24 June 2012

It’s been over a month since my last update! 

At the end of May, I had my first rest and recuperation break and got to spend 10 days in New York, which was fantastic.  It was wonderful to spend time with Charlie and the kids without working.  There were many highlights from the trip.  Being able to cheer Sho at his last soccer game of the season was one of them.  The team needed to win by 2 points or more in order to advance to the next level in the league.  I was jumping up and down when Sho scored two goals in a row in the first half.  The team worked amazingly well together and ended up winning 5-1!  I also got to accompany Saya on her school field trip to a gymnastics place.  It was wonderful to see Saya and her friends tumbling around and having a great time.   Charlie and I also celebrated our 15-year anniversary!  We had a wonderful day, full of celebration, which included a picnic by the Hudson and a very nice dinner.  I also managed to catch up with some friends – thanks to all of you who came out for drinks. 

This time around, it was much harder for me to say goodbye to Charlie and the kids.  I think it was because I had just spent 10 days with them without having to worry about work.  The kids on the other hand, did remarkably well saying goodbye to me.  Actually, it was helped by the fact that they had a major distraction.  My oldest brother, Aki, had a business trip to New York from Japan, and by coincidence, he arrived the day that I was departing, in the same terminal at JFK.  We greeted him, had lunch together at JFK, then I took off.  The kids love their uncle, so they were very excited to see him, which made for a really nice distraction.  It was still super hard for me though.  : (

On to Libya!  As many of you may know, elections for the National Congress will be held on 7 July.   There will be 200 seats.  There are 2,500 candidates running for the 120 seats reserved for individuals, and over 1,200 running for the 80 seats for political entities.  Of the over 600 female candidates, most are running with political entities, as the entities are required to alternate male and female candidates in their list.  The campaign period for the elections officially kicked off on 18 June, and we started to notice campaign posters in town.  I’m hoping to attend an event in support of women candidates on Monday.  It has been remarkable to see how the Libyan electoral commission has managed to organize these elections well, despite the fact that the country has not really experienced democratic elections.  The mood seems to be cautiously optimistic. 

On the other hand, there have been increasing tensions.  A number of local conflicts flared up in the last few weeks.   These conflicts were mostly between some towns and minority communities, many of them accused of being pro-Qadhafi.  While the central government generally has the will to intervene, it often does not have enough capacity to do so effectively.  Another worrying trend has been an increase in attacks against international presence, particularly in the East. 

Outdoor dining with view of the arch and mosque

Despite all of this, in Tripoli, life continues to feel fairly normal.  In the last few weeks, I went out to dinner with colleagues a couple of times.  The first was to celebrate a colleague’s birthday.  We went to a beautiful restaurant by the Marcus Aurelius Arch (a Roman ruin in the Old City).  We ate outside, with the view of both the arch and a nearby mosque beautifully lit up.  They also had live jazz music.  It all felt a bit surreal to me, to be enjoying dinner in such beautiful surroundings – this certainly wasn’t what I expected when I first came to Tripoli.  The second dinner was also in the Old City, in a boutique hotel with traditional furnishings.  The decoration and ambiance were very nice. This was a Thursday night (which is the evening before the weekend), and on the way back, we saw many families enjoying picnic dinners on lawns, taking strolls and having fun at a seasonal amusement park.  All of it felt so ‘normal’. 

Workshop participants

Yesterday, I attended an all-day civil society workshop in Zuwarah, in the West.  I had actually visited this town back in April, shortly after I arrived.  One of the participants recognized me from that earlier trip and came up to say hello to me.   The workshop was organized by our Human Rights section, and the goal was to help civil society groups organize themselves and identify priority projects to work on.  It was a really inspiring occasion.  There were about 50 participants, and about 90% of them were women.  The issues they were dealing with included children’s rights, rights of the disabled, women’s rights, torture, peace and reconciliation etc.

Poster calling for religious tolerance

One group of women represented family members of ‘martyrs’ (those who died in the conflict last year) calling for a proper justice system and an end to torture in detention centers.  Through an interpreter, I spoke to one of the women.  She had lost her son last yeare  He had been tortured and killed. Later, she found out that the man responsible for her son’s death was in the hospital and that he was being beaten up by a vengeful group of men.  She intervened to stop the beatings, and is advocating justice through legal means.  She told me that she could not forgive, but she did not believe in vengeance.  I was in awe of this woman, who calmly spoke to me about the importance of a functioning justice system, and how torture was wrong, no matter who the perpetrators or victims.   

Throughout the workshop, there was a buzzing energy.  The enthusiasm of the participants was infectious and it gave me huge optimism.  I couldn’t help but think, ‘This is what it’s all about’.  That this is where change is happening and how this society will be rebuilt.  It felt so much more tangible than any of the ministerial level meetings that I have attended in Tripoli. 

That’s it for now.  I hope to update sooner next time! 

21 May 2012

Dear Friends and Family, 

It’s been a while since my last update, but there hasn’t been too much to report. My boss, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), was travelling and away from the country, so the pace of work slowed down a bit. 

Some of you asked about my job.  My title is Special Assistant to the SRSG.  The actual content of the work of a Special Assistant can vary, depending on the SRSG.  In my case, I do a variety of things, including screening and commenting on documents that come to his attention or signature, attending meetings with him and preparing notes of those meetings.  The most time-consuming part is to coordinate his schedule, which includes making judgment calls about which meetings and appointments to prioritize and also turning down requests for meetings when necessary.  I also work very closely with the team here that handles human rights, transitional justice and rule of law issues and with the person who is responsible for women’s empowerment.  There is another Special Assistant, as well as a “Personal Assistant” who is like an executive secretary, so it’s all a team effort. We all assist in making the SRSG’s job easier, and keep an eye out for things that may not come to his attention from individual teams within the mission (e.g. making suggestions for better coordination among the various teams). 

Anti-Qadhafi graffiti in Tripoli

Last week, I attended a workshop on reconciliation, involving international experts and Libyan stakeholders.  The discussions were fascinating and highlighted many of the challenges of promoting reconciliation here.  The discussions started with what reconciliation means.  Many Libyan participants focused on justice and accountability, especially on holding those in the Qadhafi regime responsible.  The experts emphasized the need to also have a broader effort for truth-seeking and inclusive dialogue, eventually leading to a new “social contract” between society and the state, where there is better trust in the system.  All of this would take time, and the fact that the country is still awash in arms makes it extremely challenging to create an environment where national dialogue on such issues can take place.  Many emphasized the importance of a common ‘vision’ for the country as well as leadership that can transcend differences.  

Now on to some fun stuff.  I managed to have TWO Japanese meals in the last couple of weeks: first with the Japanese ambassador here, and the second with a Libyan banker who is a huge fan of anything Japanese.  I attended the lunch with the ambassador along with a Japanese colleague, who is a nurse in our mission. The lunch, which was at the ambassador’s residence, was prepared by his chef.  We had wonderful sashimi (very fresh tuna and squid, obtained locally), stewed vegetables, rice, miso soup, etc. It was extremely authentic and delicious.  The presentation was amazing too, but unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures, so I can’t share how pretty the meal looked (sorry).  

We had an interesting conversation about Libya, mainly focused on economic issues.  The ambassador is fairly new to the country.  He seems to specialize in the region, as he has served previously in Dubai and Baghdad.  Some of you might recall pictures of construction sites that I posted before.  I was snapping away those pictures thinking that these were constructions in progress.  According to the Ambassador and his economic advisor, these sites are from 2-3 years ago, and the majority of them halted work when the conflict erupted last year.  As these are half-built, they have been exposed to the elements, so companies cannot just come in a resume where they left off.  Apparently, there are numerous negotiations between foreign private companies and Libyans regarding who will pay for the additional work that is needed.  Since the lunch, I paid attention to the cranes, and I don’t think I’ve seen one actually move. 

Friendly bakers

Embassy staff told us that my UN Japanese colleague and I are the only Japanese expatriates in Libya at the moment.  The ambassador mentioned that there are a few Japanese women who have married into Libyan families, but no other expats.  Most Japanese companies pulled out during the conflict last year and are yet to return.  The ambassador said that he would be happy to invite us back to lunch frequently, which we are very excited about. 

The second Japanese meal was at a dinner party hosted by a Libyan banker, Ehab.  He left Libya when he was 18 to study in the US and now splits his time between Libya and Bahrain.  He speaks perfect English and knows some Japanese phrases.  I’m not quite sure how his fascination with Japan started, but he served quite a nice Japanese meal, with careful attention to presentation and aesthetics.  I helped him make sushi rolls (with salmon, avocado and carrots).  He also served cooked eel (brought in from Bahrain), fried shrimp, and fried fish.  For me, it was quite a surreal experience to be in Tripoli, enjoying a Japanese meal served by a Libyan man. 

Last week, a few women in the mission organized a belly dancing class.  I don’t know what possessed me, but I ended up going and made an utter fool of myself (though it was fun).  The “teachers” included a Lebanese, a Syrian, a Palestinian, an Iraq and an Egyptian -- all UN staff members.  Basically it was just an excuse to have fun and share food (everyone had to bring a dish to participate).  There are many social events in the mission, like this dance class, or farewell parties, birthday parties etc.  They serve an important function of allowing staff to unwind and relax a little bit.  I tend to go to most events that I’m invited to, but at times it can be overwhelming. 

We have a six-week “rest and recuperation” cycle, which means that you get 5 days off for every six weeks served in the mission.  So I get to go back to New York to see Charlie and the kids at the end of the month!  I’m really looking forward to the visit. 

That’s it for now.  Until next time!

For more photos: http://eikoikegaya.kodakgallery.com

Week 3: 8 May, 2012

Dear Friends and Family, 

My colleagues who were away on vacation came back this week, which made a huge difference to me mentally.  It helped to know that everything wasn’t all on my shoulders, so I felt a little less stressed out. I don’t have a huge amount to report this week.  There were two highlights: 1) a visit to what will become the UN mission Headquarters; and 2) a visit to the city of Misrata. 

As mentioned before, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is currently operating out of a complex called Palm City.  This is a high-end residential community, and definitely not designed to house UN offices.  As a result, most UNSMIL staff work out of villas and apartments, and there is very little separation between work and ‘home’.  My ‘office’ is actually the dining room of the villa where two of my colleagues live.  In my case, at least I live in a separate villa (1 minute walk away), but some colleagues live and work in the same villa.  Obviously, these are not ideal conditions. 

My future office

The mission has already identified a complex that would eventually become Headquarters.  It’s about 20 minutes away from Palm City, and this week, I had a chance to visit the place.  The place is still a bit of a mess and requires a lot of work (I managed to upload one photo of my future office).  We’ve been told that we would most likely start working there in July or August.  Once that happens, UNSMIL staff would continue to live in Palm City but would commute to the new Headquarters.  It would be great to get the separation between work and living quarters, as it’s so hard to switch off at the moment. 

The other highlight this week was a daytrip to Misrata.  This was not part of work but a personal trip I took, along with two other colleagues. One of the local drivers had told us about an exhibit regarding the revolutionary fighters in Misrata, and recommended that we visit.  Misrata is about 2.5 hours by car and to the East of Tripoli.  There was heavy fighting in Misrata during the ‘revolution’ and reported deaths in the city range from 1,000 to 1,500.  As we got closer to Misrata, we started to see more and more buildings with heavy damages.  The main street of the city, Tripoli Street, is still full of buildings that show signs of shelling. 

Misrata

The exhibit on the revolutionary fighters is on the main street, in the midst of many ruined buildings.  Outside, there were many weapons and spent artillery on display.  They also had a statue of a hand grabbing and crushing a plane, which used to be in Qadhafi’s compound in Tripoli (he had commissioned the statue following the 1986 bombing of Libya by the US).   Inside a small building, there is an exhibit commemorating the revolutionary fighters.  All along the wall, there were hundreds of photographs of martyrs who died or went missing during the fighting last year. I don't have any photos of the inside, as taking pictures was prohibited.  

Interestingly, there was a fairly large section on the ‘wanted’, which listed the photos and IDs of individuals who were accused of fighting alongside the Qadhafi forces.  The vilification of the former regime and anyone who supported it is very strong in Libya.  In fact, this past week, the National Transitional Council passed a new decree that criminalizes the ‘glorification’ of the former regime and bans criticism of the revolution.  International and national human rights groups have criticized this decree, as it restricts freedom of speech.  Some have also pointed out that ironically this kind of restriction is reminiscent of the former regime. The political culture here has definitely been shaped by the 42 years of autocratic rule.  It's going to be a major challenge for the country to move beyond this and develop and embrace a new approach.  In my job, I will be working closely with colleagues in the mission who are working on transitional justice and reconciliation.  I’m looking forward to learning more about what can realistically be done in this area.

On a different note, Arabic classes have started.   I’m in the beginner class, and there were about 15 students.  We learned 5 letters of the Arabic alphabet today, just how to write them and how to string them together.   We didn’t learn how to speak, however.  Actually, during our road trip to Misrata, our local driver, Wael, taught us a few words.  We were randomly yelling out words – Donkey! Sky! Fuel! Hospital! Port! I’m sure they will come in handy one day…..

That’s it for this week.  Until next time!

For more photos: http://eikoikegaya.kodakgallery.com/

Week 2: 29 April 2012

Dear Friends and Family, 

This week, work started in earnest, which meant that I became very, very busy.  It also meant that I got to see and do interesting things.  A few days after I arrived, my colleague in the same office went on vacation.  This was bad and good.  Bad because it meant that I had to handle everything by myself, which is tough when you’re brand new in a position.  Good because it accelerated my learning process. Starting last Monday, I ended up working non-stop from about 8:00 am to past midnight every day.  It’s been exhausting but I really don’t mind because it’s been so interesting and I feel like I’m learning something new every single day. 

So, on to the interesting things.   This week, I managed to attend meetings with Government officials, civil society and the diplomatic community, all of them quite interesting.  However, the highlight of the week was a trip to the West of the country.  We visited three towns close to the border with Tunisia.  Earlier this month, there had been fighting between one town on one side and the two other towns on the other.   The one town is primarily Amazigh (Berber), a non-Arab minority group.  They were repressed and marginalized during the Qadhafi rule, resulting in a lot of grievances.  One of the photos I uploaded is a picture showing the Amazigh flag next to the new Libyan flag (and the UN flag).  The residents of this town accuse the two other towns of being sympathizers of the old regime.  During our meetings in the three towns, we heard different accounts of the fighting that erupted in early April.  Interestingly enough, they don’t necessarily want UN intervention here, as they are handling the situation locally with some involvement from national authorities.  The UN mission here is a ‘support’ mission and there is a strong emphasis on national ‘ownership’. 

In all three towns, we met with the local council, military council, council of ‘wise men’ and civil society.  It was great to see the nascent civil society groups. There was no civil society during the Qadhafi years, so the concept is quite new to Libya.  It was particularly inspiring to see the women and youth representatives. 

The trip was yet another occasion where I acutely felt my language limitations.  In between meetings, when we were milling around with the locals, I desperately wished that I could speak Arabic.   For our group, there was one interpreter, but she was fully occupied, interpreting for my boss.  I couldn’t speak Arabic and the local participants couldn’t speak English, so we kind of just smiled and stood awkwardly together. It would have been great to hear their views on how the country has changed, whether they feel optimistic about the future, what they think about the central government, the upcoming elections, the UN etc.   The UN mission will start offering Arabic classes next week, and I’m planning to sign up!   

While it has been very busy, I did manage to take most of Friday (the weekend) off to visit Leptis Magna, a historical site with Roman ruins. The ruins are on the coast, about an hour and a half East of Tripoli by car.  The site covers a huge area – we spent three hours walking around and still didn’t see the whole place.  The guide told us that the site contains only about 30% of the ruins and that the rest was still to be excavated.  While the ruins were impressive, there was clearly a lot of work to be done.   There were tons of rubble piled up in places and buildings and pieces that require restoration. 

From what I’ve seen so far, I think Libya has a huge potential as a tourist destination.  The Mediterranean Sea is beautiful, there is interesting history and culture and there are mountains and the desert (which I haven’t seen yet).  The food is very good here too (though lack of alcohol may be an issue).  Depending on how the elections go and how the situation develops, it would be fascinating to come back in 5-10 years. 

Since I had quite a few opportunities to leave Palm City, the complex where we live and work, I saw many Libyans, including little children. Seeing the kids was actually kind of hard because I ended up missing Sho and Saya so much.  I think I creeped out some local kids by staring wistfully at them….. 

A few people asked about the weather.  It’s been extremely pleasant.  Most days, it’s been sunny and dry, and about 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit).  I’ve been told that it would get hotter and hotter as we get closer to summer.  Some of you also asked if I need to cover myself when I go out.  I don’t need to cover my head (particularly because I’m a foreigner), but I dress conservatively - long sleeves, long skirts (or pants) and a scarf around the neck.  The majority of local women do wear headscarves.  On a few occasions I have seen women who are completely covered, including the face.  I haven’t had a chance to directly observe much regarding women’s role in society, although I have seen quite a few women driving.  I hope I manage to get more insights on this in the weeks to come. 

That’s it for this week.  Until next time!

Eiko 

p.s. For more photos: http://eikoikegaya.kodakgallery.com/

Week 1: 22 April 2012

Dear friends and family,

I'm going to try and keep my promise of updating you regularly on my adventures in Libya.  So here's the first installment!  

I arrived in Tripoli last Monday, 16 April.  As soon as I entered the airport terminal, I felt a little lost, as all signs were in Arabic and Arabic alone.  I couldn't even tell which way the exit was, so I just followed the flow of passengers.  The passport control was a bit chaotic.  There was no one in uniform, but there were a couple of guys who seemed to be directing people, so I went up to one of them. I had a letter from the UN indicating that I should receive a visa upon arrival.  The guy looked puzzled when I showed him the letter, and pointed me to another guy, who passed me on to a third guy, who finally brought me to a window where my visa was supposed to be processed.  All of this took about 15 minutes and all I could think of was how I really should have taken Arabic classes when I was younger.  

I was picked up by a super friendly UN driver (a local named Walid, who was a pharmacist before the conflict).  The UN mission is in a gated complex called Palm City.  It's an extremely luxurious place with furnished apartments and villas.  I'm in a 3-bedroom villa, sharing with a colleague who is from Iraq but of Armenian origin.  She is super sweet and has been very motherly, making sure I'm comfortable and teaching me how to make some Middle Eastern food.  We'll soon get a third flatmate.  The living conditions are extremely good. Getting electricity, water, the internet, fresh food, etc. is not an issue at all.  The only restriction is movement outside of the complex.  We can't just wander out on our own, so we need to arrange for drivers.  We can arrange to go on shopping or sightseeing trips (curfew is 22:00).  The other issue is that mission offices haven't been set up yet outside of the complex.  So we all work in villas and apartments (except for a few who have desks in a large room).  

This week was spent on checking in and getting settled.  I didn't have any meetings outside, so I only left the complex on two occasions, one to exchange money and get groceries, and one to go sightseeing in downtown Tripoli.  The availability of fresh food is really remarkable.  My image was that Libya is a desert country, so I didn't expect to see any fresh fruits and vegetables.  As you can see from the photos attached, there's plenty of both, and they are very good!  At a bakery, they were taking fresh bread out of their ovens.  I couldn't resist, so I bought a huge, round flat bread that was still piping hot.  We ate it with tabouleh and hummus, and it was delicious!  Supermarkets are very well stocked as well, with lots of imported products.  Japanese ingredients are obviously impossible to find, but there are tons of products from Italy, Turkey, Egypt etc.  In the past week, I bought pasta, canned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, fresh yoghurt, milk etc.  So, as you can imagine, I'm eating very well. 

The weekend here is Friday/Saturday, though I ended up working most of Friday and a little bit today.  I managed to go to downtown Tripoli this afternoon with a couple of colleagues (both went to Fletcher so we bonded over that!).  We walked around Old City, where there were lots of little shops selling gold, jewelry, souvenirs, scarves, bags, household items, etc.  Interestingly enough, you're not expected to bargain.  

With such little exposure to the 'outside', it's hard to form an impression, but overall things feel pretty 'normal', at least in Tripoli, and especially during the day time (I hear night time is different).  There are tons of people out shopping, there are traffic jams, there's an abundance of goods and products.  You do see a lot of graffiti on walls, mostly in support of or celebration of the revolution.  I haven't really seen extensive damage from the conflict, except when we drove past what used to be Qadhafi's compound.  There, you can see buildings that have been destroyed and remnants of cars that were torched.  I haven't come across too many brigades (described as 'militia' in most Western media).  They were a bit more noticeable in downtown Tripoli, some of them openly carrying machine guns.  The ones that I saw were mostly directing traffic.   

I've also had very little interaction with the local population.  The only Libyans that I've talked to are UN staff or shopkeepers, and I haven't had the chance to have any deep, interesting conversations with any of them.  

Hopefully, this gives you a sense of my very first impressions.  As you can imagine, I do miss Charlie, Sho and Saya quite a bit.  We talk over Skype every so often, but the picture quality is quite choppy and we have lots of dropped calls.  I am VERY happy to have Skype though, as it makes it easier to stay in touch.  

Until next time!

p.s. for more photos, go to: http://eikoikegaya.kodakgallery.com/