New York: Europe and the Arabs
"In Yemen, a new generation yearns for a better tomorrow. Children sit in classrooms without walls, floors, or desks, learning, and they are proud of what they are learning." With pride, Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Yemen, speaks about the determination of girls and boys in Yemen to learn and the support UNICEF strives to provide them in all areas.
Hawkins' experience in Yemen and his journey in humanitarian work were present in his interview with Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, on her program "Awake at Night," which addresses issues that concern UN officials and humanitarian workers. The award-winning program is broadcast on the UN website.
In this episode, Peter Hawkins reflects on the amazing resilience of the people he serves and shares how growing up in Ethiopia and serving in Iraq taught him to never give up on his journey to work for change.
The UN Daily News featured excerpts from the interview, told by Peter Hawkins.
Determination to Learn Despite Destruction
I spent two and a half years in Yemen. You see poverty everywhere, in the eyes of children, their dusty hair, and their skin.
The schools were destroyed. So the children go there and sit in those classrooms with no walls, no floors, and no desks, and they learn. They are proud of what they are learning.
And when I visit those schools, they say to me, "Look, don't worry. We'll keep learning. But if you can provide us with desks, build walls, provide a floor and a blackboard, we'll be better."
What we've been able to do in the past three months is provide 23,000 desks across the northern region. It's been a tremendous achievement. 1,116 schools across Yemen have been rehabilitated through a fantastic education program.
I was in a school that was completely destroyed, with both boys and girls in it, which is unusual in this context. I went into the boys' classroom, and it was severely damaged. The ceiling was just leaning on a single stick. I looked at those children there and thought: If something happens, what will happen to these children? But on the other hand, they were all smiling and learning.
I walked out and found 12 girls sitting on the ground next to a tree with a blackboard. One of them was carrying her child. They were in the 11th grade.
Setting Priorities
In Yemen, there are many issues to address while working there, but I think the biggest one over the past two years has been the collapse of the banking system. This has really impacted the way we work.
Our UN staff have been detained. This creates uncertainty about the safety and security of our staff.
The other issue is the funding cuts and the reduction of humanitarian aid. But for me, this is the easiest to address. It's about setting priorities. What we must advocate for is ensuring that the most vulnerable children, women, girls, and boys have access to services and are able to access them.
A Story That Began in Ethiopia
I was born in East London, and my parents moved to Ethiopia. I spent almost 28 years of my life in Ethiopia, where we lived and studied. I then attended high school and university in London, but I kept coming back.
My father and mother were chartered accountants and founded their own firm, an auditing firm in Ethiopia. Among the things they did as a firm was handle some charitable accounts. One of them was for a fistula hospital.
My mother assigned me to manage the hospital's accounts. It was a wonderful experience for me as a young person to handle the hospital's accounts. My father then became chairman of the board. After his death, I became a member of the board.
These things make a person. The combination of my father's philanthropy and my mother's desire to succeed and manage a business effectively.
I had the privilege of returning immediately after university to work during the famine in northern Ethiopia. So Ethiopia represents everything that influences me, motivates me, and benefits me. My work there taught me that you can achieve success, ensure a child's survival, ensure that people survive.
Joining UNICEF and the attraction to pluralism
Before joining UNICEF in 2015, I worked for the British government. Pluralism was a great attraction for me. Ironically, there is an attack on pluralism today. This is sad. But I prefer to be within the multilateral community to defend our ability to respond to situations rather than remaining outside of it.
I believe multilateralism is important because it is the value that motivated the world to come together after World War II, when the United Nations was founded in 1948, and beyond.
What we hope for is to move away from where we are today. We need to create a new world order. The values ​​upon which the United Nations was founded need to be either implemented or modified to create a different world order. I am optimistic, but it will take time.
Memories from Iraq
After joining UNICEF, I have worked in Iraq since 2015. There are many memorable moments from my time there.
Immediately after the defeat of ISIS in Mosul, I was walking down a street wearing my jacket and helmet when I saw two children playing. I approached them, but they were scared and ran back to their house.
I followed them home. Their grandmother was home, and I asked her if I could come in, and she did. We sat there and talked, and I spoke to the children. They hadn't left their home for three or four years. It was the first time they'd ever gone outside to play. They were homeschooled and hadn't seen other adults. But when they met and talked to me, they realized there was good in this world.
Making the World a Better Place
When I was in Korem, the epicenter of the famine in Ethiopia, every dawn, I would go up to the plains and walk around where 100,000 people were living in tents. As I walked around, I would come across a mother carrying her dead child or a husband carrying his dead wife. I was overwhelmed with emotion.
If you're overwhelmed with these emotions, you can't do anything to help. So you had to step back and say: "Well, that child, that mother, that father died today. How can you prevent that tomorrow?" So, everything we do is for today and tomorrow, while looking to the future to see what we can do to make this world a better place and contribute even a small part to that.
I've been lucky in life. I've loved my life. I have no regrets. Every day I wake up and I'd rather start in the morning than stay up at night. Nothing keeps me up at night. I feel like there's something I can do. Everything keeps me going during the day.