The Four Headquaters

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I was a translator. I chose this line of work because I wanted to see and understand the world. I wanted to help build bridges between nations. My best childhood friend spoke four languages at the age of ten. I wanted to be just like her.

She too spoke Austrian/German and Italian, but also Lebanese-Arabic, because that’s where her father was from. We learned Latin in fourth grade, and a year later, at the age of ten/eleven, we were tortured with old Greek, which fascinated me because, in writing, it looked like a secret language. We learned about the pyramids in Egpt and when I saw the hieroglyphs, my mind was made up. I would learn languages of all kind and I would travel and talk with everybody.

The urge to spread my wings came early. This world was mine to see, this world was mine to explore, country by country. My wish was encouraged by my grandma, who knew that I would have to face adulthood alone. She made it sound like I had an advantage over others of my age. I was free, while they would be held back by family ties, by roots they were proud of—roots and boundaries I didn’t have.

I learned about the UN in school. The United Nations, “Die Vereinten Nationen” in my native language, was in my eyes—and still is to this day—one of the most important unions we have built. I understand why it was formed. I belong to the second generation after World War II. I didn’t have family as a young girl, because most of them had fallen. My uncles and aunts had lost their lives either fighting or fleeing; one set of grandparents didn’t make it either. So many unborn nieces, nephews, and cousins I could never meet.

Yes, I understood why it was necessary to prevent another World War from happening. The four allies, President Roosevelt (USA), Winston Churchill (UK), Josef Stalin (USSR), and representatives from China, founded the union of nations. A charter was written, and it was signed in 1945 by 50 nations. President Roosevelt was one of the driving forces.

We drove by the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on one of our smuggling tours when I was still a little girl. Oh, yes, we smuggled! Back then, when Europe still had borders between all countries, we drove to Switzerland for coffee and chocolate…lots of coffee. My grandma, the wise woman I make sound like a saint on my blog, ‘used’ me as a distraction, and it worked; we were never caught.

We drove by the  Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

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Flags of many nations are flying in front of the building. It looked impressive; it felt important. It had meaning.

Even as a young girl, I understood the reason and the wish this building stood for. Peace on Earth. Less violence, more negotiation. It made sense to me, and it made sense to many back then. The scars of the two World Wars that had happened in the same century, so close together, could still be felt in many countries. Survivors shared their stories, families mourned the missing and the fallen, and buildings were still in shambles, even though many of them had been rebuilt.

Five or six years later, as a young adult, now on my own without a functioning family left, I moved to Vienna, the capital of Austria, and started my studies in language, art, and history.

I drove by the headquarters of the United Nations often, and still felt the same urge, the same importance. The building and flags spoke loud and clear.

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The dream to work there came true for me. I visited, listened, and learned. How does it feel to see the representatives of different nations discussing the world and its problems?

It’s humbling. It made me aware of the fact that we are all part of something big that can only work if we all work together. It’s not complicated, or perhaps it is?

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Years later, after my marriage to my husband, I visited New York, and of course, I visited another headquarters of the United Nations.

A few years before I gave up my career, the fourth and last headquarters was opened in Kenya, Africa. A strongpoint, the one I loved the most, because it shines bright in a central location in Africa.

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I wish there were headquarters in Australia and the Middle East as well, but sadly, I think this ship has sailed.

The United Nations is the ultimate stage of big politics. What is surprising for many is that it is a hospitable organization. Anyone can wander through the historic halls—of course, after security checks—all you have to do is sign up for one of the free tours.

A highlight is a visit to the “General Assembly Building”, the plenary hall in which countless disputes took place, but also initiatives such as aid packages for nations in need were decided.

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On the tour, you will learn which topics are currently particularly preoccupying the organization, and you will become familiar with the fascinating history of the association. Visitors are also explained why the UN doesn’t belong to any country or city, but is an “international territory” in which its own laws apply.

United against War! United against hunger! United against all evil (or so we wish).

Afterward, you go into the cafeteria, and you share a meal in the midst of all these languages, all the colors, all the gods people might pray to, all their hopes and wishes, united, eating and talking.

People’s dream for peace on earth will never come true, of course, I know that, but I did not expect it to ever be that far away as it seems today.

Peace is just a word fallen to pieces.

Politics has gotten away from me; it has chosen a path I cannot walk and will not follow. My desire to be non-judgmental has been beaten to shreds. All that is left now within me is silence and a frown.

I feel my feet trembling; there is a rumbling underneath me, and I feel the power is shifting. Or perhaps the rumbling is just the hole where my dream of peace will be buried.

I thought today I would share my thoughts about the United Nations and a little bit of who I am and what I still stand for.

And here is the link to my book “Losing it All”