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Comments We Received from Readers 14 to 21 December 2024


Detlef's piece is right to the point. It would not be very difficult to find additional issues of concern. The external evaluation case highlighted by Anonymous can only be interpreted as UNICEF's interventions had done harm. Has the possibility of UNICEF activities actually doing harm ever been given a thought?
In Response to a comment by Unknown
before anyone chimes in on my levelling off and not getting promoted - part of it was I was and remain outspoken. Part of it was I choose posts not for their visibility and "promotion" potential and limelight - but mainly focussed on keeping my family together. I accepted I was plateaued to keep my family together and to have a sane life - I am very Ok with that and would not change a thing. But speaking out against sacrilegious things like this - definitely hampers the career trajectory. I have seen Detlef challenge UN reform and aid effectiveness to rooms full of UN agency Reps - and he got silence and cold stares. He made excellent, evidence based arguments - and NO one wanted to hear it. We had several moments over the past 20 years of UN REFORM for deep reflection like Detlef has done - but never had the bravery to do it - just tinker with tools and deploy more UNRC staff - now the astronomical growth of UNRCO staff is fueled by a 1 % LEVY on each UN agency grant that comes in - they shave it off at HQ level before the grant even lands. I often sit in UN coordination meetings completely outnumbered by scores of newly hired UNRCO staff hired by the 100s of millions of USD in the kitty for UN coordination - how long will donors play this game?
In Response to a comment by Unknown
before anyone chimes in on my levelling off and not getting promoted - part of it was I was and remain outspoken. Part of it was I choose posts not for their visibility and "promotion" potential and limelight - but mainly focussed on keeping my family together. I accepted I was plateaued to keep my family together and to have a sane life - I am very Ok with that and would not change a thing. But speaking out against sacrilegious things like this - definitely hampers the career trajectory. I have seen Detlef challenge UN reform and aid effectiveness to rooms full of UN agency Reps - and he got silence and cold stares. He made excellent, evidence based arguments - and NO one wanted to hear it. We had several moments over the past 20 years of UN REFORM for deep reflection like Detlef has done - but never had the bravery to do it - just tinker with tools and deploy more UNRC staff - now the astronomical growth of UNRCO staff is fueled by a 1 % LEVY on each UN agency grant that comes in - they shave it off at HQ level before the grant even lands. I often sit in UN coordination meetings completely outnumbered by scores of newly hired UNRCO staff hired by the 100s of millions of USD in the kitty for UN coordination - how long will donors play this game?
In Response to a comment by Unknown
Related this I posted this comment on the article about the hypocricy book written by a German PhD student - what I wrote holds true in this debate too: I actually know of a moment when a country office I worked in staged the appearance of life cycle programming (as part of HRBAP) for an RD visit -- I was OIC at the time - ended up signing over 40 TAs for staff to travel to some remote place and force all of our interventions to be placed in one location so the RD could see them all - we sort of fudged that it was done for convenience but assured the RD this was our approach in each district. But in fact we never had all those interventions (0 - 5, school age, and youth) all in one place - we worked in silos. The senior staff who pulled this off all got promoted very fast and moved on. I pooh-poohed it (saying we were lucky the RD did not figure out the charade) and I never got promoted after that. We continued the charade for years if not decades. A decade later I was back (still not promoted)- and the district approach was evaluated as we were developing a new CPD. The external evaluator picked 15 districts where UNICEF had "supported" for MUCH more than a decade, and 15 districts adjacent to those - identical in demographics - where we did not provide one penny of support (as we were "piloting" in those 15 or so but not in all). Surprise, surprise - the evaluator found children did BETTER in the districts we never set foot in. Our staff had a filt - we nearly had a revolution against the evaluators - but the evidence was clear : we had ZERO impact in those areas - and in fact in places we did not work children did better. Our staff tried to say we picked "hard to reach areas with more vulnerable kids" - but the districts were identical - we just picked those as that is how many districts we thought we could manage - the ones right next door were left out. What happened right next door - they did not have any UNICEF workshops, there was no DSA spread around, no UNICEF staff and consultants scurrying around to make things look like they are improving, no sham annual review or donor report. Local government and parents in those places had to get on with things - and in so doing their kids gradually did better than the "pilots" next door where UNICEF poured in MILLIONS of dollars piloting all sorts of non sense. I did not rub anyone's face in it - but I was dead right back when we staged it for the RD and when we said if we did all those things it will transform the child. None of it worked.
I actually know of a moment when a country office I worked in staged the appearance of life cycle programming for an RD visit -- I was OIC at the time - ended up signing over 40 TAs for staff to travel to some remote place and force all of our interventions to be placed in one location so the RD could see them all - we sort of fudged that it was done for convenience but assured the RD this was our approach in each district. But in fact we never had all those interventions (0 - 5, school age, and youth) all in one place - we worked in silos. The senior staff who pulled this off all got promoted very fast and moved on. I pooh-poohed it (saying we were lucky the RD did not figure out the charade) and I never got promoted after that. We continued the charade for years if not decades. A decade later I was back (still not promoted)- and the district approach was evaluated as we were developing a new CPD. The external evaluator picked 15 districts where UNICEF had "supported" for MUCH more than a decade, and 15 districts adjacent to those - identical in demographics - where we did not provide one penny of support (as we were "piloting" in those 15 or so but not in all). Surprise, surprise - the evaluator found children did BETTER in the districts we never set foot in. Our staff had a filt - we nearly had a revolution against the evaluators - but the evidence was clear : we had ZERO impact in those areas - and in fact in places we did not work children did better. Our staff tried to say we picked "hard to reach areas with more vulnerable kids" - but the districts were identical - we just picked those as that is how many districts we thought we could manage - the ones right next door were left out. What happened right next door - they did not have any UNICEF workshops, there was no DSA spread around, no UNICEF staff and consultants scurrying around to make things look like they are improving, no sham annual review or donor report. Local government and parents in those places had to get on with things - and in so doing their kids gradually did better than the "pilots" next door where UNICEF poured in MILLIONS of dollars piloting all sorts of non sense. I did not rub anyone's face in it - but I was dead right back when we staged it for the RD and when we said if we did all those things it will transform the child. None of it worked.
I bought book with a Amazon credit I had - it was costly - and had it shipped to my duty station. It is a dry and painful read - but looking for some crumbs to share. the review shared above - is very accurate thus far. It doesn't matter how emotional we are about our "mandate" - we often act contrary to our words. When we spend ALL OVER OUR time hand wringing about an unliquidated cash advance to some dubious partner, when we tidy up our files for audits, when we hold our nose and approve liquidations and travel and procurement - in the name of getting stuff done - we demonstrate how hypocritical we are. No country has developed from aid - it may have given then a leg up - but only when they had the political will and means did they graduate off the donor teat. Thankful we have young people who keep challenging us like this. Without such reflection we move closer and closer to outright irrelevance
Thank you Franziska, for this interesting report and the beautiful photos. Ever since I lived and worked in Hamburg and then New York and now St.Croix, I have been a maritime enthusiast and have followed the tragedies of the collision of two freighters in the North Sea with "Verity" sinking in October 2023, and a year later the container`ship M/V "DALI" destroying the Key Bridge in Baltimore. I would have loved to study at the WMU in Malmoe.
An interesting new argument why cigarettes are bad...
I have always wondered, why UNICEF is not a top recipient, although Bill Gates at least supports our projects, like vaccinations etc. As a friend of Buffet, he probably can and does make suggestions.
So true. Children' can't vote nor influence politicians, yet they are "worth more than gold".
I am in a similar situation of exorbitant hospital charges (- like over $ 2,000 per day for the electronic bed which disturbs rather than sooths the patient). CIGNA and ASHI have warned me that US medical costs are very high, and CIGNA has tried its best to explain their limitation due to the contract I have. I was told by a lawyer that I might need a Miami lawyer to reduce the bill, but in any case it is worrisome.
Yes, my images of Estate Whim are old. There has been considerable damage from Hurricanes and the Society has been struggling to raise funds and make the repairs. Nevertheless, it was and is a great organization and worth supporting, Too many ruins have fallen into disrepair.
In Response to a comment by Unknown
My guess is that UNICEF could fairly well cope with a cut (or cut-off) in USG funding. Kul rightly identifies the Executive Director appointment as the major issue, with most potential for destructive impact. But why - WHY - must the next ExD necessarily be from the USA? Surely it is time for the monopolization of UNICEF leadership by one country to change - and for a properly competitive, merit-based process run by the S-G's Office ...? Too much to hope for?
Dec 17, 2024
A fine article but all images and text concerning the Landmarks Society and Estate Whim are inaccurate for now. Also, the ruins at the outskirts of Christiansted carry no signage as to their identity and do not prompt visitation.
Christian Clark commented on "UNICEF for Beginners : Christian Clark"
Dec 16, 2024
Thanks Paula
In Response to a comment by Paula Claycomb
Paula Claycomb commented on "UNICEF for Beginners : Christian Clark"
Dec 16, 2024
I am always impressed with your commitment to cartoons and animation and to easy-to-read versions of important documents. Thanks for keeping true to your mission, Christian!
Dear Karin, I hope this finds you well and enjoying the Holiday Season. Many thanks for your lovely card.
I write to congratulate you and to thank you for signing the Letter to ED Russell about giving some attention to UNICEF History in the lead up to UNICEF@80. It was a good initiative that Kul started and we all hope that your own inputs will give even more weight to getting things done in the next couple of years. We all have been lamenting the paucity of institutional memory and historical knowledge among the current staff world-wide. The 80th anniversary may be a good opportunity for the start of increasing attention not only to the urgent and immediate, but also to where the Organization is coming from in previous times. As it grows older UNICEF is bound to lose a great deal of this perspective if something is not done to capture the wealth of information available in all country offices as well as in NY. There must also be a better way of having the knowledge available for research and reference than stocking it in some far away warehouse. In any case we are pleased that ED's initial response, albeit brief, was positive and that the rest of the management will go along and take serious action.
Best for the Holidays.
Fouad
Tom, you have very well written about Syria situation. I wonder if you could write about the plight of Rohyngas in Cox’s Bazaar of Bangladesh. If you are willing to write about Rohyngas you may get information from UN Refugee Organization & Google.
I am extremely grateful to Mahesh for the gift of his book. It is enjoyable, heartfelt...and awe-inspiring. Thank you, dear colleague and friend.
Dec 15, 2024
Excellent article! I’m especially proud of my husband, the writer. When we met in New York he had no idea where St. Croix was located. After retirement from UNICEF we retired back to St. Croix, my home, where he feels very much at home with the island life, culture, history, and the weather no matter what it brings. This article proves his research skills, photography, and love of the Crucian way, the old ruins, and the new future ruins of very distant times spouting up everywhere in our neighborhood in Christiansted. Isabel
Excellent and fun! Thank you Detlef.
Warm wishes to all readers
A rollicking good read from one of our very best writers. Highly recommended.
Dec 15, 2024
Thank you, Tom! I had no idea, but I'm not surprised. Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime in Syria has been accused of severe human rights abuses during the civil war, including chemical attacks, bombings, and torture against civilians. These actions were driven by his desire to maintain power and enjoy a lavish lifestyle at his people's expense.

Al-Assad, tragically, killed many of his own citizens, including Palestinians. As of May 2021, NGO estimates that at least 580,000 people have died, with 31,000 being children. Moreover, 13 million Syrians have been displaced, and 6.7 million refugees were forced to flee the country. Many of us attending the 2015 XUNICEF Budapest reunion remember and were witness to part of the Syrian migrant path through Hungary

Considering the political crisis in the Middle East, I'm not very optimistic about the future of these displaced children. Sadly, they might become potential recruits for anti-Western extremist groups. Let's hope for the best and support the resilient, good-hearted Syrian people.
There must have been several countries that supported ISIS financially, politically and militarily - they would not have been so successful, for so long without such support. Would it be unreasonable to ask those countries to sort out the mess their support created?
Thanks, Tom, for reminding us about this "Guantanamo in Northern Syria" situation - only worse because of the plight of large numbers of women and children. Hardly anybody - outside a slice of the humanitarian community - knows about this horrific situation. Let's hope that the new authorities in Syria will help with efforts to rehabilitate these hapless souls with help of ICRC, UNICEF and others.
A great idea. I did the history of UNICEF Ethiopia in 2018 commissioned by Gillian Melsop. The CO should still have the original pdf and pictures. It was a wonderful experience writing it as so much of present day practices of nutrition and other responses to emergencies were 'learnt' and practiced there. UNICEF has a lot to be proud of and must insist and fight for its global position to advocate against mankind's propensities to do evil against itself.
Line 8 - I believe you meant "no way to condone"
BRAVO India...as a philatelist I am pleased that some countries are still issuing postage stamps to commemorate UNICEF. In this regard India has been much more active than others. Previously it was common among all countries, but has dwindled considerably in recent times. Hopefully this may encourage other nations to follow suit.

Comments

  1. Thank you so much for all the hard work you do throughout the year to bring us all together and highlight all the fascinating aspects that many have written about and pictured.

    ReplyDelete

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