UN Radio

UN and Africa
Programme Number: 154
Week of: Sunday, 27th May, 2007
Recording Date: Thursday, 31st May, 2007
Topical Issue(s):

" The United Nations personnel around the world commemorate the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. At the UN Headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General participated at a wreath laying ceremony where he stressed that it must be remembered that the burden of peacekeeping is borne by individuals.

" Several peacekeeping operations are in Africa. Some of the UN peacekeepers who are participating in these operations talk about their work and send messages on the occasion of the Day. They include two peacekeepers from Kenya serving with the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Producer/presenter: Derrick Mbatha
Editor/co-producer: Ransford Cline-Thomas
Production Assistants: Nyi Nyi Teza
Studio Engineer: Zach Prewitt
Duration: 15'00"

RESENTER: This is United Nations Radio in New York.

*** SIG TUNE *** (Please, play briefly, dip upon wave, and hold under narr.)
PRESENTER:

Hello and welcome to UN and Africa. I'm Derrick Mbatha.

*** SIG TUNE ***: (Bring Sig Tune up briefly, dip and hold under)

PRESENTER:

Today's programme is devoted to the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
CLIP 1: BAN KI-MOON
"The wreath we lay today will not be here forever. But the memory of all those who have died will always be with us."

PRESENTER:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a wreath laying ceremony at United Nations Headquarters.
Also in this programme you will hear from United Nations peacekeepers themselves talking about their missions.

CLIP 2: MAJOR JEROKE
"Whenever we wear those berets in the mission area, you can see the people feel comfortable. They feel safe when peacekeepers are there."

Later in the programme, you will hear more from two peacekeepers who are serving with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

So stay tuned to UN and Africa.

*** SIG TUNE *** (Bring up briefly, dip and hold under until first sentence)

UN Secretary-General Lays a Wreath in Honour of Fallen Peacekeepers

PRESENTER:

They come from different parts of the world, from different cultures, different racial or ethnic backgrounds, but they all share one thing in common: the mission to help rebuild peace in areas recovering from conflict. They are United Nations peacekeepers, also known as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets, because of the light blue colour of their head gear as they carry out peace missions around the world. Of course, Africa has had its own share of conflicts, in fact starting in the sixties when many countries emerged from colonial rule to the present in such areas of Somalia and Darfur in Sudan. And so, as in previous years, the 29th of May was observed as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. UN Radio's Ransford Cline Thomas reports.
NARRATOR:
In his opening remarks during the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, the head of United Nations peacekeeping operations, Jean Marie Guehenno spoke about the significance and meaning of the Day and why member states thought it necessary to establish and observe such a day.
CUT 1: JEAN MARIE GUEHENNO
Today we commemorate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, a day established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002 in recognition of the sacrifice and the contribution to the promotion of peace and security of all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

NARRATOR:
Mr. Guehenno, like the Secretary-General and many of his staff, wore a blue ribbon to express solidarity with United Nations peacekeepers. This year's commemoration came at a time when the United Nations is expected to do more peacekeeping operation than ever before. Currently, the United Nations has deployed more than one hundred thousands peacekeepers from over one hundred countries. Again the Head of UN Peacekeeping Operations, Jean Marie Guehenno.
CUT 2: JEAN MARIE GUEHENNO
I would like to welcome you to this wreath laying ceremony in honour of the 107 peacekeepers from 46 different countries who lost their lives in 2006 while in the service of the United Nations.

NARRATOR:
Following that introduction by the head of peacekeeping operations, the United Nations Secretary-General, flanked by UN peacekeepers in full uniform, laid a wreath in honour of peacekeepers.
CUT 3: BAN KI-MOON
Excellencies, Dear colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, may I invite all of you to observe a minute of silence for our befallen colleagues.

NARRATOR:

After observing a minute of silence, the Secretary-General noted that United Nations peacekeeping is a model of burden-sharing among countries. However, he pointed out that the brunt of this burden is borne by individuals. Some of these individuals are in fact, memorialized in the very spot where the solemn wreath laying ceremony took place.
CUT 4: BAN KI-MOON
We are mindful of that as we gather here in front of the Chagall stained glass window memorializing Dag Hammarskjold and his colleagues, who died on a peace mission to Congo, as we stand under the watchful eyes of Count Folke Bernadotte, who was assassinated while working as a UN mediator in the Middle East, as we look to the noble but tattered flag here which was rescued from the bombing of our Baghdad headquarters, where twenty-two of our colleagues perished.

NARRATOR:

The Secretary-General said that he could not accept these loses as the cost of doing business and that he was determined to do everything possible to safeguard the security and safety of United Nations personnel in the field.
CUT 5: BAN KI-MOON
The wreath we lay today will not be here forever. But the memory of all those who have died will always be with us. Let us strive to ensure that these monuments to the fallen will be joined by even greater tributes to their work: lasting peace in societies that had been torn apart by war.

NARRATOR:

And a number of these societies are in Africa. In fact, the risks that peacekeepers continue to face, as the Secretary-General noted, was brought home just last Friday with the brutal killing of Lieutenant-Colonel Ehab Nazih, a United Nations peacekeeper from Egypt who was spearheading efforts to resolve the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. Reporting for UN Radio, I am Ransford Cline-Thomas.

STING UN AFRICA THEME MUSIC

Peacekeepers Share Thoughts on International Day of UN Peacekeepers

PRESENTER:

As we said earlier, United Nations peacekeepers come from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds and speak various languages but they are all united by one mission, to help bring about peace in countries emerging from conflicts. UN Radio's Bissera Kostova prepared this report on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
UN Peacekeepers come from a hundred and fifteen countries. Here are some of their diverse voices.

MIX (different languages, peacekeepers introducing themselves)

NARR: We asked peacekeepers in Sudan, Eritrea and Haiti, many of whom have served in multiple UN missions, to tell us of their thoughts on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers and their feelings and experiences on the job.

Australian: My name is Kenneth Ross, I am from Australia. I came to Sudan on the 10th of February, 2007. On peacekeepers day I think it is very important that we all remember the fallen comrades who have given their lives whilst working in the United Nations.

Zambian: My name is Captain Innocent Jowe. I come from Zambia. When you look at the work that peacekeepers do, when you attain peace in that particular country, that brings so much happiness to you as a peacekeeper.

Young: My name is Sabrina Young. I'm from the United States. This is my second mission. In the Haiti mission I arrived in November 2005. In police work we are very few, we are a minority and it's always a pleasure to see the thoughts and hear what the women have to say in reference to gender issues and any time I can offer my support to encourage them to continue and let them know how important it is to continue in law enforcement is very positive, and it's a blessing to me.

Kenyan: My name is Major Njoroge from Kenya. I'm the Kenyan Admin. Company Commander. I remember I was in UNPROFOR in the former Yugoslavia, and one time in Kenya I met a person from Croatia, where we were serving and he was very happy when we talked in our hotel in Mombasa and he told me that he was there during those times of war and he appreciated what the Kenyan contingent there did for their country. After a tour of duty the main message I will have for my fellow Kenyans is that we should maintain peace, peace is very important. Also that whenever there is any problem between the people or with the system, people should strive to talk out those issues, rather than take up arms and fight against each other because the consequences are terrible and they will last for a long time and the gap that will be created will be very difficult to bridge in the near future.

NARR: Thank you to our radio colleagues in Sudan, Eritrea and Haiti for bringing us the voices of UN peacekeepers in their missions. Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.

(SHORT) STING UN AFRICA THEME MUSIC

Two Kenyan Peacekeepers Talk about UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea

PRESENTER:

And now let's hear from two of the interviews that our colleague in Eritrea, Stella Vuzo, did with United Nations peace-keepers from Kenya who are currently serving with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, UNMEE. You already heard part of this conversation which Stella had with Major Samuel Waweru Njoroge from Kenya.
Njoroge: My duties are basically to provide security to UNMEE facilities, namely the Force Headquarters communication village, the UN sub headquarters in Addis Ababa, and also I do other admin duties, basically transportation within the mission area because we have heavy transportation trucks that we use to transport goods and cargos for UNMEE and other peacekeepers in the region.

Vuzo: When joining the military service, did you have any idea that you might become a peacekeeper one day?

Njoroge: Honestly, to tell you the truth, I never even had a thought of that. I knew about UN form my school work, but I never thought one day I would be a peacekeeper.

Vuzo: Did you serve in combat before coming here?

Njoroge: Yes, I'm basically a general service officer. Back home I'm a combatant officer and within our country we have some problems, especially in the north region, so maintaining peace is not new to us.

Vuzo: So how do you describe the difference between serving in combat in your country Kenya, and serving here in the peacekeeping mission as a peacekeeper?

Njoroge: Now, there isn't much difference because basically we use the same principles when you are doing peacekeeping that you've got to use minimum force, that negotiations and those kind of stuff are the ones which are eventually to make peace, in the round table, because you cannot achieve peace through the barrel of the gun.

Vuzo: Is peacekeeping work then a very satisfying work? Is it satisfying work?

Njoroge: It is because whenever we wear those blue helmets in the mission area, you can see the people feel comfortable, they feel safe when the UN peacekeepers are there.

Vuzo: So as a peacekeeper, what challenges do you face in your day to day activities here in the mission area?

Njoroge: The main challenges that we face, firstly that we are away from our home country, we are also away from our families and also the fact that we've got to abide to? those rules and those challenges really stress the normal peacekeeper.

Vuzo: Is there any aspect of peacekeeping that you find particularly rewarding?

Njoroge: Yes I do, when I interact with the local people, people of that country. When they express their appreciation of what we are doing I feel that I really have done a good job.

(SHORT) STING UN AFRICA THEME MUSIC

PRESENTER:

Women are, of course, playing their part in peacekeeping operations in Africa, as Stella Vuzo found out from another Kenyan peacekeeper in the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Abdi: I'm Corporal Fatuma Abdi. I'm from Kenya.

Vuzo: Please describe to all of us as to what you do her in this mission.

Abdi: First I'm a peacekeeper, and then I work in the department of logistics.

Vuzo: Did you serve in combat before serving as a peacekeeper, in combat in your country for example?

Abdi: Yea, yea.

Vuzo: So what would you say is a difference between serving in combat in Kenya and coming here to this mission to serve as a peacekeeper?

Abdi: Being in combat in my country is just a normal duty like the other ones, but in peacekeeping that's a different issue, because you deal with peace here.

Vuzo: So is peacekeeping work satisfying work?

Abdi: Yea sure, it's good.

Vuzo: How specifically?

Abdi: You know, to deal with peace is something very delicate but we have to work hard.

Vuzo: So as a peacekeeper, what challenges do you face in this mission area?

Abdi: It's hard because myself, I'm married. To be outside from my family, it's a hard issue but we have to work because even we are happy to see people get peace. Yea, peace is everything.

Vuzo: So as a female peacekeeper, are there any specific challenges you'd say that you face by being in this mission area?

Abdi: Yea sure, but you know, nowadays we say gender equality, so we have to work hard like men, even better than them. So we are very happy. I encourage other countries to bring women to the peacekeeping mission.

PRESENTER:

That was Corporal Fatuma Abdi a peacekeeper from Kenya who is serving with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, UNMEE, speaking with Stella Vuzo of UNMEE Radio.

SIG TUNE ((Bring up briefly, dip and hold under)
PRESENTER:
And that's all for this special edition of UN and Africa, devoted to the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. Our Production Assistant was Nyi Nyi Teza and our sound engineer was Zach Pruwitt. I am Derrick Mbatha saying bye bye.

*** CLOSING MUSIC ***