I hope you're well. Many thanks for sharing the photo! Also including Raymond Naimy (next to RR); and ... gosh, senior moment.... the Sudanese doctor (wearing glasses behind you) who was Unicef MENA regional health adviser at that time; and Reza Hosseini, on the right edge of the photo (my truck-loading partner - see below).
Not just 'Iran 1990s' but very specifically taken in Tehran just before the joint Unicef-WHO team left overland for Baghdad from Tehran via Bakhtaran, to accompany trucks of paediatric drugs and supplies to Baghdad and thereafter to make as good an assessment as they could of the health situation of/impacts of the war on Iraqi women and children.
This appears to be a photo of members of the Unicef part of the team, plus Unicef Tehran staffers (including you!!) and the DRD (NF!) - if I recall correctly, I might also have been acting rep for Unicef Iran at that point??
The Hosseini brothers (Reza and Hamid) and I had worked together for several days previously at the Red Crescent warehouses to pack the supplies onto trucks, and to paint large UN letters on top of the tarpaulins on the trucks - so that the US/Coalition forces wouldn't bomb them. (As it was the week of Nowruz, there were no Red Crescent workers available to help us).
The supplies had arrived at Tehran in two Unicef-chartered planes, which we met with members of the Iranian military, who helped unload the cargo onto trucks that were then driven to the Red Crescent warehouses.
On 13 February, as the joint team was preparing to leave, we learned that the US air force had bombed the Al Amiriyah air-raid shelter in Baghdad, killing over 400 civilians, many of them children. We were all stunned. Of course, it put the continuation of the mission into doubt. But it was rapidly decided to go ahead (I can't remember the details, but I think this must have involved us getting back in touch with NYHQ and their contacting the US govt/military to ensure the team could still proceed).
So that means the photo was taken on 13 or 14 February 1991.
Though it was Nowruz, the government people Reza and I met in Foreign Affairs, Security, Transport etc were all tremendously supportive. When I had first asked if we could fly in the supplies to onforward to Iraq (a mere couple of years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war), the senior official in foreign affairs said, without hesitation, "Of course. We have no enemies who are children". That was a truly memorable statement!
A footnote: A few days into the truck-loading, I freaked out the NYHQ MENA desk - Stewart McNab was on the other end of the line - by telling them we couldn't find any blue paint for the 'UN' letters on the trucks, so we had to use pink paint. A definite no-no as far as the Coalition air force would be concerned. After their freak-out, I told them the truth - the letters were painted in blue.....
As you can see, you brought back a few memories with this one!
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Wonderful memories. Bilge Bassani
ReplyDeleteSo happy to see this picture with so many great people and so many wonderful memories
ReplyDeleteHi Niloufar,
ReplyDeleteI hope you're well. Many thanks for sharing the photo! Also including Raymond Naimy (next to RR); and ... gosh, senior moment.... the Sudanese doctor (wearing glasses behind you) who was Unicef MENA regional health adviser at that time; and Reza Hosseini, on the right edge of the photo (my truck-loading partner - see below).
Not just 'Iran 1990s' but very specifically taken in Tehran just before the joint Unicef-WHO team left overland for Baghdad from Tehran via Bakhtaran, to accompany trucks of paediatric drugs and supplies to Baghdad and thereafter to make as good an assessment as they could of the health situation of/impacts of the war on Iraqi women and children.
This appears to be a photo of members of the Unicef part of the team, plus Unicef Tehran staffers (including you!!) and the DRD (NF!) - if I recall correctly, I might also have been acting rep for Unicef Iran at that point??
The Hosseini brothers (Reza and Hamid) and I had worked together for several days previously at the Red Crescent warehouses to pack the supplies onto trucks, and to paint large UN letters on top of the tarpaulins on the trucks - so that the US/Coalition forces wouldn't bomb them. (As it was the week of Nowruz, there were no Red Crescent workers available to help us).
The supplies had arrived at Tehran in two Unicef-chartered planes, which we met with members of the Iranian military, who helped unload the cargo onto trucks that were then driven to the Red Crescent warehouses.
On 13 February, as the joint team was preparing to leave, we learned that the US air force had bombed the Al Amiriyah air-raid shelter in Baghdad, killing over 400 civilians, many of them children. We were all stunned. Of course, it put the continuation of the mission into doubt. But it was rapidly decided to go ahead (I can't remember the details, but I think this must have involved us getting back in touch with NYHQ and their contacting the US govt/military to ensure the team could still proceed).
So that means the photo was taken on 13 or 14 February 1991.
Though it was Nowruz, the government people Reza and I met in Foreign Affairs, Security, Transport etc were all tremendously supportive. When I had first asked if we could fly in the supplies to onforward to Iraq (a mere couple of years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war), the senior official in foreign affairs said, without hesitation, "Of course. We have no enemies who are children". That was a truly memorable statement!
A footnote: A few days into the truck-loading, I freaked out the NYHQ MENA desk - Stewart McNab was on the other end of the line - by telling them we couldn't find any blue paint for the 'UN' letters on the trucks, so we had to use pink paint. A definite no-no as far as the Coalition air force would be concerned. After their freak-out, I told them the truth - the letters were painted in blue.....
As you can see, you brought back a few memories with this one!
Take care and all warmest wishes,
Nigel
My apologies to El Fateh El-Samani for my senior moment in forgetting his name......Nigel
ReplyDelete