The Foreign Service Journal, February 2003

tion site had to have a separate peace agreement secured between the French and various rebel factions and, at times, the Americans as well. The time needed to secure these agreements contributed to anxieties over the pace at which the evacuation was proceeding. Several evacuations in northern towns involved securing air strips with French forces and landing both U.S. C-130s as well as French helicopters. In retrospect, it is amazing that every- thing went off without incident, even if not always accord- ing to the proposed timing. The final Peace Corps Volunteer to be evacuated on Oct. 2 was a young lady affectionately referred to as “the Lady of the Lake,” who had been stranded by herself on the side of a lake with no transport for over a week. She had finished all her books while sitting patiently every day at the abandoned Shell station on the main road out of town in hopes of catching a ride out with departing expatriates. She later took to passing the time by writing a movie script about her “ideal rescue,” which involved handsome French military troopers landing on the town’s soccer field and whisking her away in their helicopter. I am happy to report that the State Department delivered exactly that. At this writing, the Cote d’ Ivoire Peace Corps Volunteers have all been either transferred to other programs or returned home to the U.S. Unfortunately, the saga in Cote d’ Ivoire is still playing out as we go to press. For my part, I have the great dis- tinction to have been one of the few in Peace Corps his- tory to have fulfilled the organization’s mission in record time: I worked myself out of a job at the Ops Center in only 12 days on the monitoring group — a quantitative indicator of success if there ever was one! F O C U S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 43 To complicate things, the coordination extended to the French military, the main force on the ground leading the evacuation. HOW TO BUY AUTO INSURANCE OVERSEAS T HERE’S REALLY ONLY ONE WAY. Select the agent who offers broad experience and a high level of repeat business. Experience that helps you avoid the pitfalls of a highly complex business. Repeat business that results from providing what’s best for the customer not the agent nor the insurance company. Since 1969, Harry M. Jannette has provided dependable coverage with U.S. carriers with a financial rating of A+ or higher to thousands of Foreign Service Personnel worldwide. Thus you gain the broadest U.S. terms and conditions and flexible value limits often not available from other insurance carriers. MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: SEE OUR WEBSITE APPLICATIONS WHILE IN WASHINGTON, D.C, AREA PLEASE CALL TOLL FREE 1 800 256-5141 Harry M. Jannette International, L.L.C. A Wood-Wilson Company 8111 LBJ Freeway, Suite 585 Dallas, Texas 75251-1334 Telephone (972) 783-4915 • Fax (972) 783-0545 Call (800) 256-5141 • E-mail: jintl@jannetteintl.com www.jannetteintl.com • WORLDWIDE COVERAGE Fire, theft, comprehensive and collision protection are available at foreign posts. • U.S. AUTO LIABILITY Available for short term on home leave, change of assignment, and new auto purchase prior to foreign departure. This coverage must be issued in combination with an “Embassy Plan” auto policy. • OCEAN/AIR CARGO COVERAGE Transit available from U.S. to post, post to post, and post to U.S. • PERSONAL COVERAGE Household goods and transit, valuable articles, personal liability, life insurance. • EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION INSURANCE Including Directors and Officers.