The news this week was filled with stories of people who died while attempting to cross the sea from Libya to Italy. Hundreds of people trying to escape lives of oppression, war and poverty only made it to a watery grave. Those desperate people paid huge amounts of money to be smuggled in cramped vessels […]

Looking out from my room on the 18th floor of the Diamond Hotel, Manila Bay was tranquil as far as I could see; traffic flowed along the tree-lined Roxas Boulevard; passenger “Jeepneys” competed with tricycles and taxis on the streets below and people didn’t seem to be bothered by the hot and sunny day. I

During our time in the Foreign Service, we have been assigned to many of the capitals of the world. In each of these places we were provided with a safe and secure place to live. We stayed two or three years at each location and became very familiar with what we could see from our

The world is full of tales of human suffering and misery caused by a lack of opportunity. Some seek the opportunity education might bring or they just want to find a job and make a living. In many cases it looks like money could bring opportunity if there was enough. In some places they want

     Why do they make such a big deal about Easter?  The Sunday before and the week leading up to Easter Sunday are bigger than Christmas in many countries.  Here in the US, special events are scheduled all week.  My sister-in-law said a lot of businesses will be closed on Easter Sunday, so we should