What comes to your mind if you hear the word United Nations? Blue helmets maybe, peacekeeping, the atomic dispute with Iran? But do you know what it is like to be on the ground for the UN? A friend of mine works as a United Nations volunteer in East Timor and helps to prepare for the upcoming elections. Here is what he told me:
He is located in a little village with ten other volunteers, male and female. With much time on their hand and little to do, one thing keeps their idle minds busy: the opposite sex. Or as my friend put it: “it is like Big Brother”, meaning there is a lot of talking in the beginning until there is nothing more to share except physical attraction. According to my friend some volunteers get out rightly obsessed with sex. And apparently it is not uncommon that one exchanges bodily favours for moving up the career ladder. Therefore it is not surprising that the HIV-infection rate among UN staff is high at shocking 5 percent, despite sexual education before every posting.
But besides being a wonderful platform to meet like-minded humans, the UN provides also a lucrative career: as a volunteer one gets $2’700-3’500 for the three to six months postings, in cash. As a fulltime employee one gets $6’000-7’000 a month in cash, tax-free and with additional benefits like a relocation fee of $17’000 upfront and $15’000 for re-integration back into the normal life. But mind you, a posting in remote locations as for example East Timor or Nepal seriously disrupts your social life. One volunteer for example has six children with five different wives. No wonder the salary is so high with all those mouths to feed!
Comments