International Peacekeepers Day and UN Idol - all in One Day!

May 29th is UN Peacekeeper's Day.  Kind of a big deal for the UN.  I find it really interesting that this year's UN Idol in Liberia is being held on that day , yet it is not listed as an official event for the day - go figure. Find more about Peacekeepers day here.  Last year it was the 60th anniversary of peacekeeping for the UN.

On a side note - in a few days there is likely to be a storm in the Gulf of Mexico :)  Liberia has started squeeze them out again .

A Leisurly Week-end Trip?

One week-end me and one of my American friends here (We will just call him "Joe" - mostly because that is his name) took a week-end break in Ghana. Now we both have been working for a long stretch and thought that the week-end away would do us both some good.

So here is what happened: As I was planning this trip, several things started piling up to cause stress for me. First of all my unit was having a "Board of Selection" a process by which UN Police are chosen for leadership positions. Now I have empowered many people on my team to be able to handle this "Board", but I still like to make sure all is lined up and propared to go. So I over-prepared I think for this Board.

Then something else happened. Instead of the usual 757 that the UN flies to Ghana, they sent out a message that only the Dash-7 would be available. OK so we go from hundreds of seats to 48. Add this to people leaving the mission for holiday travel, and I figured we would get scratched from the flight - it is a first come (first to apply for the flight) first serve basis.

After stressing over are we going to get to go - I called our "MOVCON" and confirmed that "Joe" and I were on the flight manifest. (What they didn't tell me was that we were the last two names on the list).

So we arrive at the airport that the fight takes off from and the airport isnt even open yet. When the doors opened some UN folks from what I will call uncivilized* nations all rushed to the door cutting in front of us. *An uncivilized nation is one that has not developed enough that the people stand in lines (ques for you British types) while waiting for service. Being that we were on the manifest, we decided that we did not need to worry and saw no need to jerk people out of line by their necks politely tell them to move to the back of the line.

Now let me tell you about the Dash-7. This aircraft was designed to be a Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft from the ground up. It only needs 500 meters of runway to take off. That is around 1625 feet. There were only 113 of these made. Ours was serial number 31. That means it cannot quite take off from an aircraft carrier without catapult assistance. It does not have a large payload though, and despite "MOVCON" putting out rules about weight of luggage it seems many people decided "they don't apply to me."

Here is what started to piss me off annoy me. "MOVCON" was letting people check their ginormous check bags/crates/boxes - many weighing ove 50 kilos (110 pounds). This is after the message was sent to everyone taking the flight that: As usual, baggage allowance will be strictly limited to a total of 15kgs per passenger and cargo uplift to/from Accra will not be possible.

So, they were taking luggage - and because of the weight - kicking off passengers. They only took 24 passengers (which left me and "Joe" out, not because we were at the end of the list, but because we were civilized and did not act like idiots by cutting the line. I find this almost typical "UN-thinking" - there are rules, but not for everyone, and luggage is more important than people - At least that is what the message seems to be.

So we get cut from the flight, but they tell us we can get another flight in the afternoon. We deceided to go ahead and go, even though now the two days will more be like one. Also instead of under two hours, the flight ended up being 4 hours , oh did I forget to tell you that "Joe" hates to fly?

We ended up making the trip, even got a little shopping done, and ended up relaxing by the pool at night with the live band of Africans that were playing traditional Mexican Folk songs. It would have been ok, but they did that rather poorly, yet somehow it was almost more entertaining because they were bad.

We flew back on the Dash-7 and made it back safe and sound. I needed the day off to relax from the preparation for the day off!!

Y'all stay safe!!

World AIDS Day

Well, I work for the UN

The UN's answer to AIDS is condoms

Lots of condoms

A guy came into my office today - called himself "Mr Condom" - had an inflated one on his hat and many taped to his clothes.

So, this is the answer?

Darfur - what is Really the Problem

Darfur seems to be the "politically correct" cause of actors and famous people and the like. Some even raising money for helicopters and such. The problem is that the helicopters needed are gunships - not some small 4 person helicopter. Gunships and armed transport helicopters are needed.

You doubt me? Check out what happened on the 15th:

Monday, 15 September 2008
A United Nations helicopter
in Darfur was able to land safely yesterday after being shot at in the third
incident of its kind in the war-wracked region of western Sudan.

The helicopter was on its way to Shangil Tobaya, where the
hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) has a base camp, from the North
Darfur town of Tawila when shots were fired about 37 kilometres before it could
reach the destination.

UNAMID reported that the helicopter, which was carrying 12
passengers and four crew members, was able to land safely following the
shooting. However, one of its fuel tanks was found to be
leaking.

The helicopter later left for El Fasher, the capital of
North Darfur state and the headquarters for UNAMID, after repairs were made. The
passengers were left behind for security reasons.

What the do-gooders usually do not understand is that the situation is long past all of the genocide and such. It is now mostly a dangerous situation for peacekeepers. Darfur does not want stability and peace in the region and many warlords do not either. If peace comes the warlords lose their power and they cannot control the areas they control.

Anyways - just my thoughts on the issue.

Stay Safe!

Woo Hoo for Me!

Yes, I feel a little like celebrating! First - my other blog got some love from two other sources this week! I thought it was great.

There was mention of it in Blog Catalog's Blog (I know almost redundant huh?)Then there was a great review at Doyoudiggit.com I am really impressed at how well written that review is! All I know is, it seems to pay off when you recognize other people's efforts and post about them. It seems that most of the internet is quite reciprocal when it comes to a little credit here and there. A big thanks to both Blog Catalog and Doyoudiggit.com !

Now for some other good news for me. I just was appointed as the Chief of personnel for the UNMIL UNPOL - I know a lot of UN's there. But for the United Nations Mission in Liberia UN Police, I am the chief personnel officer. So far everyone has treated me great - I am learning a lot about the job as I go!

Funny though - I still get paid the same :P

An UN-Idol in Liberia? I Think Not!

Some of you probably wonder what the haeck do you do for recreation while in Liberia?

Well, right after I got here, I saw this poster. I was thinking UN-Idol. Gee... I wonder... What the heck, I will enter! There was actually a prize offered!

So, I decide to participate. Now, I do not have aspirations of winning or anything, but the whole idea of UN-Idol makes me sort of giggle. OK, look - don't say "You-In - Eye-doll" Say un-idol. You have to at least smirk at that.

OK, what I didn't know was that This guy was going to be there... so now there is photgraphic evidence. :P (and yes you stereo-typers he is Chinese)

So now, with photographic evidence, and all this pressure... I figured I needed some sort of special cosultation. So I found this "guru" to see what he could offer me. After all, he looks authentic doesn't he?

So anyways... nah....nah, nah, nah , nah nah... I sing Crocodile Rock - complete with "gator chop" motions and all

I was a little worried with this diverse international audience how they would react. (No I didn't steal these shots from a come-to-Jesus meeting. This is a real shot of the audience as I performed.

So guess what I won? If you guessed a certificate for participatiing you are absolutely correct. I didn't even win a prize for "worst dressed act (I think the guru got that one)

Y'all stay safe!

A Day Late - Happy Peacekeepers Day!

OK, I know that I am like a day late and a dollar short. Yesterday, May 29 was International Peacekeepers Day. I should have posted sooner, but access to the internet was an issue. After all, I am a peacekeeper, so I should celebrate the day. It celebrates 60 years of international Peacekeeping.

This is how the day came about:

By resolution 57/129 of 11 December 2002, the General Assembly designated 29 May as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism,dedication and courage, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

The Assembly invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and individuals to observe the Day in an
appropriate manner. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations eace-keeping Forces in 1988.

You can find all about UN peacekeeping missions here. You can read about all the hoopla here. So anyways, happy belated peacekeepers day!

Bloggers Unite For Human Rights

I am not one to jump on a lot of band-wagons, but I am joining in this. I almost didn't just because Amnesty International joined in. However I work for the UN right now (I know, I know) specifically UNMIL, and I have seen many a human rights violations take place, and part of my job is to try and stop that.

All of that said, it brings me to this. What exactly is a "human right" and who decides what human rights are? For example, what many may consider a human right in the U.S. is a great priviledge elsewhere. Do we have a right to news access for example? A lot of folks do not have that. Do we have a right to a "safe" home, a house or an apartment?

The American Heritage Dictionary states

The basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.

The UN's list is long and wordy. You can see it here. Not everyone everywhere has all of those rights. Everyone in the U.S. doesn't even have all of those rights (I say that because the U.S. is a pretty rights oriented country)So what I wonder is this: is freedom from torture a human right? (the UN thinks so) Many countries routinely torture their prisoners and the populations of the countries think it is "normal." Just something to think about. Is a minimum amount of space per prisoner a human right (the UN thinks so) though I did not see that in the definition. Is having three meals a day a human right?

I may not understand all about human rights, even though I am hired as an "expert" on that among other matters, I still work for human rights where I can.

ANOTHER Mission?

Yep boys and girls... I am doing it again. Taking the plung into the police mission world - this time to Liberia. This time, I don't think there will be the "issues" different company and it is not a military thing. Sit ac and relax as we learn together about Liberia. You can learn more about police missions in general at Intl-Advisors.com (yes one of my sites) and soon a forum there too.


Wish me well :))