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Copyright © 2019 Graeme Membrey
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication data
Graeme Membrey, author.
ISBN 9781925367874 (paperback)
ISBN 9780648564690 (ebook)
Printed in Australia
Cover design by Alice Cannet
Typesetting by Elly Cridland
BE PUBLISHED
Publish through a successful publisher. National Distribution through Woodslane Pty Ltd
International Distribution to the United Kingdom, North America Sales Representation to South East Asia
Email: [email protected]
Introduction
Author’s Note
I began to form this book some time ago, but only in theory and only through continuous comments from friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Often I would be asked, “What do you actually do in the United Nations?” and if I began to give an explanation, it generally developed into a tale, or three, of adventures, high risks and fun. “You must write a book!” was a common call from a variety of folk, though the effort just seemed too much, and where would I start?
Only six to eight very short weeks before starting this project, a friend and former colleague of mine shared with me his draft book on his memoirs. I read the chapters he sent me, which was much of the book, and I really enjoyed his simplicity and descriptions. For reasons I can’t really explain, he seemed to write and think like I did. I noted he was clear in his descriptions and articulate in his grammar and wondered if I could do such a thing. Previously, I had written a few ‘blogs’ on different events I had been involved in and I thought this might be a way to save and record some memories. But none were focused on the year of this book, that being 1991. So, after reading my friend’s draft, I thought, I could do that, and so I started.
Each day after work I challenged myself to write a 1,500–3,000 word blog on the various events that happened and around me in that year of 1991. On weekends, I had to do 5,000 words. Another friend, who holds a doctorate and has written a couple of books himself, told me, “You have to be engaged in the writing, in some manner, at least daily,” and I took this advice on. I was working in Yemen and then back in Afghanistan at the time I first drafted this book. Not much else was available to do at nights or on weekends as the general security risks were too high for general movements of a social kind. But staying by the laptop and writing what I wanted was great fun and I admit I really enjoyed it. Amazingly, times, dates, names and sequences that I had not thought of for many years jumped into my head. I recalled funny episodes, scary activities and what I thought were interesting ditties of the time. In just eight weeks I had written over 105,000 words that then needed to be moulded into a book. And that’s when the hard work came about. If you consider writing your own book, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t, remember like most good things of value, they always end up with a bit of hard work … though still fun and rewarding!
On reflection, my life has been unlike most, though in many ways, it has been very similar to the lives of other people I can individually remember. In 1992, I met a New Zealander from the United Nations, a man of some 30 years of international experience who was in Kabul on a short ‘one-dollar-per-day’ contract as he was then retired and his pension would not allow him to earn much in the year (though he received substantial other allowances!). He had three houses located in New Zealand, Scotland and Spain, which included a farm and a castle. Although he had been robbed and bashed, threatened with guns and bombed, and had been divorced and married again on three occasions, he thought his life had been a simple one. He was the first civilian of the United Nations who I really came to respect, though there were many others to follow. It was from him that I realised that there was so much more to life than just going to the office every day and to the pub on weekends. His life had been captivating, yet he claimed he had only worked in locations of low to medium levels of risk.
With my seventeen years of service in the Australian Army and now a little longer in the service of the United Nations as a senior security adviser, I have also been divorced, been held under abduction, have had rifles and knives thrust at me, have survived several artillery attacks, been shot at on occasion and have been injured by rocket fire. I’ve been terrified, scared, saddened and yet also made to laugh with happiness and joy on many, many occasions. Truly, my lifestyle and activities are not for everyone and perhaps a personal desire to be someone special has kept me going. Though at times I sometimes sit back and think what else do I want to do in my life? Without fear of contradiction, what I have done for the past decades and what I still do now, really is what I want to do.
I remember, in those early days of 1991–92, wondering how long I could work in the extreme environments of hardship I was in and to what advantage it would be. Well now that I have done it, and although I have a little time left before my retirement calls me, I know it was the best choice I ever made. Even now, I still have a small farm in south-west Australia and a lovely apartment in Melbourne. My pension will be substantial and I feel comfortable with life as it stands today. After many years in the army, of which I loved every day, finding another career just as demanding and exciting seems like a one-in-a-million opportunity. Truly, I am very happy to have chosen my life’s path as it is.
Nowadays, I’ll admit that I do less of the active functions in the field and mostly manage the younger brigade. Yet, even when I began to write this book, I had to fight for my life when three armed thugs attempted to kill me in the city of Sana’a. I survived only because they mucked up their own tactics and I was able to take advantage of that. Although a few shots were fired, no-one was injured. Since then, we security staff in the United Nations security teams drive armoured vehicles and are often authorised to carry firearms. Most of our work these days is in the management of security risks and there is far less chance that we will be put into direct danger than in years gone by. But the world is changing and the threats to the United Nations and the broader international community seem to be widening. No longer is the blue United Nations flag a symbol that largely guarantees security. In fact, in many places, it is the opposite and the organisation’s flag is not always displayed on vehicles and individual clothing. This is a sad reflection on the world today and in particular on the terror networks that operate covertly and overtly in much of our world. Islamic terrorism is certainly the most widely presented in the international media, but it is not the only form of terrorism we see and still have to work with.
Although this book talks about my experiences in Afghanistan in 1991, on occasion I break out and use a story or three from before and sometimes after that year to illustrate a point. I chose 1991 as I was still with the Australian Army and it was also the first year I was deployed on operational status outside of my country. It was an amazing year, though