The Foreign Service Journal - January/February 2018

48 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL As one Filipino journalist concluded, “Life was never the same again” after the arrival of the Thomasites. I learned their inspiring, largely untold story while serving as public affairs officer in Manila from 1998 to 2002. The year 2001 marked the Thomasites’ centennial, and the embassy imple- mented a nationwide, multimedia public diplomacy campaign to tell their story. The message focused on the far-reaching, posi- tive effects of these early American teachers on building a new nation and fostering bilateral friendship and respect. Working with local contacts and partners like the Philippine- American Educational Foundation (Fulbright Commission) and the American Historical Collection housed at Ateneo de Manila University, the public affairs section found and shared Thoma- site material, much of which had been lost or undiscovered over the decades, and brought relatives of Thomasite students and collaborators together with scholars of the program. Our section supported numerous efforts to highlight the enduring legacy of the Thomasites. But at the same time, we used the centennial to look ahead and stimulate dialogue about the future of education, including the Fulbright exchange program, and U.S.-Philippine relations. By talking about shared values and the Thomasite experiences, the embassy helped foster countless conversations about the positive U.S. presence in the Philippines. The frequent feedback was: “This is a story of which both Filipinos and Americans can be proud.” The Thomasite Centen- nial Project’s many tangible results over a year include a 73-page history of the Thomasites, designed and printed at the State Department’s Global Publishing Solutions office in Manila. Both the cultural affairs office—under Cultural Affairs Officer Dr. Thomas Kral—and GPS were crucial to the success of the campaign. The GPS, for example, designed a special Thomasite logo and provided a range of other highly professional editorial and printing services promoting the centennial. The Thomasite Project showed that public diplomacy does work. One clear indication that our campaign generated goodwill and caught public attention was that the embassy received the Philippine public relations industry’s pres- tigious annual “Anvil Award of Merit.” Another indication was that our various events and products were in great demand and gener- ated positive buzz among diverse audiences and across generations, including many young Filipinos who had never heard of the Thomasi- tes and were prone to dislike American colonial influences and close military cooperation. All the Thomasites have long since passed away, but the people-to-people links they began and the spirit of friendship they fostered continue today. Our public diplomacy efforts to share their story have had a lasting impact on U.S.-Philippine relations. Diplomats, Peace Corps Volunteers, Fulbright scholars and development workers came to the Philippines later to estab- lish new connections, but the foundation of much of their work can be traced to the Thomasites. Our project helped ensure that these remarkable American teachers will not be forgotten. Michael Anderson, a retired public diplomacy FSO, had two assign- ments in the Philippines. He served as Embassy Manila’s assistant information officer from 1982 to 1985 and was the public affairs officer from 1998 to 2002. Preventing War between Peru and Ecuador Peru, 1981 • Edwin G. Corr On Jan. 22, 1981, a Peruvian Air Force helicopter flying above the Ecuadorean-Peruvian “truce border line” was fired on by Ecuadorean military units deployed on the Peruvian side of the border. I was serving as ambassador to Peru at the time, and knew this would create a serious risk of war between the two countries. Spain had established a boundary line between the popula- tions ( audiencias ) of Quito and Lima in 1563. After the wars of A group photo of early education officials and Thomasite teachers who were posted around the Philippine Islands, then a U.S. colony, by the new Bureau of Education. GPSMANILA/RIZALLIBRARY,ATENEODEMANILAUNIVERSITY