Laura Bush Does Peru: Toilets for the People!
Laura Bush had an interesting itinerary this past weekend in Peru. I think it merits more public attention than does her husband’s hobnobbing with APEC leaders at the final summit meeting.
Of note:
(1) She didn’t come with W. (He flew with Arroz.) Instead of arriving at Lima in Airforce One with her husband, Laura Bush flew from Panama to southern Peru. Some bloggers have read into the separate travel itineraries (strained marital relations), but I’m skipping those speculations because…
(2) Laura Bush should be commended for visiting Pisco, one of the towns ravaged by the August 2007 earthquake. Her visit drew attention to an area that’s faded from most people’s memory. One and a half years later, Pisco and Ica and nearby towns still are in ruins, without many of the sanitary and social services that make life bearable.
About 520 people were killed, 1,844 injured in the August 2007 earthquake in southern Peru. Nearly 53,000 houses were destroyed, according to INDECI records. An additional 50,000 were badly damaged.
I give the outgoing First Lady a thumbs-up for ditching Lima on Friday, Nov. 21, in favor of this dusty disaster area. She visited a housing reconstruction project partially funded by USAID and gave a press conference in which she praised the “warmth” of the Peruvian people (see transcript below).
She also mentioned that she was pleased to see that the new houses have bathrooms and toilets. That comment might sound strange to American ears, but it makes sense if you know Peru: many homes don’t have toilets and sewage connections. Whoever briefed Laura on the USAID project had the intelligence to make a talking point out of the toilets; the comment gives the impression that the First Lady is in touch with the realities of life in southern Peru.
Yes, I know the information is fed to her, but consider this: How many U.S. citizens do you know who have even an inkling of what life is like for people in developing countries?
(3) Laura and one of her daughters also tried ceviche in Peru — not a surprise, but they did sample it at Pescados Capitales, one of my favorite restaurants. (See my post from last week on the restaurant’s APEC menu.)
Owner Nguyen Chavez tells me that Mrs. Bush and one of her daughters ate cebiche de lenguado, grilled octopus, salmón en salsa de alcaparras con risotto de legumbres (the dish known as “vanidad” on the menu) y grilled tuna with garbanzo bean salad (“impaciencia”).
She also drank a pisco sour.
Here’s the official White House transcript of a Q&A section at the Adobe Housing Reconstruction Project, in Pisco, which Laura Bush visited last Friday. The project uses reinforced adobe, which is superior to pure-mud adobe but inferior to brick and mortar (which is expensive in Peru);
November 21, 2008
5:07 P.M. EST
MRS. BUSH: I’m so happy to have had the chance to see this house that we just walked in with the new residents who are going to live here. The house is built so that it’s earthquake-proof, earthquake-safe, and this is a wonderful model for houses that are being rebuilt all over this part of Peru that suffered devastation from the earthquake in 2007.
This is a great example of a program that is funded in some part by USAID, in other parts by donations from other parts of the world, CARE — the NGO, CARE, has been really in charge of this project — and then of course by the government of Peru. And we’re hoping that all of these groups coming together can rebuild faster than any one group could do by itself.
And one of the things we want for these new nice houses is bathrooms, toilets, and fuel-efficient kitchens, and I got to see that in this house back in the back part of it. And that’s part of the contribution from USAID.
So now I want to wish the new residents the very best. It’s really a thrill to get to see them walk into their beautiful new house. And I want to encourage everybody here to keep working, keep rebuilding, use this good earthquake-proof house as a model, as you continue to rebuild.
So thank you all very much. Thanks a lot. I’m very happy to be here in Peru for the APEC meeting.
Q (As translated) Are you only doing work related to rebuilding houses or is it also educational assistance for children — the victims, the children victims of this earthquake? Will there be any other kind of social assistance?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I’ll have to ask the USAID person who’s here with us about education. But when we were just at the health clinic, the center for health, some of those health workers were trained with funds from USAID. And I’m not really sure about the school help, the education help, but maybe you can answer that.
AID PERSON*: (As translated) At USAID we have programs related to education, health, alternative development, and the programs in education focus mostly in the areas of San Martin and Ucayali, working with regional and local governments to improve learning systems for children.
Q (As translated) What are your upcoming activities as far as APEC in Lima?
MRS. BUSH: I will be with all of the spouses of the leaders who have come for APEC. We have a spouses program that will be hosted by your First Lady, Mrs. Garcia*, and we’re going to tour and see some different things in Lima that I’m really looking forward to visiting — an archaeological site and some other things. I think it’ll really be a very interesting and fun conference. So I’m looking forward to it.
Q (As translated) This is your last trip to our country as First Lady. What is the impression that you have of this country now that your husband is leaving office?
MRS. BUSH: This is our last international trip, so Peru is the last country that we’ll visit, George and me, as he’s sitting President. And one of the things I’m struck with from all of my visits to Peru since George has been President is the warmth of the people of Peru. And I appreciate very much the way people welcomed me in the clinic, and on the streets, and waving to people. And I thank them very, very much for their very warm hospitality.
Thank you all. Muchas gracias. God bless you all.
Links:
Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance July 2008 bulletin on Peru
Governor Triveño: Reconstruction of Ica, Peru to take another 10 years (Living in Peru)
Remembering the Peru Earthquake, One Year Later (An American in Lima)
Help Peru’s Earthquake Victims Rebuild Their Lives (An American in Lima)