Today’s Peacekeepers

Assisting Communities in Need

United Nations peacekeepers have countless stories of voluntary assistance to local people in their areas of responsibility, either by ad hoc contacts or answering calls for help, or through efforts to contribute to societies in need. Often it is these acts of support, bolstered by the proximity of military equipment and field skills, which can make the difference in a population’s attitude toward peacekeepers. Stories from the field, in Eritrea and Ethiopia, and Timor-Leste, show how.

UNMEE troops take time to help

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is mandated with monitoring the temporary security zone between the two countries, and with assisting in the implementation of the peace agreement.  It has also provided logistical support to the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, which was to delineate changes to the border, over which the countries fought between 1998 and 2000. The Commission has begun publishing its decisions on the border, which remain controversial in some locales. A classical peacekeeping mission, as of 1 May 2003, UNMEE has deployed 4,080 troops, 229 international and 259 local civilian staff who are to ensure the parties remain at peace and that the local populations in the affected areas.

Born out of Badme

    On a quiet December evening, UN military observers (UNMOs) were winding down after the day’s patrols, when the village silence was broken by the sound of a woman’s voice. A nurse from the Badme Village Clinic had come worried that a patient in labour was in danger, after 18 hours trying to give birth to her first child.

The UNMOs immediately began medical evacuation procedures: approval was obtained from local authorities and a convoy of UN vehicles with patient, husband and nurse inside along with officers from Zambia, Jordan and Rumania took off for the hospital, an hour’s drive away.

As the convoy crossed Sembel village, just after midnight, loud screams emerged from one of the vehicles. These soon mingled with the cries of a newborn baby.

After the nurse assured the UNMOs that both mother and baby were in good health, the group returned to Badme, arriving at the family home at 2:30 a.m. where a crowd of relatives and neighbours welcomed the convoy.

Major Valentin Pacuraar, in whose car the baby was born, recalled: “I was in the middle of the event. Everybody surrounded us with warmth and kindness… I’m thrilled even now.”

Grenade victim saved

On 1 February, UN military observers based in Shilalo, Eritrea, had just returned from a long patrol when a Jordanian officer rushed in with news of a bad incident: two brothers, Teklehaimande Mahari Baire and Weldezgi Mahari Baire aged 13 and 11, had accidentally detonated an Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) believed to be a rocket-propelled grenade in a nearby village. Their condition was critical. Major Freddy Skjenken from Norway and Captain Danilo Lorusso from Italy grabbed their first aid kits and rushed to the scene, only to find that Teklehaimande had died. Weldezgi Mahari Baire was alive but in critical condition. With no medical assistance available in the area, the two UNMOs began providing life saving first aid to the young boy who had multiple splinter injuries on his upper body and genital area and was bleeding profusely. The two UNMOs were well trained in emergency first aid, with Major Skjenken having served in a medical unit during the Gulf War.

A crowd of locals gathered, pressing in on the rescue operation. The UNMOs managed to stop the bleeding and attach intravenous fluids, but they realized this was a stopgap, as internal hemorrhaging was continuing. Within minutes, a UN helicopter was airborne en route to the Jordanian Battalion hospital in Asmara, where the boy was declared out of danger a few days later.

Peacekeepers rehabilitate village school

The small farming community of Semema in the Northern Tigray region of Ethiopia, like its neighbors, lacks the basic infrastructure to support its population. Before UNMEE intervened, the 1,200 primary students went to school in a building without classrooms, windows or desks.

Working closely with the local administration, UNMEE’s Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) led by Major Samba Baldeh from Gambia, took on the rehabilitation of four classrooms, installing windows, doors and concrete floors. A fence and gate now keeps animals away from crops in the schoolyard which children grow as part of their agricultural studies.

The whole town turned out for the dedication ceremony on 16 March, with school children cheering the UNMEE peacekeepers. Officials offered thanks for this basic improvement to the village quality of life.  Education, UNMEE officials responded, could mean the village may provide future leaders for Semema and Ethiopia.

Peacekeeping in Timor-Leste: Patrolling and playing — all in a day’s work

The most popular cultural event during Timor-Leste’s recent and first book fair in Dili was a display of the Afro-Brazilian martial art form capoeira by a group of young Timorese children. Twelve girls and boys aged between 9 and 14 years old choreographed a dance in combination with capoeira to a soundtrack of drums and singing. The performance was made possible by UN peacekeepers in Timor-Leste, in this case by Private Jesus from the Brazilian Platoon of the Peacekeeping Force (PKF) that is part of the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET). Whenever Private Jesus can take a break from his duties, anything from manning vehicle checkpoints to crowd control, he runs capoeira classes for young Timorese.

Away from the capital, in the Oecussi enclave, members of the PKF’s Republic of Korea Battalion recently took a group of 56 students on a three-day field trip around the enclave, covering more than 100 km along the Tactical Coordination Line [the ‘soft’ border between Timor-Leste and Indonesia, pending formal demarcation of the border]. In addition to teaching kids about the contemporary geography of their new country, the Battalion organizes quiz competitions and tae-kwondo classes in the schools.

All this goes on during the peacekeepers’ own time, which can be extremely limited, given their commitments in Timor-Leste. In recent months, the PKF has had to step up patrols and conduct other operations to deter armed groups and former militia that carried out violent attacks in western districts of Timor-Leste. The PKF found and captured militants, disbanding the group much to the reassurance of the population.

“Our main role in Timor-Leste is to contribute to the maintenance of security”, says Major-General Tan Huck Gim, Commander of the 3,600 – strong PKF. “But the Timorese people have to be at the heart of everything we do, not only because we need their trust, confidence and cooperation to be able to do our job, but also because in a multi-dimensional operation such as UNMISET, building the skills of the people and helping the community is a crucial part of UNMISET’s work”.

Other battalions involved in recent operations against armed groups, like the Portuguese Marines, find the time to take children on regular boat trips. Still others run youth camps and sporting competitions and show movies and cartoons. They also offer medical and dental care to the wider population, as well as the odd haircut.

The PKF also runs educational activities for adults, ranging from language and computer classes to basic health and vocational training. The Portuguese Battalion runs courses for firemen, and the Japanese Engineer Group (JEG) has been training people to operate heavy plant equipment. When JEG leaves Timor-Leste, qualified workers they trained will take over jobs such as road repairs and maintenance.

The PKF has also been helping the Timorese develop farming techniques. The Thai Battalion introduced agriculture schemes from their home country, which are designed to produce a wide variety of vegetables and root crops, and they teach fish and small-scale poultry farming techniques. These will enable individual families, villages and even schools to become self-sufficient. Alongside the training, the Battalion has also distributed crop seeds and farming equipment. 

All these activities seem far removed from the traditional image of a UN “blue helmet”. But over the years the job has evolved to incorporate many elements, with the military working together with UN civilian personnel to build peace with a broader base than in the past: Says Major General Tan Hick Gim: “The work of the PKF in Timor-Leste is illustrative of the profound change in the role of UN peacekeepers over the past decade”.

DPI 2311 (12) - May 2003