The Foreign Service Journal, November 2011

8 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 itors’ center to be located at the build- ing’s 21st Street entrance in Washing- ton, D.C. I was its director from 2002 to 2005.) “After 9/11” brought together dra- matic photographs from Ground Zero taken by Joel Meyerowitz with mes- sages of condolence sent to embassies and consulates all over the world in var- ious forms — personal notes, books, letters, e-mails, artwork, flags and stuffed animals. In a separate exhibi- tion tour from 2002 to 2005, the Meyerowitz photographs were shown in 75 countries under embassy spon- sorship in a total of 185 cities. The exhibit opened in September 2002, on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the Gerald Ford Presi- dential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich. Over the next two years, it was shown at the George H.W. Bush Pres- idential Library in College Station, Texas; the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Ga.; the War Memorial in San Francisco, Calif.; and two venues in Florida. Along with USDC’s curator Priscilla Linn, the creative force behind the ex- hibit, I had the privilege and honor of representing the department at the ex- hibit’s opening in these venues. At the Florida International Mu- seum in St. Petersburg, where the ex- hibit opened in September 2003, it served as the centerpiece of the city’s commemorative events on the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In San Francisco, the opening of the exhibit was attended by former Secretary of State George Shultz and his wife, Char- lotte Shultz, the city’s chief of protocol. At all the venues, the exhibit pro- vided excellent opportunities for out- reach to school children and to the broader public, not only related to the impact the 9/11 events had on the world and the world’s embrace of the American people, but also to the over- all understanding of the work, sacrifice and contributions of American diplo- mats, historically and currently. “After 9/11” recently opened at the Pentagon and is available for future venues after March 2012. Information on the exhibit and on the USDC’s con- tinuing role in developing the museum and visitors’ center can be found at the USDC Web site: http://diplo macy.state.gov. Michael A. Boorstein FSO, retired Fairfax, Va. Zamora on Target The USAID VP column by Fran- cisco Zamora (“QDDR: Closing the Experience Gap?”) and AFSA Presi- dent Susan Johnson’s column (“Diplo- macy after 9/11: More Important than Ever”), both in the September Journal, were excellent. My husband (recently introduced to this life) and I couldn’t put the issue down. It is by far one of the best I’ve seen. Mr. Zamora’s column was balanced and highlighted the challenges we now face in our ranks and our policy direc- tion. I wonder why we don’t use the CIA system for adding up years to- ward retirement as a middle ground to allow some more flexibility in the sys- tem. I understand that at that agency, employees accrue years toward a 20- year basis when they are overseas, and years toward a 30-year basis when they are here. This would achieve a bal- ance and allow officers to decide when other family needs necessitate home service. On the issue of compensatory time for USAID employees, I would like to point out that many of us are not eligi- ble for it, and that Department Lead- ership Initiative hires often do not real- ize they can get it. (I have always thought we should report the “real” hours we work but have the system pay us the standard salary.) I completely agree withMr. Zamora that it is criminal to play games with promotions. He hit the nail on the head: a lot of these people took major pay cuts to join USAID. It should also be noted that our Civil Service suffers from being the minority in a huge union that does not care about the is- sues in our agency. This does not make for harmonious relationships, least of all with the Bureau of Human Resources, which is mostly staffed by Civil Service employees. Keep up the good work! Anne Dix FSO, USAID Washington D.C. Equal Opportunity at USAID? AFSAUSAIDVice President Fran- cisco Zamora’s April FSJ plea for “di- versity” at USAID is enough to force one’s resignation from the U.S. Taxpay- ers’ Association! Complaining that there are disproportionately high num- bers of Asians, disproportionately low numbers of Hispanics, and fewAfrican- Americans in senior positions at the agency, he calls for “better perform- ance in achieving diversity.” At the same time, using his figures, it appears that at USAID African- Americans are vastly over-represented across the employment board. What to make of that? Taxpayers want the most merit they can get for their money, not some hiring reform based on Mr. Zamora’s criteria of complexions and cultures. Even if what Mr. Zamora asserts is true — that 300 million Americans are producing enough qualified citizens to L E T T E R S