bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2018), pp. 32–34
There are about 344 Management Consular Officers (MCOs) in Canada who officially joined the Foreign Service ranks in 2015, and we each have a different path that brought us to the stream. We’ve all learned different lessons about what makes this career a good fit, and why we love (and sometimes hate) the challenging work we do.
Recently, PAFSO featured several MCOs under the #FSatwork hashtag on its website, highlighting the work these officers accomplish to make a difference to individual Canadians in different parts of the world. Here are four of those stories.
Phochana Meak — Kabul, Afghanistan
Phochana Meak Kabul, Afghanistan “AFTER | GRADUATED FROM MY BAA from the HEC Montreal, I went on a trade mission to Chile where I was fortunate to meet with the trade commissioners at our Embassy in Santiago. This is where and when I first discovered the world of GAC. I remember asking them tons of questions about their work and lifestyle, and I was immediately drawn to it. I’ve always loved travelling, and combining work with a rich experience of overseas postings seemed like the dream job to me. I started with the Department in 2011, initially as part of the FS Administrative Assistant stream, before joining the Management Consular Training Program in 2014.”
For her first posting, Phochana applied for various positions in Kabul, after attending an info session by the Afghanistan bureau shortly after joining GAC. She is the DMCO Consular-HR in Kabul since August 2016. She describes life there:
“In Kabul, we work, live, eat, and sleep on the same compounds, with the same people, 24/7. A typical work day for me would be waking up, getting to the dining hall for breakfast with my colleagues, go to the office on the compound across the street, sometimes go to an external meeting with your personal protective equipment gear, ‘lunch with my colleagues at noon, back at work in the afternoon, and dinner at the dining hall with — you guessed it — my colleagues!
“The work here provides stimulating challenges unlike any other places: where else would you spend half of your day trying to figure out how long we can last and how much sewage the compound can take before having to tell your colleagues that they can’t flush anymore? Given the security environment in Afghanistan, we also have to be creative sometimes for the delivery of our consular services, which can be complex, but the challenges are also very rewarding professionally. The work-life balance is very important here as it is really easy to spend all your time in the office. Thankfully, there are activities and social events that you can attend, either at our mission or at nearby Embassies.
“Being posted to Kabul also means testing your resilience, flexibility and patience. Things can change in a minute here, and you need to be able to adapt quickly. Working and living with your colleagues is a bit like boarding school, but if you accept early on that there will be different personalities, and choose to embrace it, you can have the most incredible support system and the best time of your life, in a very unique environment.”
Audrey Véronneau — Riyad, Arabie Saoudite
Audrey Veronneau Riyad, Arabie Saoudite
« J’AVAIS UNE BONNE EXPERIENCE en service a la clientèle et gestion des urgences puisque j’étais auparavant infirmière bachelière. Puis je suis devenue “l’épouse de” en accompagnant mon mari au Maroc, où j’ai été ERP pour trois programmes différents. Au fil des ans, j’ai acquis l’expérience et le jugement recherché par notre ministère. Lorsqu’un concours fut annoncé, mon mari m’encouragea à postuler et je n’ai jusqu’à ce jour jamais regretté d’avoir suivi ses conseils …
« Je dois dire que je suis très contente d’avoir d’abord été AGC adjointe. C’est à côtoyer des AGC et des ERP d’expérience que j’ai vraiment appris à gérer un budget et FINSTAT, à régler des problèmes de performance, à planifier à long terme, et que j’ai découvert qu’on ne peut pas tout savoir et que c’est correct de demander de l’aide.
Audrey Véronneau en est à son deuxième poste a l’étranger. Après un interlude comme AGC adjointe à Bogota, elle est maintenant l’AGC à Riyad. Vous considérez une affectation à Riyad?
« Mon conseil le plus important : assimilez la inch’allah (si c’est possible, dans vos activités quotidiennes afin de ne pas vous frustrer lorsque vous vous cognerez le nez sur une porte de magasin ou de restaurant à l’heure de la prière. Pour le reste, pour le travail, c’est comme partout ailleurs. Ça dépend des gens avec qui on travaille. Certes, RYADH est un autre monde pour nous. Un monde qui nous apprend à rire plutôt que de pleurer. Alors on rit beaucoup!
Tara Bickis — Wellington, New Zealand
“WHEN | STARTED UNIVERSITY, I didn’t have a lot of clarity on what I wanted to study or do, but I loved all things international and considered studying international law or working for the United Nations. After a stint with the UNDP in Guatemala, my goal was to become a UN Junior Professional Officer. I went back to school to do a Master’s in Public Policy and Public Administration, but I knew domestic issues were not for me. I accepted an internship with the Bolivian Ministry of Health, developing a National Health Research System. During that time, I applied for Post-Secondary Recruitment and jumped through the hoops over the next two years.
“When the call finally came, and it was for the MCO stream, I accepted, although I admit I was a little disappointed, imagining a very boring job in the world of admin. I was VERY mistaken, as this job is anything but boring, and I am SO grateful that they offered me the MCO job… So far I have learned that the MCO job is extremely diverse, complex and difficult, with lots of fires to put out and multiple demands upon our time. I have learned that for many, the most difficult part of the job will be to manage expectations and to manage people; and that is unfortunately something that we receive little to no training on.”
Sabrina Yoong — Mexico City, Mexico
tommissioner or political officer has remarked to me, usually after a heart-wrenching consular case had made the news, and details of the hardships facing my client have been made public: ‘I could never do your job.’ This always surprises me, but maybe I can shed some light onto what drives individual MCOs.
“T have always enjoyed helping people, and as cheesy as it may sound, my high school ex-boyfriend inspired me to apply for the Foreign Service; after I heard about his experiences working in Ghana with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. I was working at the RCMP on youth policy and engagement while finishing my undergraduate degree in criminology and women’s studies when I applied to be an FS. The year I applied, there was no option to select the MCO stream, so I was surprised when that is what I was offered… but delighted at the prospect of being able to help my fellow citizens abroad during difficult situations. I figured I could learn the skills required to provide budget management advice, I had supervised people before, and foolishly assumed property management couldn’t be that hard.
“Unsurprisingly, I have been humbled and honoured by the work I do. It is not always easy to have your colleagues as your clients, nor is it easy to see the media misrepresent your and your team’s efforts and be unable to correct it. I have responded to and reported on mass transportation accidents, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. I have offered grieving parents my shoulder to cry on; literally. I have helped more than one celebrity (and countless other Canadians) replace lost passports.
“Tt can be tough to be unable to offer the assistance a Canadian is requesting, and it’s important to be self-aware about what you need to take care of yourself and avoid compassion fatigue and burnout.
“I don’t think it takes a special person to do consular work; though the ability to empathize with clients in tough spots goes pretty far. I think most if not all officers possess the to succeed at consular of your substantive stream — the ability to be creative with problem-solving; to think on your feet; to build and maintain strong networks and interpersonal skills. There is something deeply rewarding about being the kind face or voice of an often-faceless bureaucracy, and to provide my fellow citizens with concrete solutions and a compassionate ear when they are having very bad days.”
Sabrina Yoong joined then DFAIT in 2008, and has been posted abroad in Tel Aviv, Los Angeles and Mexico City.
Edited by SABRINA YOONG. With special thanks to FRANK ASI TALATINI for conducting the interviews with Tara, Audrey and Phochana
Originally published in / Publié à l’origine dans bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2018), pp. 32–34. Read the rest of this issue / Lire le reste de ce numéro →
