Confronting conflict.

After working with the United Nations in New York for over 20 years, it was with a feeling of excitement and anticipation that I prepared for my first assignment with a peacekeeping mission in a conflict area.

In 1993, I was part of the United Nations electoral team in Cambodia which supervised successfully the first election in over 30 years and the formation of the new government there. A year later, in April 1994, buoyed from the experience of working alongside the Cambodian people, I applied for and was accepted for UNOSOM II in Somalia. This was the effort by the United Nations to accomplish a similar mission, as well as assist in humanitarian efforts to end the famine and combat the many diseases afflicting the Somalis. It was reported that the population had been reduced by almost half, due to famine, disease and casualties of the civil war. Then, in June 1995, I joined UNAVEM III in Angola.

While assigned to UNOSOM II in Mogadishu, I worked as an editor for the newspaper Soomaaliya MAANTA, which means Somalia Daily. In addition to international staff members, our section comprised local freelance journalists, translators, typesetters, printers and distributors. The dangerous situation in the country prevented anyone other than Somalis from going out to get material for the newspaper. Payment was given for each article accepted and they were submitted in Somali and then translated into English. The stories were on events in the country, including the various ways the people dealt with the civil war, and the practical self-improvement projects they were carrying out to rebuild their lives. Soomaaliya MAANTA was published in English and Somali and distributed mainly to the Somalis who also used the English version to improve their language skills.

Our Somali colleagues also used every opportunity to learn from us whatever they could about reporting, typesetting and printing. We in turn learnt to respect the differences in cultures and customs.

Having lived in Trinidad and in the United States where heavy rain or snow storms would be reasons given sometimes for not going to work, I could not help but be amazed that not even gunfire and mortar shelling hindered the Somalis from reporting for duty.

Another observation I made was that they are avid soccer fans, and the World Cup Series was a good diversion for them from the local perils. There were few buildings equipped with generators and most homes were without electricity and running water. It was reported that each evening during the games, all the clans stopped fighting and were glued to one of the few television sets in the village to watch the soccer matches.

Most international staff in Mogadishu lived and worked in a compound which was about 20 acres in size and was heavily guarded by United Nations peace-keeping forces from several countries. I left the compound only when I had to travel to the airport, and then it was in a convoy, which included heavily armed soldiers. We were, therefore, unable to see firsthand what was going on outside the compound.

One day, a secretary from my office, whose father had worked as a journalist with UNOSOM but had been killed, asked me if I could convince the head of my department to allow her to stay in the compound for the night. She was afraid to go home because there was heavy fighting in her village. I arranged it, but then she was torn between staying in the relative safety of the compound and going home. She was also afraid that if she failed to arrive home, her mother and seven younger sisters and brothers would think that she too had been killed. In the end, she decided to leave and she arrived safely. This really brought home the fact that we were in a dangerous situation. She told me that in her house, there was only one room with a roof in which the whole family slept, as the roof of another room had been stolen and the others were severely damaged in the conflict.

We also shared in the anxiety and fears of war when, on several occasions, rocket-propelled grenades fell in our compound and stray bullets penetrated the walls of some of our rooms, narrowly missing staff members. During periods when fighting in our area was especially intense, we either had to work while wearing helmets and flak jackets, or go to the shelters until it was safe to come out.

Through it all, in spite of the danger, the tension and foreboding I sometimes felt, I still had a sense of camaraderie with my colleagues as we worked together for the betterment of the people of Somalia. I also found the strength to cope with the situation by praying and worshipping with them.

The last four months of my assignment with UNOSOM were spent in Nairobi, Kenya, where I worked in the Liaison Office. I was responsible for briefing new staff members who were on their way to Mogadishu, making arrangements for them to be met and accommodated there, as well as providing personnel support to staff in Nairobi. Because of the fragile situation prevailing in Somalia at the time, I was on a 24-hour alert in case an evacuation of United Nations civilian personnel from Mogadishu to Nairobi became necessary.

In June 1995, I went to Luanda, Angola, and was assigned to the Personnel Office of UNAVEM III. My duties included screening, testing and recruitment of local personnel to perform a variety of support tasks. Many days, I came face to face with the desperation of people willing to accept any job they could get because of the unemployment situation caused by the civil war. Even Angolans with post-secondary education readily accepted entry-level clerical and manual jobs. This brought out a feeling of social responsibility towards the candidates, sometimes even having to help them get a meal if they had to remain all day for the processing of their applications. I had a great sense of fulfillment in being able to place a candidate, especially when I saw the expressions of joy emanating from their faces. It made every inconvenience I lived through in Angola worth it.

I also worked in the international personnel section, not only in an official capacity, but as someone who was available at all times to give personal advice and encouragement to my colleagues, both international and local.

The local staff faced the problems of the civil war, famine, diseases and sometimes separation from their loved ones which resulted from death and having to flee from their homes in fear. On the other hand, the international staff also suffered the effects of the war, even death, and the loneliness of being away from their families. It was difficult for them not having their families to nurse them when they were ill (many contracted malaria), and having to deal with problems at home at a distance. It was therefore crucial for personnel staff to be supportive during these times; after all, we were both colleagues and family.

We worked late into the evening six days per week. A requirement of field service assignment is a willingness to do any job that is necessary - no task is ever too small.

Living in areas like these, it was easier to relate to the problems facing the people - you were in the midst of it, you lived it and shared it. And because I was in a more fortunate position, I was able to give aid in every way possible.

In our spare time, we socialized at each others homes. It was dangerous to go into the city, especially at night, so on the few times that we had dinner downtown, we would travel as a group. During the warmer months, we would sometimes go to the beach on Sundays and found pleasure taking food, snacks and drinks to the children who lived in shacks there. Clean drinking water is a rare commodity in Angola, so the children would grab for and gulp down the water we were able to take to them.

A Catholic priest from an orphanage in Luanda came to our complex each week to pray. We solicited contributions from staff members and donated it to the orphanage which housed about 200 boys between the ages of 9 and 14. The money was used to build a dining room and to purchase supplies for technical training.

Having worked with the UN Chronicle at Headquarters for many years, it was indeed a learning, rewarding and unforgettable experience to witness first hand some of the things about which we had reported in these countries over the years. Our aim was always to do whatever we could to help bring peace and stability to the country where we were serving. I would strongly encourage every staff member to take the opportunity to make mission service a part of their work and life experience while at the United Nations.

Death

Death is perplexing, only Allah knows it Yet every creature acknowledges it Death will be tasted by all The fish in the deep sea, and snakes in caves Responsible and undependable alike Polite, cordial ladies, and selfish, worldly ones Everyone will have his life terminated one day I assent to this reality without objection Yet I worry and feel sadness inside me The main reason for my trouble is The large number of Somalis that have passed away Those slain and tortured by barbaric gunmen The ones killed or wounded by stray bullets Those that have become amputees and disabled The ones that have starved to death, heartbroken I cannot list them all in this short poem Oh! Those that have had their loved ones taken by death

This poem by a freelance journalist was published in Soomaaliya MAANTA.

Annette Ifill is an Editorial Assistant at the UN Chronicle.