review

I called the office of IFRE at Dallas yesterday to schedule a volunteer trip to Kenya in June. I was appalled at the conversation that followed with the person named 'Alex' that picked the phone. His language was heavily punctuated with racial undertones and he tried his best not to enroll me into the program. He insulted my country of origin (India) by asking why I wanted to visit a third world country when I myself belonged to the third world, adding, "Our programs are for people from the 1st world that want to help people in the third world".
I asked him why he was being so hostile just because I didn't have a US passport. He responded saying "You people come into America as immigrants, illegally. And now you want to do charity?"
When he asked me why I wanted to do volunteer work, I explained that I was going to join a graduate program at Oxford University (in the UK) in the fall of 2010 and wanted to specialize in social enterprise. He responded "I'll give you a piece of advise from the heart and the brain - There is no need to go to Oxford if you cannot remove your heavy accent. All your money will go waste".
I was aghast. I warned that I would publish a transcript of the conversation in the New York Times, upon which he hung up.