fortnight in fontinalis
anatomy of a peace operation
Fontinalis is one of several countries in a fictional training scenario, created by the exercise department at the PPC, to train those who serve in conflict zones. On November 16, 2007, a 50-person team of Canadian staff was “deployed” to Fontinalis in a peace operation simulation learning event that is currently unfolding.
My name is Lee-Anne Peluk, and I am playing the role of Kristine LaPearson, Director of Public Information for the United Nations Mission in Fontinalis (UNMIF). Starting in November, I will blog about this experience in character, and you can follow along and learn the anatomy of a peace operation.
Please click on a date to read the blog for that day
november 17: overview of the crisis
- Things are ramping up for the United Nations Mission in Fontinalis. The security situation over the past few months has been tenuous: while there is technically a cease-fire agreement in place, the work of settling internally displaced persons and building trust in the UN’s mandate has been quite difficult.
It’s a challenging time, to say the least, to step into the role of director of public information for UNMIF. While the government and the people have welcomed the help international community, there have been many setbacks for the people of Fontinalis since the start of the civil war here.
Officially, the conflict in Fontinalis lasted less than 3 years, but the tenuous relationship between the Ethnic Truttan minority and Fontinalians in the region goes back much further. In addition to religious and cultural differences between them, there are many profound economic and social inequalities that have built over hundreds of years, including the political and cultural heritage of colonialism.
More recently, the origins of the conflict have involved a toxic mixture of ethnic cleansing, economic uncertainty, constitutional crisis and the mass exodus of thousands of both Fontinalians and Truttans from their homes and communities.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2002, as the economic conditions in Fontinalis began to deteriorate, incidents involving ethnic hatred between the two groups began to occur with increasing frequency. In some cases, it was reported that blocks of homes of the ethnic Truttans were stoned or set on fire. Thousands of Fontinalian civilians were also driven out of their homes.
While the military forces of both factions have shown a willingness to abide by the terms of the cease-fire agreement, various warlords, bandits and criminals are still using violence to achieve their personal and political goals. This has made UNMIF’s job difficult and dangerous. Right now, there at least half a million internally displaced people, with a cease-fire agreement being monitored by UNMIF.
On August 22, 2007, the UN Security Council passed a sixth UN Security Council Resolution S/RES/2176 inviting members states to contribute military forces to a multinational force in Fontinalis FONFOR, to assist in the implementation of the military aspects of the Malma CFA. FONFOR, a NATO organized deployment, arrived into Fontinalis on November 15, 2007 and will be full strength by November 21, 2007.
I will keep you posted each day as the situation unfolds.
Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 18: disturbing weather
- This morning I had my first meeting of coordination with the Public Information Officers from NATO. In a short time, we covered a lot of ground. We agreed that it is important for all teams involved in UNMIF, including the NATO-led force, to coordinate our public messages. It’s vital to build the trust of all people in UNMIF and our partners, if Fontinalians are going to trust us.
It’s their trust that UNMIF needs most – to solidify a team to restore rule of law, deliver humanitarian aid and provide a safe and secure environment.
Yesterday the Deputy SRSG for UNMIF briefed all of the UN’s partner organizations on the current state of affairs in Fontinalis. Deputy Marco Peronne counseled us generally on the set up of the mission and mentioned that he was concerned for the pattern of weather that has been developing in Fontinalis.
There’s been an awful lot of rain, and this puts us at risk for a flood; a flood would constitute a disaster of epic proportions, since it would force so many people who are already displaced from their homes and communities to move again. And, frankly, if five hundred thousand people started to move inside Fontinalis, it would throw all of the order that has been so adroitly established this far into total disarray. I don’t know what we’d do!The International News Magazine, Newscan, printed a special report issue today, raising a number of important issues in the mission that the UN fully intends to address. One reporter spoke with the chair of a women’s NGO “Wimyn’s Action For Rights.” The spokesperson told the media that she and her colleagues would be taking aim at FONFOR to hold the force accountable for the impact of its actions and policies on the women of Fontinalis.
This is obviously an issue that is close to my heart, as my own mother is a refugee and ultimately influenced my decision to work under the auspices of the UN.
She, like I, is afraid that the presence of a large, heavily armed male military will intimidate or otherwise negatively affect the women of Fontinalis.I will update you tomorrow on the situation in Fontinalis. Sleep well.
Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 19: blackouts in fontinalis
- Loyal readers. There have been rolling blackouts across Fontinalis all day, and access to electricity has been patchy, even for those of us at UNMIF.
The weakened power grid will have huge impacts on the people of Fontinalis and humanitarian efforts alike. Fontinalis uses coal and fuel to generate 2300 megawatts of electricity per day; unfortunately, the weakest points are along the tension filled ceasefire lines, which begs the question: will the ceasefire hold if everyone is in the dark?
The national weather bureau is predicting heavy rains and continued chance of flooding for the remainder of the week. At UNMIF, we are concerned about how this weather will affect the population and internally displaced persons who are moving from Camp Hope to higher ground and leaving Camp Prudence altogether.Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 21: tragedy strikes hard
- Today, a tragic accident in Fontinalis reinforced local distrust in NATO forces.
A NATO convoy was traveling to a Northern region of Fontinalis when it struck and killed a local 31-year-old man and his 5-year-old daughter. The man’s wife was quoted in her grief: “You come and you take. You claimed my husband and my child. How are we to eat? How will we survive?”
“They come to our country without speaking our language or knowing anything about us,” claimed an elementary school teacher who is fed up with the cultural insensitivity on all sides.NATO, on the other hand, maintains its impartiality – despite claims that the multi-national force is taking sides between the Ethnic Truttans and the Fontinalians. The semantics are a bit slippery indeed: NATO has assured the international community and the local population that it will use force impartially, but that it will not be neutral in the execution of its mission.
UNMIF, as the SRSG has already suggested, believes that the arrival of the NATO-led FONFOR is compelling evidence of the commitment of the international community to help Fontinalis achieve a sustainable peace. However, while the international community can – and should – assist the process, its ultimate success rests first and foremost in the hands of Fontinalians.
So, it’s incredibly important that the locals have faith in NATO and see it as impartial. And, some do – there have been supporters cheering in the streets at the arrival of NATO troops in many Fontinalian towns and cities.Meanwhile, local warlords and criminals are causing problems, as per usual – making it difficult for the UN to function at full capacity. There’s no doubt here that we need NATO to provide a safe and secure environment for us. Ultimately, organized crime thrives on chaos, and criminals have a stake in maintaining the current state of affairs – standing in quiet opposition to the peace process.
Warlord Molicus Porgo wants to be seen as a peacekeeper, for example, but many here say that he has connections to human and weapons trafficking. Guns that have been freely given up by warring factions on both sides are re-sold on the black market. Children are put to work as combatants. No one knows for certain who is behind it all but we’re working on it.The future of the country depends on it.
Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 22: murder on a candlelit night
- I am writing today by candlelight. There is enough energy to run the computer OR the lights at one time – but not both. Forgive me if this entry suffers from misspelling as a result. I cannot see the keyboard as well as yesterday.
Last night, a Supreme Court Judge, Verduc Mariteus, was murdered near his home in Preterad. The assassination of such an important public figure is terrifying for all of us who work for the United Nations Mission in Fontinalis. What if I am also targeted because of my importance to the Office of the SRSG?
Even worse, the Judge’s 11-year-old daughter was the first to find him, after he had been shot in the throat. I can’t imagine what she must be going through now, and how she will be affected by this memory for the rest of her life.
Off the record, I believe that the Judge was assassinated because of his nationalist sympathies; when representatives from UNMIF arrived in August to monitor the ceasefire on the ground, it was made obvious to us that he had his enemies. He supported legislation that granted police sweeping powers of arrest and detention that essentially forbade public assembly and dissent. This legislation confined people to their homes and kept people from gathering together in simple acts of both community and worship.
And for that reason, many Fontinalians meet secretly tonight by candlelight.
I understand the injustice, even though I appreciate its necessity at the time. Fontinalians are bound by the assassinated judge’s legislative legacy while I am simply delayed by Mother Nature – but the net effect is the same.Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 23: fresh socks, dirty mittens
- I can’t believe that I am about to write this. NATO forces have once again granted a contract for goods and services to a local warlord. Talk about making yourself a target!
For lessons on how to alienate a local population, just add water and stir. The more it rains, the more NATO needs its informal networks to help the local people. But the more lucrative contracts it grants to shadowy figures, the more the local population distrusts and even openly hates the forces.
They’re not perfect. But they are making large inroads with the people leaving camps and heading home. Certainly, NATO forces are making the way safe for the 7000 vulnerable people who left Camp Prudence only yesterday.
Refugee Andolfo-Helamitis was hopeful when he spoke with a reporter from Fontinalis Today. He changed his socks while speaking about his departure from Cralispret. They were yellowed and full of holes, like cotton Swiss cheese, but they have served him so far in his long walk home.“Makes you feel at least 40% better, a fresh pair of socks. Easiest thing in the world,” he grinned, while accepting a new pair from a relief worker and posing for a picture.
Andolfo is returning to his Ethnic Truttan home, where few like him remain. “Like the last unicorn, maybe,” he told reporter Marko Burga yesterday in an interview. He said this as he raised a filthy mitten to his head to symbolize a horn; a pitiful gesture that was made even more dramatic at the mitten fell from his hands into the mud.When I saw Andolfo’s mitten fall, I gave him a new one from our meager reserves. It’s little help – an extra large mitten on his tiny, shrunken hand – but there are few supplies. When we get to a city where the Red Cross is set up, he’ll be able to exchange it for a better size.
And while it is unfortunate, it is the truth that beggars cannot be choosers. Think of him tonight as he walks the long cold journey to his home.Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 25: torture, terror, total chaos
- As if the flooding itself wasn’t bad enough, people in Elenistin, Fontinalis have been getting sick after chemicals from a fertilizer plant leaked and contaminated the ground water in that area. The problem was discovered when the plant manager was found lying unconscious in a pool of water with ammonia poisoning yesterday.
Aid workers who have been rushing to neutralize the chemical cocktail in the water supply – and treat those who ingested it – confirmed the problem, and are working non-stop to get it under control.
Ammonia is abundant and dangerous. A colorless, highly irritating gas with a sharp suffocating odor, about 80% of the ammonia produced in Fontinalis is created by industry, and is used in agriculture as fertilizer. The widespread use of ammonia on farms and in industrial and commercial locations means that exposure can also occur from an accidental release or from a deliberate terrorist attack.No one wants to say the word terrorism, of course, because that would mean the environment is far from secure for the population. And we have thousands of refugees on the move right now, seeking shelter and warmth on higher ground.
Allegations of a different order, however, are abundant. Fontinalian police picked up a suspect in the assassination of Supreme Court Judge, Verduc Mariteus. The alleged assassins’ name was Bingo, and he has since been delivered back to his mother – as a corpse.
His death is sending shockwaves through his small community and elders have alleged that his was purposely tortured for information about his affiliations. An autopsy, conducted quickly because of political pressure, revealed that he might have drowned to death – which would be technically impossible inside a jail cell.
Impossible in theory, but not in principle; water boarding is suspected by members of his neighborhood. Illegal under international law, water boarding is a technique where a prisoner is tied to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.
The person believes they are being killed, and as such, it really amounts to a mock execution.
UNMIF and the international community condemn the practice of torture in principle, but will not comment on the specific allegations unless they are confirmed. Special Representative of the Secretary General Ingrid Gunnarsdottir had me write a statement on her behalf, reminding the all involved parties that torture, in all its forms and contexts is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. NATO spokesperson Major Ismail Pamuk echoed the UN.Right now, we are dizzy with grief at UNMIF and hoping (perhaps beyond hope) that this will be the last allegation of this sort. We need to re-focus our energy on the 25 000 people who left refugee camps Prudence and Hope yesterday because of the flooding. They, too, are in danger.
Snuggle in with your loved ones and include Fontinalis in your prayers.Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 26: mass grave discovered
- It’s been a secret until now. But eventually, the sickly, suffocating smell of the bodies came wafting through the trees lining the dirt track up to the grave.
On November 23, a mass grave was exhumed – uncovered by the rising floodwaters in Northern Fontinalis. Today, it was made public that ICRC delegates will arrive to take control of the appalling situation and secure the site. Mass graves are often mined or strewn with unexploded ordinance and are potentially very dangerous.
UNPOL has deployed an investigative forensic team; identification and proper handling of human remains is just as important for informing families as it is for providing evidence for criminal investigations. Right now, many family members are lined up outside the temporary barriers surrounding the grave, knee-deep in water.“When they opened the mass grave, we started crying,” said one witness, who intends to hold vigil at the location, despite concerns for her safety. “After all of the necessary forensic tests take place, it is important that we are able to provide a burial for my mother, for my brothers and sisters and for all of the others. We will wait as long as necessary.”
Mass graves are usually created after a large number of people die or are killed, and there is a desire to bury the corpses quickly. In disasters, mass graves are used for infection and disease control. Until a full forensic investigation is completed, it is impossible to know the cause of this particular grave, although ICRC delegates have disclosed that the remains of 62 people were mostly women, pregnant women, elderly persons and children.Adding further challenge to the situation, 6 NATO soldiers who were tasked with securing the site were killed when a Truttan paramilitary force attacked their platoon.
I just want to know when this supposed “peace process” will actually begin. The last week has been filled with horror, death and disaster. The situation seems so dire that God herself could not solve it.So far, we’re short on peace and long on process.
Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information,
UNMIF november 28: peace upon this land
- Finally, today, I feel encouraged by the progress that has been made to help the people of Fontinalis. At UNMIF, our first priority since day one has been to help coordinate a whole-of-government approach to the Malma Ceasefire Agreement, and the worsening humanitarian crisis on the ground.
And after the murders, political maneuvering, alleged torture and flooding, it brings a welcome smile to report to you today, loyal readers, that peace is upon this land.
NATO’s Fontinalis Force united last night in what Fontinalian Deputy Minister Julyus Hunsart called “the first step in coordinating a full response” to the recent floods. Sometimes, it takes a disaster of epic proportions to make people pull together. But pull together they must!I was present at the first meeting of the rejuvenated National Commission on Emergency Preparedness, where leaders from governments, NATO and NGO communities launched a rainbow of plans covering the full spectrum of Fontinalian needs.
“This is a national effort,” said Hunsart, “and we are encouraged by the participation of all parties.” He called the meeting “a step towards building a new Fontinalis.”
My colleagues here plan to celebrate with Champagne tonight, but I will sleep. Softly, soundly and bathed in candlelight – this time, completely by choice.
Thank you for spending this fortnight with me.Olsun da Gor,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information
UNMIF november 29: surprise ending
- All’s well that ends well, as they say in my homeland.
Today, many happy returns on all of the hard foundational work completed over the last two weeks: NATO troops are fixing the power grid; the officers with the Fontinalian constabulary that were accused of torture have been fired; yesterday brought the first of many days of sunshine, and the flood waters are slowly, but surely, receding.Most surprising, however, is the twist of fate that revealed that warlord Molicus Porgo is the underlying reason that the Bastinado Peace Process has failed.
For Porgo’s cartel to maintain their position of authority in Fontinalis, they had to foster confusion and chaos – not cooperation and coordination.In order to sustain their tidy hierarchy of anarchy, Porgo’s men have been prompting “spontaneous” movement of the people – which was a fantastic excuse to position corrupt soldiers into areas they wanted to control. At the same time, Porgo was bribing individual politicians and sponsoring ethnic demonstrations. This effectively threw everyone off his trail.
NATO, in all of their analysis, finally figured this out and worked with an appreciation of the importance in coordinating international efforts to build a coalition for peace. In layman terms, NATO has successfully uncovered the political, social, economic and geographic complexity of the problem.So where does this leave the people of Fontinalis?
An editorial in the Coronicali Libris suggests, rightfully so, that the country is left with modest and fragile hope for the future. It is hope that was planted and has grown over the last two weeks; only time will tell if this optimism will continue on to maturity.Yours most sincerely,
Kristine LaPearson
Director of Public Information,
UNMIF