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OTHER NEWS
GENEVA CEREMONY
At midday on 24 October 2003, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr Sergei
Ordzhonikidze, inaugurated a monument 3 created to honour staff members who have given their lives for
peace and in defence of the ideals of the United Nations. The monument is made of a large granite stone
pointed towards the sky; next to it sands a weeping willow tree. The weather itself was in mourning: a gray
and sad sky and a strong, freezing "bise" kept the audience to modest numbers. However, several members
of AAFI-AFICS attended, including both the outgoing and the newly elected Chairmen.
We all had a special thought for our three Geneva-based colleagues who lost their lives in Baghdad. In our
last Bulletin, we paid tribute to Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations Special Representative in Iraq. He
had been appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights in September 2002 and his mission to Iraq was
only temporary. M. Sergio Vieira de Mello, 55 years old, was of Brazilian nationality. He leaves a widow and
two grown-up sons.
Nadia Younes, Egyptian, 57 years old, also died in Iraq, where she was the Chief of the Cabinet of Sergio
Vieira de Mello. She was well known in Geneva as the spokeswoman for WHO, where she was the
Executive Director for External Relations.
Jean-Sélim Kanaan was only 33 years old but had already served on numerous missions to Somalia and
Sarajevo. He was assigned to Kosovo where he worked for Bernard Kouchner, and in Iraq to work for Sergio
Vieira de Mello. Last year he published a book "Ma guerre à l'indifférence" (Editions Robert Laffont, 2002).
Of dual Egyptian and French nationality, he leaves a young widow and an infant son.
The annual UN Day concert, offered to the staff of Geneva-based UN organizations by the Canton and City
of Geneva, took place the same evening. The Lausanne Chamber Orchestra played music by Haydn and
Kurt Weill.
DIETARY, OR NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
Dr Samy Kossovsky
"Health from nature", "Always young thanks to food supplements", "Antioxidants in food" are some titles from
a wide range of published material.
An intake of vitamins, of oligo-elements (zinc, selenium …), of various biological substances such as Ginkgo
biloba, aloe vera, creatine, DHEA, melatonine, etc. etc.
We are constantly encouraged to protect our health, to correct dietary or environmental deficiencies, to buy
miraculous long forgotten but recently rediscovered products, and others revealed by revolutionary
observation ("The vitamin revolution") which are claimed to be new.
More generally, natural therapies (which are by definition good) are praised as opposed to "official", i.e.
artificial – and therefore suspect – therapies.
Why supplement our nutrition?
Because, it is hinted, our normal food habits are lacking something which is essential, which the organism
needs and which is, for some hidden reason, being withheld from us by unknown powers,
3 See photos on front and back covers.
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