UNWRA revisited

A few days after returning from the States, my former colleague at UNRWA (that’s the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), contacted me. She was seconded by the Danish Refugee Council for a management role in rebuilding Nahr el-Bared, the camp that was destroyed by fighting (and, later, looting) last year. We had worked together up until I left UNRWA in June, though I had a different boss. She called me to ask, nay—to beg—me to come back just for the month of August, to work with her up in Tripoli. She would be leaving then as well, and she had many projects in the works that she needed help finishing up. All sounded interesting: a newsletter for the refugees, training some field staff in making project proposals and writing reports, working with the camp information officers. All up in Tripoli, so none of the Beirut office madness to deal with. And all with her, a friend, someone well organized, with good communication skills and always working with a team approach in mind. Respectful. Fun. And—amaingly--all during the month-long vacation of my former boss, a well-meaning but badly organized micro-manager who moves at 100 mph at all times and who regularly fails to pass on important information to people affected by it, inspiring the trust of no-one and leaving a trail of unhappy campers in his wake.

Soooooo, Tom and I talked it over, and I decided to go for it. It is certainly nice to be begged to work! I do also have a short-term editing job for AUB (American University of Beirut), but I can continue that work at a slower pace on evenings and weekends while working with UNRWA in August. Come September I will be back to editing with the laptop on the balcony, but for now here I am in Tripoli.