Unsolicited advice from Turtle Bay
As a newspaper reporter, I know I should keep my opinions to myself. But I can’t resist offering a little advice to the chief of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria, or his media advisors: Never ever do a televised interview seated in this preposterously ornate, hand-carved chair, especially when there ...
As a newspaper reporter, I know I should keep my opinions to myself. But I can't resist offering a little advice to the chief of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria, or his media advisors: Never ever do a televised interview seated in this preposterously ornate, hand-carved chair, especially when there are frequent cutaways to poor Darfuris collecting water from a communal pump.
As a newspaper reporter, I know I should keep my opinions to myself. But I can’t resist offering a little advice to the chief of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria, or his media advisors: Never ever do a televised interview seated in this preposterously ornate, hand-carved chair, especially when there are frequent cutaways to poor Darfuris collecting water from a communal pump.
In this interview with Al Jazeera English language channel, Gambari makes a perfectly articulate case to the Sudanese government to end a humanitarian blockade of one of Darfur’s largest camps for the displaced. The traditional blue clothing looks great; it underscores his credibility as a serious African player. But I just can’t get beyond the chair, which seems more appropriate for an audience with Saddam Hussein or Bashar al-Assad. Let’s just hope the United Nations didn’t pay for it.
Please follow me on Twitter @columlynch.
Colum Lynch was a staff writer at Foreign Policy between 2010 and 2022. Twitter: @columlynch
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