We had the privilege of hosting our EXDIR Carol Bellamy in Guatemala. In another era, she was a Peace Corps volunteer stationed there. A full schedule was prepared for her four day visit. I had spoken often with my dear friend, Ed Madinger (my former number 2 in La Paz, Bolivia) for guidance to ensure a smooth visit. Rumors abounded that Ms. Bellamy could be somewhat difficult to please. Her visit was smooth thanks to guidance from Ed, Mary Cahill and Marianne Kelly, her HQ support team.
Carol met President Arzu twice. As UNICEF’s head, he awarded her the Order of the Quetzal, Guatemala's highest award to celebrate our 50th anniversary. The gala at the Presidential Palace was attended by the Diplomatic Corps, high level government officials, UN officials and our entire staff with ample TV and press coverage.
Initially, Ms. Bellamy asked me to prepare her brief and simple speeches. She claimed that her Spanish was somewhat rusty. However, after perhaps two times, her formidable personality took over. For most of the other required speeches, she spoke from the heart in fine fashion, even when the President was in attendance the second time.
Our final day included a helicopter trip to far flung areas to inaugurate projects. We enjoyed a great day, even landing in front of a bicyclist to ask for directions. We boarded an AA flight to Miami with connections to Bogota, Colombia to attend a Rep's meeting. Everything had gone so smoothly until we were on a landing path to Miami and were confronted with huge storms which altered our arrival to Fort Myers. The next 7 hours were miserable. We were stuck in a crowded aircraft, toilets already unusable, no food or drink available, passengers unruly until a squad of burly security goons stormed the plane to restore a semblance of peace. They refused to permit us to debark into a waiting room although they did bring us some cold pizzas and water.
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| Receiving the award for UNICEF |
Eventually, we arrived in Miami to find about 5,000 stranded passengers milling around, due to missed, delayed or cancelled flights. Fortunately, Carol was in first class and maneuvered her way to the open door to call Ed Madinger in New York to rebook a flight for the morning. She then told me that she would look for a corner and sit on her suitcase and enjoy a beer. I said I would join her, but went in search of a hotel. It was now about 1:00 AM. The information desk gave me a number of a nearby motel which they said still had some rooms. I called. Two rooms were still available. So I inquired about their rates. Their response was $15 per hour. This was certainly not the proper establishment to take my big boss, so I dialed the Intercontinental, found Carol with her beer and suitcase and we taxied into Miami. My reasoning was that 4 hours of rest and a hot shower and clean undies was a better deal, even at $175 per room.
When we arrived in Bogota we were met in the diplomat’s lounge by the RD, Marta Mauras. Immediately, Carol stated to all that Marta should have a good look at her Guatemala Area Rep who had almost attempted to take her in the wee hours to a house of "ill repute" at the Miami Airport. Her humor cracked us up and I was contacted for weeks by HQ staff wanting all the details about my adventures with the EXDIR in Miami.
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