Some of the UNIFIL positions along the Blue Line are remote. To mark the end of the year Major General Michael Beary, UNIFIL’s Head of Mission and Force Commander, chose to visit a number of these isolated posts to chat with the peacekeepers who are working over the festive season.
“It’s just good for me to be out here to meet with the men and women, our peacekeepers, who are doing such a good job,” explained the UNIFIL chief. “Particularly at Christmas when a lot of them would like to be with their families. Instead they are here doing duty on behalf of the United Nations in keeping peace in south Lebanon, so it's very important for me to come out and thank them.”
In UNIFIL there are military peacekeepers serving from 40 different troop contributing countries. The unique culture of each battalion was reflected at each location in this informal visit. While chatting with the peacekeepers Major General Beary pointed out the importance of each of their roles.
“You are making a good contribution to peace in south Lebanon, in your own individual way. You might feel ‘but what's my part in this?’ Well you have an important part, it's a synergy of all these small parts that help us to keep peace in this troubled part of the world. Thank you for being here, for giving your service to the United Nations.”
After taking a group photo with UNIFIL’s Spanish Battalion based near Gharjar, Battalion Commander Lt Col Salas said, “This tour has been a very nice gesture from the Force Commander, and very important for the morale of our guys. They are really happy and appreciate this visit a lot.”
In many parts of the world people are winding down their work for the end of year break and heading home to spend time with their loved ones. This is not the case with UN peacekeepers. In UNIFIL there will be no decrease in the monitoring of the cessation of hostilities nor in the number of patrols carried out.
The Nepalese Battalion Commander, Lt Col Sanjaya Deuja, explains: “Yes of course we are celebrating Christmas and we are celebrating New Year as well, but at the same time we are working 24/7. We are not stopping our peacekeeping efforts.”
Major General Beary elaborates, “The challenge for us is to ensure the ten years of peace that is now in place since 2006 can continue. But everybody loves the festive season, so it's nice to be out with our peacekeepers just to share this particular time of year with them.”