World War II Soviet soldiers' heroism eternal in our memory - first Kazakh UN peacekeeper

What does the Great Patriotic War mean for you? Two years ago you commented on the removal of the memorial to the Soviet soldiers-liberators in Estonia saying that you belong to the generation that heard about the Great Patriotic War from its participants.

 Only three of four brothers of my grandmother returned home from the war. Her husband lost his leg in the battles of the Kursk Bulge. However people considered her to be the happiest woman of the Daria station of Karaganda region. Unfortunately, year by year there become less veterans among us. I think that the feelings of our veterans are sacred as well as the memory about those who had not survived into the victory. It happened so that the 60^th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War I marked in 2005 in Amsterdam - a heart of Europe, where I defended a thesis in international public law. For me Holland is a symbol of tolerance, respect of human rights and high humanistic ideals. Those days were more than ever filled with discussions about unknown pages of the Great Patriotic War. Nobody doubted the role of the Soviet soldier-liberator.

Every nation is beautiful with its unique traditions and cultures. Having condemned the removal of the memorial to the Soviet soldiers-liberators I am still confident that those events will not influence our friendly attitude and deep respect toward the people of Estonia, who are faithful to universal and European human values.

What is it like to mark the Victory Day in Kosovo ?

I had to mark the 9^th of May for three times in postwar Kosovo. All UN peacekeepers, representatives of different countries and citizens of the former Yugoslavia marked this day with peculiar warmth. It is a pity that the problem of Kosovo has not been resolved and remains to be in the focus of attention of the world community. The only reason of it is that the interethnic consent has still not been achieved there. It is easy to stir up a conflict, but mitigation of its consequences can take the lives of several generations.

As an internationalist by conviction I think that peoples' friendship is the largest wealth of Kazakhstan. From early childhood we are taught to feel tolerance as in due time Kazakhstan accepted the politically exiled, peoples deported from the Caucasus and the Baltic states, intelligentsia evacuated from Moscow and Leningrad as well as the virgin land cultivators.

I was fortunate to have met a lot of Balts both during the postgraduate studentship in Moscow and at the Diplomatic Academy. The Russian language, the language of the soldier-liberator was uniting all the peacemakers from the former USSR who came to Kosovo. When I hear or read about any manifestations of xenophobia, neo-fascist personalities and attempts to reconsider the role of the Soviet people in the Great Civil War, I would like to say that we, the generation over forty, are responsible for what will remain in the memory of the posterity, therefore we should tell young people what the veterans died for.

 - When pursuing your mission in the post-war Kosovo on the peak of interethnic confrontation, Albanians and Serbians called you sister, what was the brightest experience for you during those three years in the hot spot? How did you join the peacemaking forces of the UN?

 - Despite the tragic events that I had to witness, despite the continuing contention and bloodshed, the memories of good people and good relations are the brightest. Serbians were touched that I could speak their language which I learnt due to its similarity with the Russian language. Albanians trusted me, Kazakh, though they called me Miss Rizvana.

 After graduation from Karaganda Medical Institute I defended a PhD thesis for the degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences in Moscow and returned to teaching at the biochemistry department, later having become the first Kazakhstani who applied for the doctorate at the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. However after the collapse of the Soviet Union, like many other foreign students and scholars, I was impelled to interrupt scientific activity. I started to work at an international humanitarian organization. I took a traineeship in Geneva in 1995. In two years I completed studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Moscow where I learnt English and French and I applied for work at the UN. Later I was offered to join the UN mission in Kosovo.

Having arrived in Kosovo as an advisor for civil affairs I was engaged in the demobilization and demilitarization. I was surprised to know I was the first woman of Kazakhstan who worked in the UN field mission.

 - However, other than prestige value, this is quite a dangerous activity. There are examples when Kazakhstani peacemakers were wounded or killed fulfilling their duty in Iraq.

 - Yes, there is risk, but first of all, military and police servers apprehend the risks and danger of their work when they give an oath. Second, we live in the epoch of globalization and we cannot stay idle by while other nations to suffer.

 - How can we increase the scale of our representation? In one of your interviews after your return from Holland you mentioned the idea to create an ad hoc multi-language staff reserve for international organizations.

 - Yes, I believe this would allow any talented Kazakhstani to expect support of his or her candidacy for work at a public agency. We do not make proficient use of the intellectual resources of our citizens, which are valued much higher abroad, and not in the homeland.

Low representation of our citizens at international organization does not comply with the status and role of Kazakhstan in the region and in the CIS. There is misbalance in the geographical spread of the special representative and envoys of the UN: Western country - 36 people, African - 18, Latin America and South Asia - 8, only 4 from the countries of East Europe and the CIS, and 3 from Russia. I am convinced that we need this to allow talented professionals to serve for the benefit of the homeland and enhance the prestige of the country in the region and in the world.

 - Thank you for the interview.

Dr. Rizvana Sadykova is PhD holder, MA in International Relations (Diplomatic Academy, Russia), LLM (University of Amsterdam, Holland). She got training on Human Rights (Geneva), Refugee issues(York University, Canada), Women's Rights (Turin, ILO centre), Civil Emergency Planning and Crisis management and DDR of ex-combatants (Swedish Defence College, Sweden). She has got a long experience in post war reconstruction, conflict resolution and Human Rights' related issues, emergency management and humanitarian assistance. Dr. Sadykova was Head of World University Service the first NGO in former USSR (joint projects with UNHCR, IOM, IFRC for Iraqis, Afghans, Somalian, Ethiopian Ugandans and Liberian and Rwandese refugees), in 1998 she did fundraising for Childhope Foundation Canada. From 1999 to 2002 served as Civil Affairs in UN mission in Kosovo, in 2004 Dr. Sadykova served on as Emergency Coordinator on humanitarian assistance for refugees in Darfur, Sudan. She was Director of the Centre for International Relations of the Kazakh University of the Humanities and Law. She is lecturing in Academy of Public Administration (Human Rights Law, Refugee and Migration Law, Women's and Children's Rights, was National Judge on the 2009 Philip. C. Jessup International Law Moot court competition, visiting lecturer of ICRC program for Central Asia.
Currently, she is Head of English Editorial Board of Kazakh National News agency "Kazinform"