Conversation with the American Ambassador – Part I

On Monday I was notified that the State Department in Washington had approved my request and to interview the American Ambassador to the Gambia for my blog, and that I could come in the following day (yesterday). I had met Ambassador Joseph Stafford at an event a few weeks earlier and he offered for me to come in and speak with him about any questions I had, but it would have to be off the record until approval was received. Because I wanted to share the outcome of our discussion, I waited until it could be official. We were joined at the interview by Ms. Pat Alsupp, the Deputy Chief of Mission.

Ambassador Stafford grew up in Oklahoma and has been serving in the Foreign Service for almost thirty years, with posts mainly in North Africa. According to his official bio, he spent 1979 in Tehran at the US Embassy (the year American hostages were taken) as a Consular officer. As a result of his postings in places like Mauritania and Algeria he speaks classical Arabic. This is his second position in Sub-Saharan Africa, following his previous post as Deputy Chief of Mission in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.

General Impressions of the Gambia:

The Ambassador observed first that this is a country with a great deal of religious tolerance, a sense of stability and social peace, and that it has avoided the social turmoil found throughout West Africa. It’s got hospitable people, a fascinating cultural and ethnic mosaic, and is making progress in terms of development. The Gambian Government is accessible to him and to the Embassy in general. To top it off, it’s a “pretty agreeable” place to live.

Public Diplomacy:

The issue of public diplomacy has taken prominence in recent years following rising anti-American sentiment with the current war in Iraq, so the effort to reach out and win the “hearts and minds” campaign for the US is an important one.

He feels the Gambia “is a fertile environment for public diplomacy” and that there is “a reservoir of pro-US feeling.” This is due to a combination of admiration for US democratic institutions, economic strength and technology, along with the sheer number of Gambians who have lived or studied in the US.

The type of work that is carried out to advance public diplomacy takes a number of forms, primarily:
Addressing high school and university students about American policy in Africa. Various Embassy officials give these talks at least once per month.
Outreach to the Muslim community, by hosting a dinner at the Ambassador’s residence to break the Ramadan fast, consulting with religious leaders, distributing information on the life of the Muslim community in the US at various receptions, and promoting travel by religious leaders for first-hand exposure to the US through various educational exchanges.
Connecting the African with the African-American community. This is done primarily by holding programs for Black History Month. This year the Embassy hosted the screening of the 2-Part PBS documentary “African American Lives” at the “American Corner” at the Gambian National Library in which 35-40 people attended. The “Roots” connection also is important in this regard. Every other year a “Roots Festival” has been held in the Gambia (not sponsored by the US Embassy or US Government), in which hundreds of African-Americans visit the Gambia and engage in grassroots assistance. These travelers serve as informal goodwill ambassadors and when the Embassy does “come across these delegations [they’ll] include them in representational events that [they] host.”
Peace Corps presence: there are about 100 Peace Corps volunteers that serve as representatives of the US (unofficially) at the village level throughout the Gambia. Their consistent and important role in creating a positive image of Americans abroad cannot be overstated.

The US government-sponsored development programs also play a role in public diplomacy and will be included in the continuation of the interview in tomorrow’s blog.