Scribbles

In the previous post, Shylock explored, in a ironical, cynical, self-criticizing way, what personal future we, aid workers have. We wonder the earth, gradually getting used to travel all the time, often in harsh places, and very often in search of a thrill. Gradually we get addicted to it all.
But is there life after this.. after this life of a gypsy? Do we become gypsy disasters after years of behaving like a disaster gypsy, roaming from one emergency to the next?

No matter how much we chuckle reading the previous post, in the end, it is not funny. Far from it. Many humanitarian workers have a problem to find ‘a life after this’.. But it is even more sad to realize how few actually “have a life even now”… Even now, many forget, or at least compromise, their personal life because of their addiction. The addiction to the horizon, to the adrenaline.

And now I want to you stop for a moment, no matter what you are doing. What I am going to tell you, is very close to my heart…

No matter how you twist and turn it. The professional world is still a man’s world. This world in general is still a man’s world. It has been for hundreds of centuries. From the time men dragged women into their cages by their hair, we have come a long way, but we are not there yet. “There” being “offering equal chances, and equal opportunities to women”.

Here is how I see it. (and don’t forget I am a man, and no matter how hard I try, I will always be a man, even if I try to look at things from a woman’s perspective):

I look around me, and see people -men and women- alike, with loads of personal challenges through the work they do… But then I look again, and see that in most management functions in this business – the humanitarian world -, men hold the key functions (and most of them come from the first world, but let’s leave that aside for a moment). I look once more, and see most administrative support positions are filled by women. Many women in this business are strong, well educated, hard working people. Many of them are young, full of energy, inspiration and aspirations. The new generation of women have been encouraged (and enabled) by their parents to get a good education. They are ambitious to develop themselves personally and professionally. Many of these young women whizz through their twenties like a breeze, and some climb up (if all goes well), the professional ladder.
All of a sudden they find themselves in their mid thirties, somewhere in the professional chain and ask “hey where is my personal life gone to?”. And that is where the challenges start.

If all goes well, they find a partner. If all goes well. As we – men – are not always too happy to live with a partner who has a demanding career. Even fewer like it when that career takes ‘our woman’ away on duty travel. Heaven forbids that ‘her career’ would even have her live far away from us, in some dark and remote humanitarian crisis area.

“If all goes well” they find a partner, as too often at their mid thirties, what men are “available” on the “partner market”? Those coming out of their first long relationship, and not looking for something long term. The ‘celibataires eternelles’ or ‘commito-fobes’. Those who have not made up their mind what the hell they want. The ‘players’. And those already in a relationship. Or those who have failed in relationships so far.. (and all of that is a whole different discussion which I would love to have over a glass of Prosecco).
So “if all goes well”, a partner is found. And then? “A career” you say? In this world where, no matter what, a woman is still supposed to not only bare the children, but also spend most of her time raising them? Where a woman is still supposed to do most of the household stuff? [if you are a man, think about it... If you don't agree with me, think again... Who spends most of the time with the kids, working for/in the house? You or your partner?].

So, what then? Most women are the ones making the compromise then.. Either give up their career, or work part time, etc…
If they don’t, the juggle of kids, house, husband and career becomes a full time challenge.

The other evening, I went with E. over all the women we knew. And we tried to flag those we thought had found a good balance between kids, house, husband and career. And are successful in all. We found one. One woman out of the dozens of women we know, we found one.

That is a sad observation. And even more sad, when we realized that lady does not work in the humanitarian “business”.

So, all you ladies out there. And specifically those of you in the humanitarian world! In my “The Dudettes” short story I tried (in my cynical and ironical way) pay a tribute to you all. But come and have your say too. Am I seeing things in a too dark, negative way? Am I seeing things too much from a “male” perspective? You tell me. So com’on all you strong women out there, have your say! Click on ‘comments’ below this post to see the other comments, and to chip in with your thoughts…

I am a relief worker. Yet, I am not the one handing out food to the hungry, I do not help stacking bricks to build houses in remote villages damaged by floods. Nor do I work in a hospital taking care of those wounded in a civil war. I am a technical person and work in a technical area. I have a support function in the chain of things. Sometimes I feel far from the reality of the actual relief work (see this post and this one). Rewarding then are those moments when one of the technical products or services I am involved in, catches on, and is seen as having a direct and relevant impact on our relief work.

I just found back this article, written by Paul Harris in Alertnet (a Reuters subsidiary) ten years ago. It describes a system called DFMS, the Deep Field Mailing System. DFMS brought ‘affordable Email’ to the masses using ‘free air waves’, during the times where satellite communications costed USD 5 per minute at 9,600 baud…
This post might be a bit techy, but interesting for those interested Allow me my 5 minutes of glory, ha!

UN TELECOMMUNICATIONS BREAKTHROUGH PIONEERED IN CENTRAL AFRICA
By Paul Harris

KAMPALA, Nov 16 1997 (Alertnet) -
Peter is an enthusiast. Peter Casier, a 38 year-old Belgian, has headed up the World Food Programme’s Technical Support Unit (TSU) in Kampala, Uganda for the past two and a half years. Technical support may not sound exactly like the most exciting end of the aid business but, in fact, the Uganda-based operation has become the model for telecommunications operations throughout the UN: that’s why Peter and members of his team flew out from Uganda Saturday night – destination Honduras on open ended assignment to set up telecomms for the Central American relief effort.

Telecomms are just three years old in WFP. They started in Kampala with Peter and his team. Today, the 15-strong team – 13 locals and just two internationals – handle satellite, HF and VHF comms, IT, computers, provision of power, and repair and maintenance of all electronic equipment right the way across a broad swathe of central Africa from Brazzaville in the west to Dar es Salaam in the east.

The WFP telecomms operation is based on high frequency (HF) communications which are both prevalent and familiar to UN staff. Kampala has integrated 82 stations (including ten e-mail carriers) into the network and, most significantly, has devised the technology whereby e-mail communications can be reliably exchanged using HF radios connected to a data modem: what is termed the Deep-Field Mailing System (DFMS). Currently, the system is handling more than 200,000 e-mails a month, representing three gigabytes of data, both within the region and to and from the Internet.
Peter is justifiably proud of the achievement. “The great thing is we can be totally independent of any public infrastructure – telephones, electricity or communications.”

There are several advantages to DFMS, which became fully operational during 1997, as usage was extended to WFP’s Implementing Partners and sister UN agencies. The cost savings have been substantial; field security has been improved and operational effectiveness enhanced. Additionally, remote locations and field workers have been connected to the Internet. DFMs utilises a standard e-mail programme which can carry any type of attachment, be it Word document, digital picture or, even, sound. Each station – office, car or mobile HQ – has its own unique Internet e-mail address; all are connected by HF radio, or local telephone lines, to an e-mailserver which is, in turn, connected to the Kampala nerve centre by HF radio, local telephone lines or the Internet. Kampala is connected to the Internet via a dedicated 64 Kbps full time dedicated link to a local service provider “direct into the dish” to go around any local failures.

The monthly running cost of regional DFMS is just US$10,400 comprising landline and Internet link costs. if this system were still to be running on conventional fax traffic, it is estimated that the monthly cost would be in excess of US$1.5 million and the annual saving in the region is reckoned at round US$20 million ! The saving on using commercial e-mail at $0.30 per Kbyte is still very substantial indeed – around US$8 million a year.

There have been some dramatic and successful uses of DFMS. HF e-mail stations were set up during the East Zaire emergency and an air ops base to cover evacuations from Uvira was set up at Entebbe within just six hours. WFP was among the first UN agencies to enter Congo/Brazzaville after the civil war. The TSU team entered Brazzaville armed with a mobile HF radio e-mail system installed in a car and a digital camera (Ed: see this shortstory). As the report observes, “Digital pictures were taken from Brazzaville town, the remains of our former offices and UN compounds, and emailed to WFP Kampala and Rome, as well as to UNICEF HQ while they were still shooting in the streets next to us…”.

TSU in Kampala have also developed the ’141′,as it is known. Not just a Ugandan-registered WFP heavy duty Landcruiser, Peter says “it is a concept”: a complete mobile emergency communications centre. TSU has equipped it with extra batteries for powering telecomms equipment; an e-mail station using HF radio; HF voice comms; VHF mobile radio; air band radio for communicating with helicopters and fixed wing aircraft; satellite telephone; computer, digital camera and printer; and radio masts. The vehicle is kept in a constant state of readiness: emergency kits are put in the back, it can be driven onto a Buffalo aircraft and landed in the bush. “All the main communications features are up as the car drives out of the plane, with full features deployed within the next five minutes. You can send/receive e-mails and photographs to and from anywhere in the world, telephone to/from anywhere in the world and support handheld radios to a radius of 30 km.”

The concept has been well received further afield and a ’141′ will shortly be operating in Honduras. The Kampala-based unit has been favourably reviewed by UNSECOORD (the UN Security Coordinator’s Office) and World Vision plans to equip several vehicles similarly. So successful has DFMS proved, a commercial imitator, Bushnet, set up by two ‘breakaway’members of Peter’s team, has established itself in Kampala and is working with both commercial and NGO clients providing deep field e-mail connections. They, in turn, have been so successful, two other companies in Uganda are preparing similar services. The NGO Uganda Connectivity has set up e-mail postal services in remote areas using the TSU’s technology and manufacturer Codan, a name familiar to all NGOs and IGOs using HF radios, uses the Kampala TSU for consultancy work in exchange for equipment.

As Peter says, “The UN has developed a system that has been picked up commercially by big companies who want to exploit it. I believe this operation is unique.”

His claims are graphically endorsed as the telephone rings in his office. It’s the WFP Emergency Response Centre in Rome. He listens intently. “I guess we could be on a plane tomorrow,” he asserts. And then, covering the ‘phone with his hand, “Right, everybody. We’re off to Honduras !”.

The humanitarian relief work is a weird world. Check out this post if you want to have a clearer insight.

I was having a coffee on a terrace (yep, it is still 25+ degrees over here!) with one of my closest and dearest friends. We were talking about Italy, the difference in culture, mentality and food between the different places we lived in.
I asked her: “So, as a woman, how do you see the difference between Italian men and others. What is so typical for Italian men?”
She answered: “Well…, Italian men are almost human!”

It was a slip of the tongue, and she actually meant something different, but I thought it was a nice quote…
We -men- still have some work to do on ourselves… I tried to describe some of the challenges of being a woman in a men’s world (for as far as I -as a man- see this) in this short story…