A voice from Iraq: Q & A with Carla Rosa Borges '92

During their evacuation from Najaf, Carla and her father, Aluisio, pause for a moment with Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq.

Both Carla Rosa Borges and her father, Aluisio Rosa Borges, PhD '90, lived and worked in Iraq last winter and spring for the Research Triangle Institute, implementing the Local Governance Program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In mid-April, when the violence there became too heated, they were relocated to Kuwait after being held up in Najaf for four days. The evacuation, "which in the movies looks so swift," as Carla wrote, was fraught with dangers and took more than six days from start to finish. "With the intensity of the situation, the heat and just being scared for so many days while on the move, it took some time to recover," wrote Carla.

Carla and Aluisio's mission in Iraq was to support nascent civil society organizations and help them to develop independent activities that may advocate or lobby one day for the rights of the population they target and serve, such as the disabled, youth, women and others. Iraqi citizens who volunteered to participate in these Democracy Dialogue activities included women, students, business leaders, tribal leaders, the disabled, youth, lawyers and academics.

A senior civil society specialist, Carla previously spent three years doing humanitarian work in Kosovo, and, after that, worked to improve the educational system in Zimbabwe for UNICEF. In April, while she was still working in Iraq, we asked her if she would share some of her experiences and give a firsthand look at what working in Iraq was like. She sent her responses to our questions via e-mail.

Q. What is it that makes you willing to work in a country torn by war, where your personal safety is not guaranteed?

A. Post-conflict countries are intriguing to me. It is a time of great transition and an opportunity to teach an entire country to do things differently. Sometimes one can help an entire ministry or municipality to develop a voice, but at times you reach only one family or person at a time.

Q. How do you deal with being surrounded by so much violence?

A. I have to be frank, I think there is a certain level of denial to survive in these circumstances, and I cannot worry all the time about what is going on around me or what may happen. For if I did, I would be full of gray hair. But also, I have learned to play it smart: I never push the envelope when it comes to my safety. We have armed, internationally recruited personal security guards (sometimes called "shooters") who accompany us everywhere, sometimes travel in armored cars -- although not the norm -- wear bulletproof vests, and harden our residences and offices, as most of us live in villas in the community. . . .
[Editor's note: To "harden" a residence in this context means to make it less vulnerable to attack. Carla Borges elaborated that "hardening" includes taking precautions such as keeping guards on duty 24 hours a day, varying the residents' daily schedules, installing "blast film" on the walls and windows to protect them from explosions, erecting road barriers to slow traffic and prevent suicide car bombings, removing anything around a building under which bombs could be placed, and screening all visitors.]

When attacks occur, I do find myself looking around me, taking inventory of myself -- am I OK?. . . If I am OK, then I have survived another attack.

Q. Do you worry for one another's safety?

A. Of course, constantly. I have not decided if it is more of a comfort to have both of us here or more of a worry. I think my family back home could comment on that one. . . . What a wonder instant messaging is. . . . Just knowing the other one is online tells [us] . . . that we are fine, working and safe.

Q. Do your experiences make you hopeful that Iraq has a good chance of achieving democracy?

A. Whew, this is a loaded question. As I was fighting for my life, to maintain sanity to get out of Najaf . . . no, I was not hopeful. But as I subscribe to this type of work . . . if the impact is not noticeable immediately or even in the next five years, I do hope that I have taught more people -- or even one [person] -- about how to proceed in a democratic society.

Q. Your job must be very stressful. Do you find your work fulfilling?

A. Yes, I find this work and lifestyle fulfilling -- to meet people from other cultures, to become embedded with them, travel the region, eat what they eat and meet their families. Also, I meet other colleagues with similar interests and drives who come from all over the world. It is an eclectic group that I find most interesting.

Q. What would you say to students and alumni who are interested in pursuing careers in social justice and international humanitarian work?

A. It is a lifestyle, not only a job. It takes commitment, resolve, and you have to be comfortable with learning things about yourself that you may not always be ready to find out. You need to be flexible, patient and open to new experiences. Know that the one thing you may accomplish in a day [may be as little as] a phone call or as much as gaining the heart of a skeptic. That is the most fulfilling.

Class of '86 reunion
from Norma Bertocchi Spiteri '86

In June 2003, several members of the Class of '86 gathered in Holland, Pa., at the home of Norma Bertocchi Spiteri and Andy Spiteri, both '86, for a barbecue on Saturday and brunch on Sunday. On Saturday night, the group also took in the game between the Binghamton Mets and the Trenton Thunder. Binghamton alumni were greeted on the scoreboard and welcomed to the Trenton Thunder Stadium. Everyone kept in touch with one person or another, but hadn't been all together for quite some time. The former Newing and Dickinson residents now live in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey and Virginia. Amazingly, three of the families have settled within a three-mile radius of Holland.

Pictured are Jonathan Cheris, Alison Scallan Calder, Rob Calder, Chris Zachary, Kim Hargreaves Zachary, Nurit Millstein Schneider, Jed Schneider, Norma Bertocchi Spiteri, Andy Spiteri, Stacy Schultz, Todd Schultz, Stacy Brilliant, Larry Brilliant, Ann Walsh, Jay Walsh, Andrea Burrick, Ann Zetoony Cheris, Adam Ainspan and Marybeth Ainspan. The rest are their wonderful children. If you would like to get in touch with any of them please contact Norma at normas1005@comcast.net. They'd love to hear from you!

Jason Alexander (left), who will play Tony Kornheiser '70 in a new CBS sitcom this fall. Washington Post humor columnist Tony Kornheiser (right) on the set of Pardon the Interruption, the ESPN show he co-hosts with Michael Wilbon.

Alexander portrays Kornheiser in Listen Up

How does it feel to be the subject of a sitcom?

"Very, very odd," said Washington Post sports columnist and ESPN sports show host Tony Kornheiser '70, who will be played by Seinfeld veteran Jason Alexander in Listen Up, a new Monday night sitcom in CBS' fall lineup.
Alexander's character, named Tony Clineman, is described in iwon News TV (apnews1.iwon.com) as "a well-regarded sports talk show host and columnist who struggles to get the respect and admiration from his family that he gets from his fans."

"It's flattering," Kornheiser continued. "I'm honored. But I never thought it would get to this point, never in a million years."

Lindy DeKoven, the show's creator and executive producer, and her husband, sports writer David Israel, are long-time friends of Kornheiser's. Just last year, after DeKoven read a book of Kornheiser's Washington Post columns, she called him up to say, "Gee, I think this could be a sitcom."

"I said, ‘Yeah, knock yourself out,'" said Kornheiser. "The process as I understood it winnows out 90 to 95 percent of the kinds of things that might make sitcoms, and I just didn't think this would happen. So that's why it's just very, very odd to think that in the fall there will be this television show, and for all intents and purposes it's about me. I mean, come on, how often does that stuff happen?"

As far as Alexander playing him, Kornheiser quipped, "I thought it would be very difficult to find somebody as good-looking as I am, and he's so hot, it's okay." On a more serious note, he added, "He's a really good comic actor and part of the most successful situation comedy of all time, so it's flattering on a lot of levels."

Kornheiser is not involved in the TV show in any way, and that's the way he likes it. "I don't want to get involved, because I know myself," he said. "I know that if ever I'm asked about something, I'll say, ‘Gee, I wouldn't say it exactly like that . . . ' I'd be one of these people they'd have to literally bar from the set. So it's much better if I have nothing to do with it. This way, if the show bombs, I'm able to say I had nothing to do with it, and if it's great, I'm able to take all the credit. So it's a win/win for me."

Kornheiser's friends are making plans to have a party on the night of the first episode. But Kornheiser won't be there. Although he enjoyed the pilot and found it funny, and although he's pleased that CBS thinks it's funny, too, "It's just very difficult for me to watch," Kornheiser said.

"When CBS announced its fall lineup and they showed some clips from the new shows on TV, I broke into an unbelievable sweat," said Kornheiser. "I don't understand why. But it just made me very, very agitated and nervous. When somebody is ostensibly playing you . . . ‘odd' is the only word I can come up with."
He added, "I probably won't be watching. It'll just make me nuts."

But when pressed, Kornheiser conceded: "I tell you what -- if I do watch it, I'm not watching it in a group. I will watch it, but I'll watch it alone until I get over that nonsense."

Tap Your Passion

Among the alumni who came back to campus to participate in the Career Development Center's series of programs that made up Tap Your Passion: Explore careers that make the world a better place (Feb. 16-19) were: Julie Sweet '83, MA '88, Broome County planning commissioner, who, after 15 years, still has a passion for working for the government because of the impact she can have in helping make the community a better place in terms of project and land use planning, urban revitalization, brownfield cleanup, human services, arts and culture and more.

Diane Castiglione '82, director of recruitment for the U.S. State Department, who discussed the range of academic majors and skills needed in this federal government agency. "There are lots of options out there," she said. "Historians, art historians, mathematicians, information technology specialists, managers, lawyers, accountants, foreign affairs specialists -- all of these have jobs in the State Department."

Kimberly Spring '92, research associate with the Office of Research and Policy Development for the Corporation for National and Community Service, who moderated a panel of alumni and current students who have pursued interesting service work, either as "time out" from college or as a post-graduation experience. Recent graduates can gain valuable work experience, travel extensively, establish a network of professional contacts, work toward a master's degree free of cost and, most important, reap the many benefits of helping others by spending the time in one of many professional volunteer services around the world, she said.

Each of these speakers was enthusiastic and dynamic and welcomed and encouraged students' questions. Many provided stacks of additional information. The 350 students who attended the panel discussions and presentations that made up Tap Your Passion learned that working for a "non-profit" doesn't mean working for free -- or for a tiny salary. And if ideals matter to them, working for the government or big business doesn't mean they have to sell their souls. Thousands of well-paying jobs are out there for people who want more from their careers than just making a living. And there are plenty of internships available for those who just want to find out what it's all about.

Hans Chen '70 and his wife, Frances Liao Chen '70, hosted a reunion of Chinese alumni who graduated from the School of Management in 1970 -- the year the school was established as a separate entity. "We had not seen each other for more than 30 years, but we caught up after only five minutes," said Hans. "We had a great time." Hans and his fellow alumni enjoyed a visit from Dean Upinder Dhillon, who updated the group on SOM's progress since their graduation.

The Chens have a daughter, Emily Chen '07, who is currently enrolled in the School of Management.

Back row (standing), from left to right: Albert Jan, Tong Sen Chern, School of Management Dean Upinder Dhillon, Gwo P. Liu, Jonathan Lin and Hans Chen. Front row (sitting), from left to right: Wendy Yeh Lee, Frances Liao Chen, Vivien Waung and Bernadette Yuan Lin. All are 1970 graduates of the School of Management except Vivien Waung '68, who graduated before the school was formally established.

Get involved! Binghamton University alumni are coming together in a host of cities and venues!

Alumni events were held on campus and in New York City, New Jersey, Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, the Bronx and on Long Island this spring and summer. Join in the fun of reconnecting with fellow alumni and making new friends, too.

• Find out about upcoming alumni events! Go to the Alumni Association Events Calendar at alumni.binghamton.edu/events.html.
• No events in your area? Offer to help coordinate one! Contact your local alumni network -- you'll find a listing of Binghamton University alumni networks and coordinators at alumni.binghamton.edu/network.html.
• Read about recent alumni events in our online newsletter, Alumni Connect. Go to alumni.binghamton.edu/AC/ and click on "Alumni Gatherings."