A week at the UN
2017
I arrived in Geneva airport on Saturday afternoon at about 2pm local time. There were crowds, trolleys and skiing equipment everywhere. I glanced at the faces of those people who were waiting around for the rest of their luggage or to meet the rest of their party. Their time in Geneva was going to be very different to mine. Although I didn’t know what to expect, I knew I would be working hard with early mornings, lots of discussion and maybe some tears as I met up with some old friends and heard their stories.
Maria Rita met me at the airport to collect me and bring me back to the sister’s house on the outskirts of the city. The journey back gave me amble time to talk with Maria Rita and discover what her passions were, what she had studied and what had brought her to Geneva to take part in a three-month internship in the Human Rights Office. It was interesting to hear about their daily activities and what helped shape her passion for human rights. We swapped stories of our volunteering experiences and before we knew it, we had arrived.
I quickly dropped off my luggage and we went upstairs to the office to meet the rest of the group who were to become great friends of mine. I was extremely happy to see Prence from the Congo and Pietro from Slovakia, who arrived the next day, as we’d met just a few months previously at the Vides International Conference in Rome. There was a brief meeting in session as I arrived in which Sr Maria Grazia outlined what the timetable would be for the week ahead.
Pedro, Prence, Guillermo and Zareh (L-R)
We then went on to discuss what work we do in our respective countries. After listening to the other volunteers, I felt extremely inadequate. My volunteer work seemed to so little in comparison to what they were doing. Prence spoke about the summer camps he organises for rural communities which are difficult to access and how they educate young people and help them to better themselves for the future. I was moved to tears. Guillermo, from Uruguay told us about an educational project he organises which assists detainees under the age of 30. More tears from me. Zareh, from Syria, gave us a very interesting insight to life in Aleppo and how he is involved in helping young people to realise their potential whilst having fun with other children their age. It was so inspiring.
The next day was Sunday so it was our day of rest before a week of work. We had an early lunch and then went into the city to explore the sights. We must have looked like such a strange bunch as we walked down the street, speaking three, maybe four, different languages and laughing, always laughing. The city was beautiful of course and the weather was fantastic. We took a slight detour into an Irish bar as Pedro advised me they’d nice beer and we all needed to sit down. We sat around talking about what we do at home, our interests, sports (of course I mentioned Mayo GAA) and music. We shared videos of singers and dancers from our home countries and eventually made our way home for dinner.
Maria Rita, Guillermo, Pedro, Martina, Juan Carlos, Prence, Gabby & Pietro (L-R)
There are currently four volunteers living with the sisters as they carry out their internship. Maria Rita, whom I’ve mentioned already, is from Italy who will shortly be returning home, Pedro, from Mexico, Mary Margaret, from the USA and Gabby, from South Korea. They took excellent care of us during our time there. Bringing us on a tour across the city and explaining how things operate in the UN for an intern.
On Monday and Tuesday, we spent our mornings in the UN. It was a 6.30am start to be ready for the bus at roughly 7am and it got easier as the days went on. The journey to the UN took 40 minutes on the bus which gave us plenty of time to chat. It was very interesting to learn about different cultures and how many similarities and differences there are between us. For example, the Roma community in Slovakia seem to have a lot in common with the Irish traveller community in Ireland, young people in South Korea experience the same pressures as young people in Ireland as they finish school and go on to college/university and try to get good jobs.
The UN itself was not what I expected. It’s hard to know what I expected if I’m honest. My first day left me wide-eyed and overwhelmed, a feeling which is still somewhat hard to shake. On Monday, we heard from the special rapporteur for North Korea who gave his report on the human rights abuses in North Korea. He had not been invited into the country and therefore had to rely on reports from those who had escaped and other research which he carried out. After this report, the floor was open to North Korea to respond. They did not show up. As I discussed this with the interns afterwards, they explained that if North Korea did attend and give a response, it would open a dialogue which they wanted to avoid. I felt frustrated. What can be done to stop these abuses if they don’t engage with the discussion? I had to come to terms with the fact you can only do so much. It reminded me of my time in South Africa. I had been so eager to fix everything that I didn’t even consider that it was impossible for one person to change everything in an instant. This is clearly something I still struggle with.
Martina in the UN
Our afternoons were spent preparing for the side event which was being co-organised by IIMA, Vides International and the Permanent Mission of El Salvador. The event was entitled ‘Youth for Human Rights and the Common Good’ and was to be held in a room in the UN on Thursday 16th March. The speakers were the other volunteers, Prence, Zareh, Pietro, Guillermo and Marian, a young girl from the Philippines who’d arrived on Sunday evening. I was there to learn more about the UN and help in the organisation of the event in any way I could. I found I spent a lot of time taking photographs, notes and updating our Vides Ireland Facebook page, much to the delight of the volunteers who shared our posts and photos to their family and friends at home.
As the day approached, there were, of course, plenty of nerves and I was relieved that I was not taking part. The aim of the event was to highlight to those in attendance that young people can be involved in making the world a better place and highlight the great work they do already. When the day arrived, they all spoke so well and impressed all those who were there. Representatives from the Congo, Syria, Spain, Honduras, Panama, etc were there and afterwards, put forward some questions for the speakers.
The Side Event (Thursday 16th March 2017)
I sat with Fr Juan Carlos who was a fantastically enthusiastic priest from Mexico who is currently living and working in Brazil. We also became good friends over the course of the week. He had spoken the day previously about undocumented children in another side event.
I found the whole experience to be very inspiring. After hearing the work being carried out, I thought, I must do more, I SHOULD be doing more. Problems and needs in each country are relative. What concerns me might not necessarily be a huge concern to a person my age in Syria or the Philippines but it is something which affects me. I hope to use this experience to help inspire others.
