The Foreign Service on the Page: Foreign Service Girl

The more things change...

Foreign Service Girl the tale of young Francine Dudley, a bright young woman whose dream is to be become a Foreign Service Officer. Of course, this is in the Bad Old Days when the diplomatic corps was very decidedly 'male, pale and Yale'.  Career opportunities for woman or minorities of any kind were decidedly limited.

After passing the Written Test but failing the Oral Assessment (there was no QEP back then - oh sweet time of innocence!) Francis decides to join as a secretary.

Her first assignment is to Oram, a vaguely Middle Eastern country which is something like a cross between Iran and Morocco. After serving her tour there, she is transferred to her dream assignment of Paris. There are some misadventures and cultural misunderstandings, but finally things work out happily (though somewhat disappointingly for modern readers).

Of course, some aspects of foreign service life have changed. The service is more diverse, attitudes towards the local staff are (usually) more enlightened, and women are no longer forced out when they get married.

On the other hand, some aspects of Francine's experience are remarkably current. Her bewilderment over being assigned to a little-traveled backwater, the stark difference in social life between a small hardship post and a large European capital, and the emotional stresses Foreign Service Officers undergo still happen with regularity.

We've come a long way. But the world can still be a very intimidating place.

Speak Up, but not too much

Word has been spreading about the 1,000 Foreign Service Officers who have signed a dissent cable protesting the president's recent executive order on immigrants and refugees.

But what IS a 'dissent cable' anyway? Well, let's break it down.

A cable is the method of communication between America's various representative's abroad - ambassadors, diplomats, and other members of the mission - and the 'home base' in Washington. These cables are usually assigned a marker indicating their urgency.

Dissent cables are different. They were created during the Vietnam War as a means for members of the diplomatic corps to express disagreement with official policy without risking their jobs. The most famous example is the Blood Telegram, written by the staff of Consulate General Dhaka (and named for Consul General Archer Blood to protest the Nixon Administration's support of Pakistan during the Bangladeshi war for independence:

 So, are dissent cables effective? That depends on who is in charge - some administrations are more open to different viewpoints. Others simply ignore them, or view dissent as disloyalty. No guesses as to what the current administration thinks.

The Foreign Service on Screen: Embajada Gringa

There are endless myths about how to acquire an American visa - what to say, what to bring, what not to admit etc. We FSOs try to take them in stride.

Freeze!

So there's a federal hiring freeze...AND a new directive to signifcantly ramp up our scrutiny of visa applicants.

Those two things will definitely work together.

Hypocritic Immunity

I realize I'm a bit late on this one, but it's still worth bringing up.

After years and years of shrieking about BENGHAZI BENGHAZI BENGHAZI and how Hilary Clinton LET OUR PEOPLE DIE, we get this gem of a bill from Ted Cruz and other Senate Republicans:

 A trio of GOP senators have introduced legislation that would cut security, construction, and maintenance funds for U.S. embassies around the world in half until the president moves the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Turns out our safety is nothing but a political bargaining chip for these people.

Oh yeah, and one of my colleagues was shot a few weeks ago (currently recovering well).

Shut Your Hatch

With a new administration coming in, us Foreign Service Officers are beset -from within and without - with questions about our opinions. How do we feel about Trump? Will we all quit en masse? What about the wall etc. etc.

Well, it turns out there's a thing called the Hatch Act. Passed in 1939, this is a law which restricts employees of the Executive Branch from engaging in certain political activities.

The origins of the Act are hardly noble - it grew out of opposition to the New Deal - but it certainly makes sense to try and prevent public officials from becoming instruments of partisanship.

In practice, of course, things are a little murkier.  Plenty of my colleagues maintain a social media presence and it doesn't take a crystal ball to divine their opinions.  But the question is - at what point do one's private opinions became a matter of public concern? I favor less control, not more. I'd rather people be allowed to voice their opinions, even if embarrasses the administration.

Comida Tapatia: Posole

 Every culture, it seems, has their own version of the ultimate comfort food - chicken soup. And usually several. There's just something serenely reassuring about it, the warm protein warding off illnesses and troubles of every kind.

Well, the local version is called posole, or pozole. Made with chicken or pork, broth, and hominy - treated corn kernels.

Posole can be made with red sauce, green sauce, or neither.

The usual Mexican accoutrements - lime, avocado, radish, shredded lettuce, tostados, chili etc.can also be added to taste.

Highly recommended.