Sunday, June 19, 2005
The THIMUN Chronicles
Notes:- been so busy so now I finally have time to write down what happened during THIMUN (The Hague International Model United Nation) week. Right now am resting and figuring out what to get before trip to Melbourne (new glasses and um…….winter stuff…………and um………well, I’ll figure it out), and next week got to go in and see Mr Ellis and work out scholarship essay to UCL *makes a face*
Anyway…………………………
THIMUN for the delegation of Lao PDR (People’s Democratic Republic) officially began on Saturday 23rd of January 2005 until Saturday 29th January.
Saturday 23/01/05
Cramming in winter clothes into a tiny suitcase isn’t exactly fun………sweaters sweaters, jeans jeans………………where is my suit!!! Oh………where are my white shirts!! Oh there they are…………………right……..
So………..after that, and grandmother and mother’s tying of ribbons (ribbons………………red……………red ribbons…………) around the suitcases, we arrived in school evening time, rather early because someone (someone who shall not be names but nonetheless we all know who *glare*) wanted extra MUN practice sessions. So……………….made way in, through the dark, absolutely no light present in the scary building, in the equally scary elevator where the lights flickered and where they nicely informed me later there was a dead cockroach in that very same elevator *glare*, got into the room……………….huh, guy sleeping on the floor, someone typing emails in the computer…………girl sitting around doing nothing…………teachers in some room somewhere watching a movie………………………extra mun practice my foot………………………………..so I slumped to the floor, hot, puffed up and having heaves in my stomach cos I absolutely hate flying…………………
*an hour later*
Arrived at the airport, checked in and we all passed around a pen writing down particulars on luggage tags, then we decided to run around the airport wildly (chant to self : I’m not with this group I’m not with this group I’m not with this group)
*In plane*
Ugh………I got the middle seat of the middle row of which Wildan on my left fell immediately asleep on the instant he attached his eye blinder thingy on his head, SunTzu on my right who refused to stop talking so essentially I was awake during the whole 13 hours journey, and Kean on far right who also fell asleep because he had food poisoning the night before, and actually he didn’t even wake up after we landed, and after we got in to the hotel and after we all trooped in to sleep after a day’s work, then he woke up…………………………..some people have all the luck………….
Emily our ambassador was alone to the left side row to us, and she started chatting to a dutch guy next to her, and we all tsked at her for talking to a stranger *cue laughter*
Edwin and Pooja was somewhere behind, not that they actually stayed somewhere behind (kept coming and bothering us) but anyway………………….another school’s delegation was scattered around us and we had fun in the middle of the flight to start playing trivia and attempting to beat the guy in front of us, which we failed so we started kicking his chair………………..unintentionally of course *angel halo appeared*
Surprisingly the trivia centred upon American stuff (ethnocentric to the core), and as I keyed in the answer, the three next to me shouted out answers which were copied by the guy in front of us which resulted in the subsequent kicking………..*clears throat*
*arrival at Schiphol airport* Sunday 23/01/05
Brrrrr, it’s already cold……………….collected luggage where we were told we had to walk to the hotel! Walk……………in the cold? All the way? NO WAY! Haha, just a joke from our delegation heads……..then we intervened at the Thimun desk……………..they actually had a desk at the airport! And we were able to see other delegations coming in ^.^ cool…………………………ah then Suntzu announced that he had left his luggage at the luggage collection area……………….hehehehehe, so we all left him to go to the hotel and he was forced to wait for the next bus……….
Wow, it’s cold! Faces were actually frozen but it wasn’t as bad as imagined, nah, it just gets worse during the week when we go out at night and have to run after the tram………anyway, everything is mostly, well, flat…………..with pockets of water lying here and there, and this one straight road, and no buildings……..and then some buildings, and all low and of similar colors, and a military like complex which we were told was the American school in the Hague, and thus we then arrived at our hotel which conveniently was attached to the congress centre! HAH to those who have to walk from the Ibis and from the Lotus and every other hotels *grin*
I get a room to myself, woohoo………….because I’m the oldest I get to choose due to the uneven numbers………woohoo again……………..
Some of the others went off to explore the city, went with miss G for lunch nearby, we got lost, took a look at the restaurants and returned straight to the hotel for a 10 euro worth of lunch……………..for a burger (10 euro) for me and a salad (10 euro) for miss G, it was a total rip off…………but heck, we were tired and cold and my ears were nearly dropping off………………………
Unofficially, this was a day for thimunites/ delegates to start meeting their committees or those they are working with on resos. Human rights commission two for the issue on human trafficking arranged to meet nearby and as I spotted someone holding up a placard, there I go dashing.
The delegate of Tanzania (pronounced Tan-za-ni-a) seemed a sweet girl, pretty, blond, there are so many blonds! Tall, blonds, caucasions……………..our delegation was very out of place, but anyway………………Tanzania, sweet, but unworkable…………uncooperative, I virtually gave up when my main co submitter of the time showed up (Bangladesh) and we just walked away looking for other delegates………………………sigh……………..
The night we went to a greek restaurant, ran to the tram and promptly fell asleep……………..
*snores*
Oh yeah, have I mentioned………………..as a couple of us spent the day meeting delegates, the others were away taking pictures of cows…………………not live cows, but big plastered ones standing randomly around the hague………………..-.-
Monday 24/01/05
*YAWN* Time for suits………..committees officially meets today, time for more lobbying and rushing through resolutions. A quick breakfast where we mistook yoghurt for milk and our cereal tasted foul and we are off to the halls………………..
Human rights commissions 1 and 2 was together for today, roll call, split, and we rushed through meeting people………….
As main submitter for my resolution, I basically stood and turned like a mannequin as people surrounded me *hehe*. Cool, some of them I’ve met on the net, and others came cos they heard we had a pretty big support group going. It became clear that we had rivals though, there were atleast three other huge groups opposing us, and then I found out some of my co sponsors signed on to other resolutions because they ‘forgot’……………………………….anyway, this day we met Mozambique, a main submitter for one of the other big groups on the same topic, and total clash! We wanted ours, they wanted theirs, we knew we had to work together if we wanted our resolutions to somehow make it into debate…………………..problem, there can be only one main submitter, and our resolutions though similar, contained differently worded clauses…………………………problem solved: Mozambique, Georgia and I broke away, crashed with a computer and merged the two resolutions together, woohoo……………………………………..
Oh man, we passed Tanzania, she was not happy……………….*chortle* we found out later she opposed both the resolutions on the topic that managed to go into debate, our rival thus was the group spearheaded by Medicins sans Frontieres.
Tuesday 25/01/05
Today we had to hand in the resolution, and it was opening speeches time……………………………..my group ran around collecting signatures and doing last minute checks and redoing the resolution, and we went through opening speeches, half fidgeting, and then running again through the resolution, which at this point was being reprinted and printed and redone through Georgia’s delegation head’s computer *grin* (a huge thanks out to the delegate of Georgia without whom the resolution would have fallen apart) and then breathe of relief as it was handed in and approved and the chair informed us that it was to be the first to be debated on Wednesday………………………………………half gladdened because it was finally done, also half fearing as I was informed that first resolutions are often shot down just because delegates were cranky……………………………….*sigh*
After dinner, and after getting lost because we took the wrong tram and waited for a long time to get the right tram and then discovering that we were only lost like ten minutes walk away from the place we wanted to return to in order to get the right train, I crashed in Emily’s room with Wildan on a chair doing his own resolution and Pooja listening to Linkin Park and writing her speech (during Linkin Park???)
I was to be second speaker tomorrow, so pressure, and I didn’t know how to start and we ended up writing nothing down for two hours ^.^ sorry Emily………………….
Come on it wasn’t so bad. I was wondering how to start, and with impact and this story featured in the news some time ago about a few prostitutes dying in a fire because they were chained to their beds by their pimp and about child labourers somewhere in Asia (do your homework delegates) prompted me to use these headlines for the beginning and all Wildan could focused on was ’12 prostitutes died in a fire chained to their beds’ and …………………………we kindda all fell apart laughing……………….Emily took a video, famously dubbed ‘the video’ among our delegation when the others heard…………………………*roll eyes*
And I was trying to get Wildan to get the delegate of Cambodia in his committee to get the delegate of Cambodia in the Environment Committee to get my Hikaru no Go songs…………………………………*giggle nervously*……………….
*hours later and after Emily kicked me out*
Finished the speech at 3am in the morning……..good work………………..
*four hours later* *brrrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnnnnggggggggggg* Wednesday 26/01/05
*wakes up*…………………………..groggy and I have a headache………..which somehow explains my uncontrollable shakings as I sat in my committee waiting for the resolution to be read out……………………
ok, we know the reso is long (six pages) but we wanted to be thorough………it was a heck of a resolution……………..but the chair for some reason missed out calling for Mozambique’s speech, and instead it was passed on to me…………which doesn’t make sense because I prepared for a heart rending appeal which doesn’t concentrate on the points of the reso which was what was included in Mozambique’s speech…………………………….nevertheless…………..*clomp clomp clomp* up the stairs, onto the podium…………*deep breathe*
Good morning honourable chair and fellow delegates,
12 women died in a fire, chained to their beds, unable to escape……
50 children suffering from disease and malnutrition, wasting away in a factory……………………..*wink*
and so on and so on……..woohoo, finished! Answered their questions, wondered why they don’t read properly……went back to seat and felt a tap to my shoulder……..
I turned to face a Munity reporter…………huh? An interview? With me? Uh…………sure…………………*bright smile*
*came back*
HUH? Debate time for the resolution ended and now it is debate time against? That was quick………………………….um, aren’t there too many speakers against? Hello chair, aren’t you listening………………….time ticking…………..half an hour has passed……………….and hour…………..chair, isn’t it unfair that debate against the resolution has spanned two hours?? Vote for resolution: failed by a margin of seven votes………………………………………..
…………………………………….
Of course I cried…………………that resolution was my work…………….it was everything I concentrated on for the past four months…………working, meeting, talking to, arguing with, conjoled, drawing out support……………..in the final product we had near fifty percent of the votes in the room……………………..we failed because the chair had no idea how to conduct a debate and ended up giving a disgraceful amount of time to the opposition………………………………………
Of course I cried………………………..
Asking for a reconsideration of the resolution failed also at the end of the day because we basically angered the chair by questioning her competency ………I question it again when she made it clear 5 times to the commission emphasising on the need to redebate and re vote on the resolution should they vote to reconsider the resolution and by the end of the day the rest just wanted to well……………get some rest……………so reconsideration was shot down………………..the chair failed to explain that reconsideration of the debate allowed only a precious five minutes for debate time, she also failed to say that it would only talk place the next day……………………………………………………
We walked away, defeated…………but not conquered…………….
(br)
Dad came today………..man, one week in the Hague for Thimun and still he isn’t ready to let go of the apron strings………………his excuse was that he had a client in the Hague, HAH! He wanted to see me……………that’s all, I know dad too well………………………went out for Japanese food, yummy, they did this thing straight on the grill and in front of us, it was so cool………………and we walked around, finally returning because, man, I’m wrecked tonight…………….
Thursday 27/01/05
Hey! My speech was noted in MUNITY newspaper!! The reporter took one of my lines ‘to say no would be to reject humanity’. I’m proud, oh heck, I’m proud………….
More resolutions through, this time on other topics…………………after a while, I realised that the chair was ignoring my placard………….every time I held it up for point of information or for a speech, she looked elsewhere. It became clear she was ignoring me when some delegate from behind was called up again (for the third time)………………..met Kyrgyzstan next to me, who was a submitter for our rival resolution and he admitted that ours was better……..and we bonded on the basis that we were being ignored by the chair…………………Latvia on my other side read a book……………….hmmm…………………
When the other reso for human trafficking issue came up, frantic notes were passed around my group to find opposition speakers. Heck, what can we do when our strongest speakers were all being ignored, calls for open debate was shot down, and the chair wad finally (finally!) conducting the debate time correctly by giving similar amounts to both sides………………………..
It passed………………..though it lacked any consideration of child trafficking, and impact on women and any references to an overall body of structure to supervise the reduction of human trafficking……………………we were outraged but passive……………………….and Kyrgyzstan in shock pointed out a typo on the resolution which ‘called for UNIFEM to assist in all manners of human trafficking’!!!!!!!!! We burst out laughing……………a committee condemning human trafficking has passed a reso that contained within it, even a typo, of assisting human trafficking instead of assisting in its prevention………………………it didn’t felt so bad then, our committee merely had not paid attention, it was not for out lack of effort of credibility of our resolution that had caused its failure………………………………………………………………………
At night we went to Amsterdam and took photos and we visited the infamous red light district (little outside activity though), and Anne Frank’s house, and we were laughing it up in an Italian restaurant…………….cool……………….very nice……….very cold, but very nice…………………
Friday 28/01/05
Commission debates today…………………we redebate resos that have passed. We tried again to fail the rival reso, and failed again as we were ignored…………….calls to remove the chair was met with a NO from the chair (huh). One of the delegate drew a hilarious comic of the commission as cats calling for removal of chair and the chairs clawing it out and panic through the room *chuckle*
Kyrgyzstan flattered the female admin members of the room and he obtained an admin badge from them allowing him to walk around doing admin work i.e. pass notes around for the delegates (opportunity! Because notes were censored, we could now passed notes asking for emails through him!)
The noise level was unbelievable and the chair time and again halted note passing…………..we were peeved……………..but it ended with smiles as a temporary male chair was auctioned off and sold to, who else but Kyrgyzstan……………
Commission dismissed, we trooped off to closing ceremony and watched the flags and final speeches from the deputy secretary general.
Then it was the dance! Liquor all around……………….
Initially we went to town to get dinner and decided to see ‘Select’ a bar frequented by other thimunites but there was no one there! So we went back and got to the dance and found………alcohol! Bacardi breezers around! Dance like mad, photos, grimaced at the scene of couples making out at the back of the hall, freeze ourselves trying to get into the hotel which had locked all its doors because of the dance and fell asleep…………………………………………………
Saturday 29/01/05
Got some sleep, got on plane, got some sleep, landed, hot hot hot………….we are home……..wishing that we had time to spend another week at THIMUN……………………………………good times……………….*patters off*
Mused by Sukunami Taka around 3:39 AM
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