30.05.2006
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Written Diary Tim Metz <tim@outofafrika.org>
Your Excellency Strikes Back! - Nairobi (Kenya)
I got quite a lot of feedback on my letter entitled "Your Excellency". Some people blindly agreed with my opinion, others who know her personally pointed out the Dutch ambassador is fluent in Kiswahili and does a lot to stay in touch with the "Common Kenyan". The most notable response came from the person addressed in the letter though, Mrs. van Gool herself. She invited me over for a cup of coffee at the embassy to discuss what she does and what the role of an ambassador is in general.
A little bit nervous, I departed Ruiru this morning in my best pair of clothes. Don't be impressed, that's still not anywhere near the kind of outfit you should wear when meeting an ambassador. I therefore noticed strange looks from some of her personnel, but Mrs van Gool put me at ease straight away by saying I needed not to worry, she prefers casual clothes herself as well when at home.
Our conversation started off with the chauffeur-driven Mercedeses and abundance of food & drinks available at the event I attended. First if all she explained that a chauffeur is necessary for efficiency, not to lose time on parking for example and being able to do other things while moving around. Second, whether you like it or not, is status. A woman in her position obviously can't attend an important event by matatu; rumors might start going round the Dutch economy is falling to pieces! The same is true for the national celebration at her residence: if there's not a wealth of food and drinks available, guests might get the impression things are not going well in The Netherlands. An embassy and it's staff do represent their country after-all!
I clarified I could understand why people who have an important (public) role need to present themselves and their organization properly. The point of my diary entry was a different one. My concern was that constantly living in a world of such lavishness might make one lose touch with reality, especially in a country like Kenya where the differences between the have and have-not's is so enormous.
"As soon as I got here," Mrs van Gool told me, "I took classes and became more or less fluent in Kiswahili. To me that is very important as I now understand what people say and want much better. Furthermore, I try to visit different projects all over the country at least once every 1 or 2 months. I have to admit that some of my colleague's only stay in Nairobi and Mombassa during their assignment here, but I want to see as many different parts and aspects of the country as possible." She pauses for a moment, then continues. "Of course I also have to attend a lot of the infamous embassy cocktail-party's and other similar events. You will see some of the "stereotype ambassadors" there sipping on a glass of wine early in the afternoon, but you'll find that most of my colleague's who take their job a little bit serious are there only for a short while with a glass of water or juice in hand. It's simply the most efficient way of meeting ministers, other ambassadors, etc. since you'll find them all in one place. You don't have to spend half an hour on the phone trying to get past their secretary just to make an appointment. It's mainly in and out: get the contacts and appointments you want, show your face to represent your country and an hour later you leave again to go on with all the other things that have to be done." I still wondered whether it's not hard to keep your head straight in such an important function.
"Especially on this continent," Mrs van Gool responded, "the job of ambassador brings along high esteem. You constantly get special treatments everywhere you go and it can therefore be easy to loose touch with reality. Thankfully I have a husband and family who keep both my feet firmly on the ground. However, if you have a spouse who also enjoys to get sucked into the feeling of "importance", people sometimes indeed end up living on another planet. Luckily the Dutch government has now put policies in place to avoid this from happening. By making it obligatory to come back to The Netherlands for a while after every 8 years of being send-out, it keeps most people synchronized with the real world. Back in our country I'm just Tanya van Gool riding around on a bicycle!", she laughs.
To conclude I can only say that my letter would have been justified to a lot of ambassadors, politicians, CEO's and other "important" people around the world, but not to Mrs van Gool. For as far as her position allows her to she really has made an effort to stay in touch with the "Common Kenyan" and live a normal life. I think the fact she takes the time to invite a young punk like me over to explain herself is proof of that!
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