From Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea to George Clooney’s Guide in Sudan

I finally identify with Aunt Deb. Usually, when she appears on SoftPower/FulStories, she asks why we should get involved internationally. This time she first asks George Clooney how any man could be so gorgeous.

I confess that I envy Matt Brown, the journalist and former Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea who was assigned to accompany Clooney to the frontlines of the war in Sudan during the Obama administration. I envy his sitting by Clooney’s bedside when Clooney got sick during a malaria outbreak. I would have willingly taken on Matt Brown’s assignment itself—even after the United Nations felt compelled to withdraw the lodging, helicopter transportation, security, and other support it had planned to provide because the government in Khartoum opposed its involvement.

I'm as impressed by Matt Brown as I am by George Clooney, whose celebrity gave him the ability to draw attention to a part of the world that most Americans seldom think about but which both men knew and cared about.
As much as I envy Matt Brown's assignment, I could certainly understand his relief when the assignment was over and Clooney’s safety was no longer his responsibility. He compared it to being a daycare provider: you hold your breath while the children are your responsibility, and then the parents return and the responsibility is theirs again. Imagine being responsible for bringing George Clooney safely home from a war zone!

This episode also reminds me of how much more I want to learn about Africa. I know considerably more about North Africa, but listening to Matt made me want to learn about Sudan, Guinea, and other countries farther south. I also learned more about human-rights organizations such as Enough and Not On Our Watch.

At the time of Matt Brown and George Clooney’s trip, USAID was thriving and able to do important work in places like Sudan. Listening now, knowing how much of that capacity has since been dismantled, I hope we can persuade people like Aunt Deb to look beyond our country and even beyond George Clooney’s good looks!