"As a test of her idea, Hughes asked embassies in 14 Islamic countries this
summer to come up with pilot programmes for that age bracket, and spent nearly
$1 million on projects that involved about 6,000 youths and hundreds of local
partnering organisations. Participants included more than 2,000 girls in Turkey
who attended a basketball camp and 80 children from rural schools in Malaysia
who learned about Thomas Jefferson and other US heroes on an American-style
camping trip with embassy staff and families. "
This is one of those areas where theory and practice are not the same. In theory this is a great idea, to create strong healthy images of America in the children's minds. However in practice it has some real concerns. If they are going to camp to learn basketball, soccer and football then it isn't something that would raise a lot of flags. However there is a concern when at these camps you are teaching them about American history, and its heroes. It gets close to the line of becoming propaganda, and in doing so opens the door for others to make accusations of brain washing. History is a touchy issue, Regan for example. You can tell them how he worked hard to end communism, but will you tell them how he supported dictators in Latin America? There is a dishonesty in telling half the story and a counter productivity in telling it all. Keep to the sports.
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