The recent story of the disappearance and then untimely death of Julia Campbell a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines was very sad. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines from 1981 - 1984 and still have family and friends there. The news hit me especially hard because Julia had been a volunteer in a small town about 45 minutes away from where I had been a volunteer in what is known as the Bicol Region of the Philippines.
When I was a volunteer the community of Donsol was known as a place “not to go” because it was inundated with rebels from the New Peoples Army (NPA). The NPA is known as the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Today things are somewhat different. Donsol has become a leading international tourist destination because it located on a migrating and eating grounds for Whale Sharks also known as Butanding in the local language. I can personally vouch for how wonderful this experience is since I was there in June of 2006.
With the increase in international tourism, learning English has become a real necessity for those seeking employment at the Butanding Interaction Center. Ms. Campbell had been assigned to teach English in the small rural community. As in all senseless killings a lot of people have been hurt. This one in particular hurts Julia’s family, her adopted community and country plus the international community of returned current and returned Peace Corps Volunteers. I would like to share my condolences with all of those groups especially her family.
I believe less than 20 of the 8,000 previous Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines died while in service. Little known are those are people like my friend Boylan Preston who remained in the Philippines for 20 years after he was a PCV who was also murdered. Hopefully the international attention Ms. Campbell’s case is receiving will bring her killers to justice.
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