On behalf on the Organising Committee, copied here, please find attached a report/article on the recent UNICEF Rwanda Reunion in Portugal. Best regards, Steven Allen
Some 25-30 years on from our assignments to the UNICEF Rwanda emergency of the mid/late 1990s, a group of UNICEF retirees and one serving staff member reunited in Lisbon, Portugal in April. The group was fluid with some arriving and departing according to their other plans, but at least for two evening dinners, one to the accompaniment of traditional Fado song, a full quorum was achieved.
Accompanied through the rich history and culture of central Portugal by our excellent guide Carmen Guilherme, the group visited: a wine estate and the UNESCO World Heritage city of Evora in Alentejo province; the Belem quarter with the Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower; leaving Lisbon to the Sintra mountains and the Pena Palace, standing like something out of a storybook, followed by Cape Roca (the closest point on continental Europe to UNICEF NYHQ); and then back to medieval Portugal in the ancient walls of Óbidos and at Batalha monastery, with a refreshing stop along the Atlantic coast in Nazare; and lastly our journey concluded with a visit to the more modern-day shrine at Fatima.
Thanks to the archiving efforts of our colleagues, we were able to look again on images of ourselves from our time in Rwanda, allowing us to fondly remember absent friends: some unable to join the reunion this time; some sadly no longer with us but remaining forever in our hearts.
By all accounts we all had a very joyous reunion with impeccable arrangement thanks to the organising committee. Old friendships were renewed and shared experiences relived, and future connections re-established, reaffirming the bonds that unite us as members of the UNICEF family.
How wonderful to see these photos! I don't remember seeing anything about this get-together in Portugal and would have loved to join. I served in the Rwanda Emergency Office from May - September 1994 (first with Fritz Lherisson and then Nigel Fisher) and remember Mima and Pilar well. From there, I went to Mozambique for four years, in its post-war recovery effort. I have had lots of memories in this 30th anniversary year of the terrible Rwanda genocide. Ten years later, I served with UNICEF Sudan during the "first" and still ongoing Darfur genocide. In between, East Timor and Afghanistan during the first Taliban regime. And now we have Palestine, Myanmar, DRC, Syria and too many other humanitarian emergencies to count.
ReplyDeleteMany familiar friendly faces. Good memories from a difficult time. I am sorry that somehow I missed the invitation/information, I was not that far. jean-michel
ReplyDeleteGood to see you all. Memorable time - if very tragic. Our humanity is once again being tested in Gaza.
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