We, 99 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers from Minnesota—from Minneapolis, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, Osseo, Mora, Blaine, Pine City, Austin, Lino Lakes, St. Cloud, Cloquet, Maple Grove, and Maplewood and other cities and towns—have written this letter to counter the recent increase in anti-Muslim, anti-Islam, and anti-immigrant rhetoric that is sweeping across America and our state.
We served for two years as Peace Corps volunteers in various countries around the world, such as Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Poland, Afghanistan, Jamaica, Malaysia, Philippines, Swaziland, Togo, Central African Republic, Benin, Latvia, Turkmenistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Korea and many more.
We served in many different years, from 1967 to 2015.
Although we all had very different experiences in different cultures, one thing that binds us together is an understanding that the more you know about someone, the more you appreciate what we have in common rather than dwell on or be fearful of our differences. We feel that the hateful speech that permeates our society should be condemned not just by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers like ourselves, but by every American who wants to stand up against bigotry and ignorance.
David McDonald
And 98 other Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Osseo, Minnesota
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