2015年CRI 中国维和人员：维护和平，勇敢者的游戏（在线收听）

“You need some tact to play the game of the brave.”

This is how Nan Yixu sums up the essence of his job – that of a military observer deployed in Lebanon,

As a member of the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in Lebanon, Nan Yixu’s job was to supervise the ceasefire line in the volatile tri-border region of Lebanon, Israel and Syria. Place names of that region often appeared in breaking news at that time: Bekaa Valley, Golan Heights -- all about tension or conflicts. There are constant cross-border skirmishes triggered by illegal transfer of arms, crossing of combatants and the flight of refugees.

Nan Yixu’s mission was to observe what was happening on the ground, to look out for any unexploded ordnance like bombs, shells, grenades or land mines buried under the roads. His duty was to report what he saw and heard in a timely manner through the appropriate channels.

Military observers are the eyes and ears of UN. Higher level commanders need their input to understand the ground situation and make the right decisions.

Nan Yixu says even though they were only there to observe, there were constantly exposed to danger.

“When we were patrolling alongside the Blue Line, anything could happen. For instance, people from different forces might turn their guns at you simultaneously. You looked up and saw all the red dots, the laser sightings, on your teammate’s face. Both of you rushed back to the car, found somewhere safe to hide and immediately reported what you’d seen. You never asked for these things to happen, but they did make you better teammates, closer friends.”

Dealing with such life-and-death situations was only one of the challenges that peacekeepers faced. Culture shock was another obstacle they must overcome.

Not only must you communicate with teammates from different nations, interacting with local residents from different ethnic groups and religious backgrounds could be quite tricky.

The tri-border region separating Lebanon, Israel and Syria, is also home to a dozens of different tribes who had been fighting with each other for decades. Even something as simple as the wrong greeting might end up offending the locals.

Nan Yixu then learned a useful skill of telling people’s religion by simply asking their names

“If one’s name contain words like Ali, Mohammed or Abdo, he’s most likely to be a Muslim, which means ‘Assalaamu Alaikum’is a good way to greet him. However, in Lebanon, there are also lots of Christians from different branches, which you can also tell apart by their names. Another way to deal with this is to learn some local dialects. Greeting them with their own common language can also give you some brownie points.”

Like Nan Yixu, He Xing has also carried out some similar mission several months ago. He served under the UN flag as Force Engineer at Force Headquarters in the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in Western Sudan from May 2014 to June 2015. He was the Force Commander’s advisor on all engineering matters related to post-war reconstruction in a region that has undergone a bloody war.

He Xing was responsible for assigning engineering tasks to different teams, evaluating the performance of engineering companies in the mission; communicating with different sections and civilian organizations to prioritize engineering tasks; and monitor the progress made.

When He Xing was about to wrap up his mission in Darfur he was an outstanding recommendation by his Chief of Staff and Force Commander.

He reads the copy of his report with joy and fulfillment.

“I quote, ‘He exhibited a high level of leadership in an environment of rapid change and uncertainty. He is one of the excellent leaders and planners who is always forthcoming, going the extra mile in the call of duty and indeed his contribution to UNAMID is highly commendable. COL HE XING is a good Ambassador of The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and his country. I recommend him for the future and higher assignments in UN service, quote.”

He Xing is now back in China, teaching in a university in China’s eastern city of Nanjing.

He says he will always cherish the experiences he has gained as a peacekeeper

“In each and every peacekeeping mission, there’s always danger, security concerns. Accidents happen. I wish all the peacekeepers can finish their mission successfully and safely. And I wish during the mission they should learn from foreigners from their counterparts. And try to maintain a good relationship with local communities. ”

He Xing says he witnessed Chinese peacekeepers overcoming the challenges one by one and making steady progress in various aspects.

For CRI, I’m Niu Honglin.