the US ambassdor Philip Goldberg was declared a persona non grata and demanded to leave Bolivia. He was accused of citing the violence. A totally rediculous claim, but thats the way politics works down here. It was really just an opportune time to kick him out. So with no ambassador what was going to happen to us?
When I heard that all the Tarija volunteers were coming down to Bermejo I thought ¨This is it. I´m packing my bags.¨ The next few days were a frusterating mystery. Peace Corps seemed to tell us as little information as possible. We were all speculating what was going to happen to us. Were we going to wait in Bermejo while things cooled down? Be flown to Cochabamba where all the other volunteers had been consolidated? Or evacuate the country? I tried to explain to my host family and friends as best I could the situation. That I didn´t really know what was going on, but there was a chance I wouldn´t be back. My Dona insisted on everyone getting together for coffee and bread. She said a prayer for me and we all ended up crying. It was very touching. And before leaving, I was fortunate to run into a group of teachers I worked with that had heard about the situation and they thanked me for everything I had done for them. There´s a lot of times in Peace Corps when you wonder if what your doing really matters. But I knew talking to those teachers that day that they really did appreciate the work I did for them and that really feels good.
Anywho... we headed to the Bermejo airport, a small paved strip in a never ending field of cana. Told we were to board a plane, but didn´t know where. Then the big bellied C130 rolled in. It was a very surreal moment. A crazy mixture of emotions. ¨This is crazy! This is so cool! Oh no, we might not be coming back!¨ When everyone had boarded and the plane was in the air we were told we were leaving the country. But again the ambiguity! We weren´t told which country! It was becoming obvious that PC was telling us as little as possible so that people wouldn´t freak out and refuse to board at the last second, which some people may have done.
Touchdown at Bermejo International Airport
The dreaded evac! It was really happening! We didn´t learn our destination until someone asked one of the military guys on board (insterestingly enough the plane was US owned, but run by Bolivian military personel). First we were stoping in Cochabamba to pick up more volunteers than continuing on to Lima. We were greeted by Peruvian and American soldiers at a small military airport outside of Lima. As well as the US ambassador to Peru and a hand full of other embassy people. We were given a brief meeting and sent outside the city to a bizarre centro vacacional outside of the city. The running joke was that it was a rehab center for those that had previously had tragic experiences while on vacation. We spent the next week figuring out what to do next with our lives- COS, transfer, reinlist. I knew I was COSing so my decision was easy, but a lot of people had to decide it they wanted to transfer to another country and where in a matter of a few days! Talk about having your world turned upside down!
Trying our best to make light of the situation by making a Bolivian stlye bloqueo for the next arriving group of volunteers.
My plan is to travel South America for a few months before returning to the states. I´ll keep you updated!
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