Murder in the Peace Corps

By Ed Warner
Since its founding in 1961, the Peace Corps¹ has sent 170,000 Americans to developing countries around the world offering help in projects ranging from housing to health to education to agriculture. Generally, they have adapted well to the countries they serve and have made solid contributions. But there was a notable exception in 1976 when one volunteer murdered another on a South Pacific island, and the crime was lost to memory until an enterprising writer decided² to investigate it.
Backpacking in the South Pacific in 1978, Philip Weiss first heard of a rather mysterious Peace Corps murder in the island kingdom of Tonga. As the years passed, more details emerged and finally in 2000 Mr. Weiss went to see the mother of the young woman who had been murdered.
He was shocked to learn she had not been told her daughter's killer³ had escaped punishment and was living undisturbed in New York City with a good salary. "Meeting her and realizing that she had no clue about what had happened to her daughter's killer, that the Peace Corps kept her in the dark, made me angry and that is what determined⁴ me to write this book," he says.
After exhaustive research and dozens of interviews of Americans and Tongans, Mr. Weiss pieced together the murder and its aftermath in his book, American Taboo⁵, also the subject of a recent documentary on the CBS television network.
The story begins in 1975 with the arrival of a group of Peace Corps volunteers in Tonga; among them Deborah Gardner, 23, pretty, vivacious⁶ and fun loving. The male volunteers took notice, especially Dennis Priven, brooding and rather tightly wound who always wore a six-inch hunting knife in his belt. His attentions made Deb Gardner uneasy, and she eventually asked for a transfer from Tonga.
There were ample warnings of the tragedy to come. Apparently⁷ obsessed⁸ with Ms. Gardner, Priven suggested putting a listening device in her small house or stealing her car. "This isn't Russia, Dennis," another volunteer cautioned. But the group supervisor⁹, Mary George, a former fashion model and Capitol Hill lobbyist, did not seem concerned.
Then one night Mr. Priven entered Deb Gardner's house, unsheathed his knife and stabbed her 22 times. Her death was lingering and painful. There was no question who did it. If there was ever an open-and-shut case, writes Mr. Weiss, this was it. But it didn't turn out that way.
The cover-up began at once, says the author. Trying to defend both Priven and her Tonga program, Mary George suggested some Tongan might have been the killer. The word "murder" was avoided in Peace Corps communications, and a psychiatrist¹⁰ and attorney were provided from overseas. In the ensuing trial, writes Mr. Weiss, the baffled Tongans were no match for the Americans with their mysterious jargon¹¹. Priven was found not guilty by reason of insanity¹².
While locked up, Priven had wondered if the incident would affect his career, but in fact, he didn't have much to worry about. Though he was supposed to be committed to a mental hospital in the United States, a psychiatrist ruled he was no danger to society, and so he landed a job with the Social Security administration in Brooklyn, where he remains¹³ to this day.
Patrick Hogan, associate Peace Corps director for Safety and Security, says the law was followed in the case, although many documents pertaining¹⁴ to it are no longer available. He says the crime was horrific and the pain of the Gardner family unimaginable. "We are a small organization, and it is very family like," he says. "To lose a family member, even many years ago, fills us with a profound sense of sadness, and the fact that the death was caused by another member of the family just compounds the sadness. And that sadness does not really diminish with time."
Philip Weiss thinks the U.S. Government still has something to answer for and hopes his book will lead to a long-deferred investigation¹⁵ of the case. At least, he believes he has been able to bring some resolution to the Tongans.
"The people there I think are very gratified that their efforts to find justice for Deb Gardner against the U.S. Government, actually, have been honored," he says. "While they did not do the best job of prosecuting¹⁶ Dennis Priven, they tried their guts¹⁷ out and were overwhelmed by the American government, which just wanted the incident to go away."
Associate Peace Corps Director Hogan says such a mishap¹⁸ could never occur again. There would be an immediate¹⁹ investigation and an ombudsman would be assigned to the family of any Peace Corps volunteer in harm's way. And the family would be kept informed on a regular basis.
While interviewing people with some knowledge of the case, Mr. Weiss found several who would not discuss it, Dennis Priven among them. "He has disconnected his phone and he has declined all comment," he says. "When I sent him a copy of the book, as I promised him, it came back with a giant sticker on it saying: 'Refused.'"
But if Mr. Priven will not talk, Mr. Weiss expects others will after reading his book and perhaps finally bring some justice to the murdered Peace Corps volunteer.
For focus, this is Ed Warner

注释：
Peace Corps 美国和平队
Tonga 汤加
undisturbed 没有受到干扰的
clue 线索
exhaustive 详尽的
aftermath 结果，后果
vivacious 活泼的
ample 充足的
tragedy 悲剧
device 装置，设备
lobbyist 说客
unsheathe 拔出
stab 刺，中伤
lingering 迟缓的
open-and-shut 一目了然的
psychiatrist 精神病医师
ensuing 接下来的
insanity 精神错乱
Brooklyn 布鲁克林（纽约市西南部一区）
horrific 恐怖的
mishap 灾祸
ombudsman 调查官，巡视员

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

6 vivacious   

adj.活泼的，快活的

参考例句：

• She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
• The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

9 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

10 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

11 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

12 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

17 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

19 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。