bout de papier, Vol. 10, No. 3 (1993) — Summer 1993 // Été 1993, p. 3
by D. Colin Robertson
The 1993 Canadian Foreign Service Officer Award was presented by Senator the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen on June 3 to Peter Boehm, First Secretary at the Canadian Embassy in Costa Rica from 1988 to 1992. Mr. Boehm won the Award for his commitment to improving Canadian relations with Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica during a period of great political turmoil. Mr. Boehm developed an equally strong relationship with Nicaragua during his posting, which spanned both the Sandinista and Chamorro regimes. His fluent command of Spanish and his detailed knowledge of the various regional conflicts in Central America helped him play a leading role for Canada both during and after the Civil War.
Special Commendations were presented by the Honourable Flora MacDonald to Sam Hanson, Head of the Canadian Special Mission to the Republic of Croatia and to Lillian Zadravetz, a Foreign Service Officer with the International Service Group of Employment and Immigration Canada
Mr. Hanson established a mission in Zagreb under extremely difficult conditions. With its increasing volatility, limited communications, and a large contingent of Canadian peacemakers, Croatia presented an enormous challenge for a sole Canadian diplomat. Hanson promoted Canadian interests and views to Croatia, reported and interpreted Croatian politics to Canadians and handled a wide range of consular activities, including evacuating Canadian children from a danger zone in Croatia. Mr. Hanson composed a poem in honour of the occasion.
Ms. Zadravetz helped set up a temporary immigration program in Zagreb, Croatia, for citizens of the former Yugoslavia. Using her knowledge of the language and culture of the community, she assisted citizens of the former Yugoslavia to join their families in Canada. She handled such sensitive issues as the adoption of Croatian children, reported on Bosnian rape victims and developed close ties with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Mr. R. Allan Kilpatrick presented a citation to Robert Peck, a Foreign Service Officer with the International Service Group of Employment and Immigration Canada, for his work in developing the successful Consular Awareness Program, his management of consular crises in Kuwait and Haiti, and his contribution to the transfer of the immigration component from EAITC to EIC. Mr. A. Douglas Small presented a citation to Bryan Burton, Political Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Pretoria, for his promotion of Canada’s role in dismantling apartheid; and the Honourable Mitchell Sharp presented a citation to Georges Rioux, First Secretary and Consul in Tel Aviv, for his contribution to the promotion of Canadian interests in the Middle East peace process.
Judges for this year’s awards were Jocelyn Côté-O’Hara, V. Peter Harder, Jeff Sallot, the Honourable Mitchell Sharp, and James H. (Si) Taylor.
Thank You
by Sam Hanson
The commendation of one’s
colleagues and one’s peers
Is honour that demands a humble
pride.
For the accolade thus given also bears
Witness to others’ worth, by this
implied.
Where this was earned, an evil time
has come:
Horror walks, and murder makes
its way,
Force speaks loud while reason’s
voice is dumb;
War inhabits, and peace has lost
its sway.
A time and place where hope is hard
to have –
Despair and anger harder to avoid.
But hope’s the greatest thing we have
to give:
We must not let that treasure be
destroyed.
With this, you tell us, we must still
go on:
If hope is lost, then nothing can
be won.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 10, No. 3 (1993) — Summer 1993 // Été 1993, p. 3. Read the rest of this issue →
