Too much talking, too little action.
The 63rd General Assembly began this week at the United Nations. This meant more than 130 heads of states, prime ministers, their royal highnesses and so on in the UN premises, and accordingly, fairly strict security measures. Two blocks around the UN headquarters were barricaded and the entry was possible only with a UN id, entrance ticket to a specific event or a proof of residence in that area. Besides dozens of NYPD cars on the streets, one could even see snipers on the UN rooftops, as in the photo. It felt a bit surreal, like walking in a movie set or something. Then again, during a few days I walked by a number of famous people, such as our President Tarja Halonen, UN's Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, musician Bob Geldof or economist Jeffrey Sachs. Bono with his friends was also around the corner, but I was working while he was flaunting around, unfortunately (see for example http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/813598.html). One of the most interesting occasions was our meeting with Iran's President Ahmadinejad, but more on that later. I am still not sure what to think about him, or that meeting in general.
However, many of the most interesting events are held outside the UN headquarters. Based on the discussions I got to follow around the GA in various side-events, most of the speeches of government representatives are quite tedious and repetitive. Yes, we all want to end the poverty and hunger in the world, yes, we should give more money and work together in this. Strangely enough, this never happens.
The economic downfall at the Wall Street right before the GA (General Assembly) made things even more complicated when it comes to funding poor countries. At the moment, FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) and WFP (World Food Programme) together with other major international actors are begging for 1,7 billion dollars for immediate help this and next year, and 11 billion dollars in total to develop the small-scale agriculture in Africa in general. Only a minor percentage of this amount has been delivered so far by the developed countries - and the request by FAO was done in December 2007. I don't even want to start talking about the military expenditures of various countries all over the world, but at the moment the US government is struggling to save the country's economy. For that, they would need 700 billion dollars - not all of which would be necessarily lost, but most likely a large amount anyways. This rescue bill of 700 billion is almost 70 times the amount the international organizations asked for food crisis last year, a sum which seemed to be impossible to deliver. I realize I am oversimplifying issues here - Wall Street is so important for the whole world's economy - but many in the UN asked the same question which average Americans are asking now: why should we save the big financial banks and millionaires in Wall Street?
All these diplomats in their pin-striped suits, protocols and courtesies are quickly forgotten when stepping just across the street of the UN headquarters. I participated in an event organized by Global Call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP) which was truly something else. Yes, they talked about poverty and misery, but the difference was that the people who were talking had experienced that themselves or had worked with people on a grass-root level. The event's theme was even more interesting: it dealt with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the New York level, of people who were poor or suffering of inequalities right here. Especially coloured and immigrant women were represented, telling the most heart-breaking stories about their lives. Images of America, represented by the Statue of Liberty, of being a land of freedom, liberty and strength, most often do not match with the reality. During this week, hearing and meeting some of these people who are truly doing things instead of just talking about doing something remind me why I am here. As I was being told by an American Africanist, an older gentleman on the street (there seems to be many of them around): "Keep your Finnish, people-orientated perspective - don't let yourself to be sucked into these big organizations and their nonsense!"
In short: I am happy to intern at the UN, learn new things every day, attend meetings and see people from all around the world. It is just sometimes very frustrating and very slow to see any results when political will is missing. Perhaps we should all become politicians as President Ahmadinejad told us? More on that some day next week!
However, many of the most interesting events are held outside the UN headquarters. Based on the discussions I got to follow around the GA in various side-events, most of the speeches of government representatives are quite tedious and repetitive. Yes, we all want to end the poverty and hunger in the world, yes, we should give more money and work together in this. Strangely enough, this never happens.The economic downfall at the Wall Street right before the GA (General Assembly) made things even more complicated when it comes to funding poor countries. At the moment, FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) and WFP (World Food Programme) together with other major international actors are begging for 1,7 billion dollars for immediate help this and next year, and 11 billion dollars in total to develop the small-scale agriculture in Africa in general. Only a minor percentage of this amount has been delivered so far by the developed countries - and the request by FAO was done in December 2007. I don't even want to start talking about the military expenditures of various countries all over the world, but at the moment the US government is struggling to save the country's economy. For that, they would need 700 billion dollars - not all of which would be necessarily lost, but most likely a large amount anyways. This rescue bill of 700 billion is almost 70 times the amount the international organizations asked for food crisis last year, a sum which seemed to be impossible to deliver. I realize I am oversimplifying issues here - Wall Street is so important for the whole world's economy - but many in the UN asked the same question which average Americans are asking now: why should we save the big financial banks and millionaires in Wall Street?
All these diplomats in their pin-striped suits, protocols and courtesies are quickly forgotten when stepping just across the street of the UN headquarters. I participated in an event organized by Global Call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP) which was truly something else. Yes, they talked about poverty and misery, but the difference was that the people who were talking had experienced that themselves or had worked with people on a grass-root level. The event's theme was even more interesting: it dealt with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the New York level, of people who were poor or suffering of inequalities right here. Especially coloured and immigrant women were represented, telling the most heart-breaking stories about their lives. Images of America, represented by the Statue of Liberty, of being a land of freedom, liberty and strength, most often do not match with the reality. During this week, hearing and meeting some of these people who are truly doing things instead of just talking about doing something remind me why I am here. As I was being told by an American Africanist, an older gentleman on the street (there seems to be many of them around): "Keep your Finnish, people-orientated perspective - don't let yourself to be sucked into these big organizations and their nonsense!"
In short: I am happy to intern at the UN, learn new things every day, attend meetings and see people from all around the world. It is just sometimes very frustrating and very slow to see any results when political will is missing. Perhaps we should all become politicians as President Ahmadinejad told us? More on that some day next week!
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