FOT ACQUIRES SEWING MACHINE FOR TUNIS TRADE SCHOOL.

FOT also owes a huge thank-you to two US embassy employees, Stephanie Syptak and Khaled Souissi, who did all the leg-work in Tunis for this project. (Stephanie has now moved on to a posting in Mali but, before leaving said that, now that the school has come to the embassy's attention, it may receive future assistance from the embassy.) Others who deserve to take a bow are Scott Johnson, who lives in Tunis and investigated the possibility of finding a cheaper machine, and Hashmi ("Hank") Saada, a Tunisian-American who first identified the school as an ideal recipient of FOT financial assistance.

Once the machine was purchased and in place, Mme. Mahbouba Bchini, the school's directrice, was truly effusive in her thanks. Furthermore, she promised, once classes begin later this month, to send FOT a photo of herself, some of her students, and the machine, which will be re-sent to the entire FOT membership.

FOUNDING MEMBERS OF AMERICAN TUNISIA ASSOCIATION DIE.

Two founding members of FOT's sister organization, the American Tunisia Association (ATA), died recently.

Talcott Seelye was ambassador to Tunisia from 1972 to 1976 and ambassador to Syria from 1978 to 1981. During a crisis in Lebanon in 1976, President Ford named him a special emissary after the ambassador to Lebanon was assassinated. In that role, Seelye oversaw the evacuation of Americans from Lebanon while also coming under severe criticism in the US for using a PLO security detail. But Seelye, who was born in Beirut, the son of a professor at the American University in Beirut, was fluent in Arabic and more knowledgeable about the Middle East than many other Americans in the State Department. (Francis Fukuyama, now a neo-con author, once criticized Seelye as "the Syrian ambassador to Washington, not the American ambassador to Syria." And perhaps because he was so forthright in presenting the Arab side of issues, he left the American diplomatic corps in 1981.

In the mid-1980s he founded and was the first president of the American Tunisia Association, a post he retained until a few years ago, when ill health forced him to retire from that role, too. During those 20 years, however, he was also an occasional guest on Public TV's News Hour to comment on events in the Middle East. Often he was critical of both US and Israeli policies. He was 84 when he died.

Arthur Tienken, the other founding member of ATA to die recently, was the deputy chief of mission in Tunis and became the long-standing treasurer of ATA, which supports exchanges of scholars between the US and Tunisia.

TUNISIAN OLYMPIC SWIMMER HONORED IN WASHINGTON, DC.

Every May, on the anniversary of the birthday of Ibn Khaldoun, the Tunisian Community Center, an organization of Tunisian Americans, honors a Tunisian-American for his or her accomplishments. The 2005 recipient was FOT member, author, and University of Texas professor, Mounira Charrad. This year the winner was Olympic gold medal swimming champion and swimmer/student at the University of Southern California, Oussama Mellouli.

The ceremony was held at American University in Washington, DC. Mellouli's mother was flown in from Tunis to see him receive the award. She briefly spoke (in Arabic) to the crowd of Tunisian Americans who came from as far away as San Francisco and Washington state to attend the ceremony and dinner.

Then Mellouli, who is quite tall and gangly and seemingly without an ounce of body fat, spoke in English with no discernible accent (unless one counts a California accent.) He thanked people, including his coach at USC, for giving him the chance to attend USC as well as to compete in the Olympic games for Tunisia.

FORMER PCV AND PC STAFF MEMBER IS NEW DIRECTOR OF CEMAT.

This month Larry Michalak, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia in 1964-66 and returned to serve as a member of the Peace Corps staff in the mid-60s, will assume the directorship of CEMAT (Centre des Etudes Maghrebiennes a Tunis). After his Peace Corps service, Larry wrote a doctoral thesis on labor markets in Tunisia, then, for many years, worked at the University of California at Berkeley in the area of Middle Eastern studies. With his wife, Karen (Trocki), who also was a PC volunteer in Tunisia ('66-68), he wrote an article about alcoholism in Moslem societies, and, on his own, has written several articles on the portrayal of Arabs and Moslems in American films.

TIME FOR A CHANGE.

It is time for someone else to head Friends of Tunisia. After 15 years of doing this, I need to step down, and, since we are an organization of volunteers, one or more members should step up and take the reins.

A bit of history: Friends of Tunisia was founded by Gerry Hennigan (PCV/TEFL 65-67). Gerry married a Tunisian woman and, in the mid-1980s, founded Friends of Tunisia. However, when he took a job in Saudi Arabia, he called a meeting of members in the DC area and asked: "Should we just end FOT?" I thought that would be a mistake and, therefore, volunteered to "keep the organization alive for a while." That, as I said, was about 15 years ago! (Where does the time go?) During these years, I started sending out a modest newsletter to keep members informed about Tunisia and "things with a Tunisian flavor." Starting around 2000, I began using members' dues to fund worthy causes in Tunisia such as the sewing machine for the girls school and a well for water at a farm for autistic children in Sfax.

From time to time during these years, I have tried to enlist the help of others, but, save for a few very nice members who volunteered their homes for meetings, people haven't done much to help me, although I sense a lot of good will out there. Now, however, I intend to move on, and someone else needs to take over. In my opinion, there are only two requirements. (1) Access to the Internet. (I personally don't have access to the internet from my home. Instead, I have done all the communicating and composition of newsletters, etc. at public libraries or at friends' homes.) (2) Since FOT is an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association, I think the new leader(s) should, like me, be ex-volunteers from Tunisia.

Are there areas that could be developed? You bet.

(1) I'm low-tech, so FOT has no web-site. (2) FOT has, so far, done absolutely nothing in the National Peace Corps Association or become involved in advocacy on issues, such as water, that might affect Tunisia or other third world countries. (3) I have kept the association focused exclusively on Tunisia. Yet there is much going on in the larger Arab/Moslem world that might interest some or all FOT members. (4) Some members are interested in a group trip back to Tunisia.

What I propose: Anyone interested in getting more involved should contact FOT via email or phone or whatever. All those who do respond can then work out among themselves who wants to do what. In other words, there is absolutely no reason this organization should continue being run by one person who does almost everything.

One other thing: once you have access to FOT's email address (fotrpcv@yahoo.com) you will be surprised at how much info comes your way. It's never about having too little info. It's always about selecting what is most interesting, although some info you have to go out and find. I can tell you where to look.

I look forward to hearing from you...Phil Jones

"HANK" SAADA CEASES TO PUBLISH "THE CAMEL LETTER."

Hashmi ("Hank") Saada, a Tunisian who taught Arabic and French to some of the earliest Peace Corps volunteers to Tunisia, has just ceased publishing the "Camel Letter," which was devoted to news about the volunteers in the first few groups. Hank, who lives in Philadelphia, suffered a stroke last year, but before the stroke he and his wife, Elizabeth, took a trip to Tunisia where he identified the Ecole des Metiers in Tunis as a place that could use some FOT help.

***NEWS OF TUNISIA********TUNISIAN NEWS********NEWS OF TUNISIA***-

- Tunisia is one of the 47 member states elected to the new United Nations "Human Rights Council" which replaces the old UN Human Rights Committee that became dominated and distorted by countries with terrible human rights records.

-The Tunisian Red Crescent and Ministry of Health organized a country-wide blood donation program for victims of the war in Lebanon. It is the only country to do so.

- Certainly all FOT members rejoice that Mariah Carey began her 2006 comeback tour, entitled "The Adventures of Mimi" in Tunis. Held on July 22 at the El Menzah Olympic Stadium, the event attracted 40,000 people. For we benighted souls who don't follow pop music, Ms. Carey has sold 160 million albums, making her the third most popular pop star after Elvis and the Beatles. Roll over, Beethoven!

- Still on the entertainment front: the American film director Francis Ford Coppola visited Tunisia this year to find the house that belonged to his grandparents, Camelio and Maria Zaza, who emigrated to Tunis from Italy. Apparently he has previously tried to find the house, always unsuccessfully. Nonetheless, he told the Tunisian newspaper Al Shuruq that he is proud of his Tunisian "roots" and has visited many places in the country, including the new movie studios in Hammamet belonging to impresario (and nephew of Habib Bourguiba) Tarek Ben Ammar.

- In late February of this year, President Ben Ali granted amnesty to about 1,600 prisoners. Of those, 1,298 were granted a full release while 359 were released on parole.

- This spring "The Green Party for Progress" was given legal recognition. It becomes Tunisia's ninth "legal party" and intends to promote "environmental awareness" and will also "struggle against all forms of natural imbalances"(?!)

- In May, Tunisian authorities prevented mourners from holding a memorial ceremony to honor human rights activist Adel Arfaoui who died unexpectedly on May 11. Police turned away family and friends of Arfaoui as they approached the Tunis headquarters of the Tunisian Human Rights League, where the ceremony was to be held.

- The Sunni attack team affiliated with al Qaeda that blew up the golden-domed (Shia) Askariya shrine in Iraq, which unleashed the sectarian Sunni-Shia slaughter that hasn't yet abated, included a Tunisian. Yusri Fakher Mohammed Ali, known as Abu Qudama, was part of the team that was led by an Iraqi and included another Iraqi, four Saudis, and this Tunisian who was later captured and confessed.

MEMBERSHIP: For FOT-only, send $15 to address at the head of newsletter. For combined NPCA and FOT membership, send $50 to NPCA, Suite 205, 1900 L Street, Washington, DC 20036. Specify your desired affiliation as Friends of Tunisia, not just "FOT."