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Conflicting Privilege By Anna Le Pree Analysis

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Conflicting Privilege By Anna Le Pree Analysis
Conflicting Privilege by: De Anna Le Pree
It was a hot summer day, just a couple of months into my service in Kyrgyzstan; I was walking to catch the bus that would take me to work at the reproductive health NGO in town. I had a long flowing skirt on paired with a tank top, walking the dirt road to the bus stop, I heard the sound of bicycle wheels coming up from behind me, thinking nothing of it I just kept along my way. All of a sudden, I’m hit with such shocking force on my backside I let out a little scream. I could not believe that this boy on his bike just smacked my ass! As he rode off I tried running after him yelling, “Fuck you!”, “How dare you!”, “You asshole!” and watched as he looked back at me, laughing and sneering.
I found myself …show more content…
A young girl screaming while two men grabbed at her arms and legs dragging her into their car. Peace Corps told us if we were in this situation we were not to interfere. So I watched, and I tried to get attention from a near by police, who just walked a different direction. It was painful for me, and it was obviously painful for the girl, being humiliated in the middle of town, as she was hauled away to her fate. Sometimes I wish I had started screaming at them like I did to the boy on the bike. Would it be worth putting myself in danger to save her from being taken, raped, and married off? Whose reputation was I saving? I can see the Russian news now, “Americans ruining Kyrgyz Traditions”. The term “do no harm” is like a sick oxymoronic problem that I cannot solve. I wanting to help but not interfere. In the end I think I did the “right” thing. I wanted to help but not interfere, so I searched for local organization to interfere for me. Maana Crisis Center wanted to stop bride kidnapping and end violence against women, I set up a meeting for the my NGO to meet Maana where the two organizations became partners and advocates of autonomy and …show more content…
I got an opportunity to learn and experience life in a different way and experience pain, harassment and violence in a different way. I sometimes think teaching about autonomy and choice was for my own self-fulfillment. I believe Kyrgyzstan gave me more than I could ever return, and I was so happy to meet local organizations and women with shared values that could do the interfering and yelling, was I ever “needed” at all? I hate that my time in Kyrgyzstan has become a couple of lines in my résumé, when no one will ever know the one million and one stories that I have, no one will ever know all the life-long relationships I’ve built, and no one will ever know how many times I used the f-word over twenty-seven months, but maybe that's a good
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