STAFF COUNCIL ESTABLISHES RELIEF FUND FOR VICTIMS AND FAMILIES OF BOMBING IN IRAQ, DONATES INITIAL $25,000

STAFF COUNCIL ESTABLISHES RELIEF FUND FOR VICTIMS AND FAMILIES

OF BOMBING IN IRAQ, DONATES INITIAL $25,000

NEW YORK, 19 September (UN Staff Committee) -- On 11 September, the Staff Council observed a moment of silence in honour of the second anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.  With great sadness, at that same meeting, the Staff Council formally established a Staff Relief Fund with an initial donation of $25,000 for the victims and families of the tragic attack on 19 August against the United Nations complex in Baghdad, Iraq.

The staff has been struggling to understand the reasons for this unwarranted attack ever since it occurred.  And, this blatant attack against the United Nations flag has also prompted concerns about the safety of staff all over the world, including at Headquarters duty stations.  We are all keenly aware that the stakes have changed dramatically if even humanitarian workers could be subjected to such an attack.

A memorial meeting was sponsored by the Staff Council on the 21 August 2003.  Speakers at this memorial meeting were:  Ruth Sembajwe, Staff Counsellor, Office of Human Resources Management; Richard Kerby, President of the Federation of International Civil Servants Associations (FICSA); Dimitri Samaras, Chairperson of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)/United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Staff Council; Gary Gardner, Staff Member and Inspirational Speaker, Department for General Assembly and Conference Management; and Rosemarie Waters, President, United Nations Staff Committee.  The moderator for the meeting was Michael Sarsar, Presiding Officer of the fortieth Staff Council, who expressed his condolences for the families of the victims and led the gathering in a moment of silence in honour of their memory.

Ms. Sembajwe reminded all staff that the Organization provides resources, through her Office, for counselling staff who are grieving, anxious or experiencing fears after the bombing in Iraq.  She encouraged those staff to come forward and speak with one of the trained counselors on a confidential basis.

Mr. Kerby related a parable about the nature of international civil servants for whom kindness is not a random act, but rather a philosophy and commitment.  Someone needs assistance, and that assistance is provided.  He also acknowledged that being a United Nations staff has become more complex and dangerous in the last several years.  We are becoming targets of terror and find ourselves more and more in harm’s way.

Mr. Samaras expressed deep anger and sadness for the loss of those whose sole purpose in Iraq was carrying out the principles upon which the United Nations was founded.  He recited the powerful preamble to the United Nations Charter and added that because of their devotion and strong beliefs our colleagues were cowardly murdered.  His presentation ended with a quotation from Laurence Bynion’s poem, “For the Fallen”.

Mr. Gardner led the gathering in prayer.  He reminded us that staff of the United Nations are family and this becomes more evident during times of crisis.  He also encouraged our colleagues to draw strength from each other, as a family would, and to strengthen our resolve to continue our quest as a memorial for our fallen colleagues.  Mr. Gardner then closed with a prayer for the families, our colleagues around the world, the Secretary General and Member States, as well as the perpetrators of this terrible act of violence.

Ms. Waters expressed condolences to the families of the victims.  She reminded the gathering that the individuals who lost their lives were on a humanitarian mission to rebuild a country torn by war; it was unconscionable that such a tragedy had occurred to United Nations staff on such a noble mission.  She announced that the Staff Council, through its Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service (CSIICS), would establish a relief fund for the families of the victims and that the Staff Council would be asked to contribute $25,000 as the initial contribution.

      Information about the establishment of the Staff Relief Fund has been sent to the Office of the Secretary-General for approval.  Eduardo Bellando and Mary Hughes will serve as Co-Chairpersons.  Guy Candusso will serve as Treasurer, and Elaine Collett has agreed to be a member.  Details about the account established for this purpose and the manner in which staff can contribute will be announced within the next week.  The Relief Committee will disburse funds after consulting with appropriate officials of the United Nations.

Staff around the world have been touched by this tragedy and the New York Staff Committee will involve the staff federation, CCISUA, to assist with collections for the fund throughout the global United Nations Secretariat.

Excerpts from Meditation XVII –- by John Donne (1572-1631), read by Gary Gardner at the staff memorial meeting:

“All mankind is of one author and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated.  God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God’s hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another ...

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.  If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less ...

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

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