VOL. 70, NO. 1 Janvier-- January 2011 - AAFI-AFICS, Geneva - UNOG

In the meantime, there was another little incident. We have a security system in our buildingwhich puts Fort Knox and Sing-Sing in the shade. When a visitor arrives, he or she, as the case maybe, must ring me from downstairs; I press the zero button on my phone and hey presto, the doorsweetly tells the visitor or delivery man or woman, as the case may be, You can enter now.A delivery man arrived. It was the red phone, the only one that was functioning, that rang; butthis old fashioned one knew nothing about zeros and opening doors. It marched to the beat ofanother drum. Look, I said to my impatient and bewildered visitor, I’ll come downstairs and letyou in. Just wait for me.I dashed downstairs and opened the door and greeted the delivery man – not woman, as the caseturned out to be. By now, the door had closed behind me; I didn’t have my keys on me; I hadbeen too rushed to think of that. So we were now both locked out.The only thing to do was to wait for some other resident to come along and we would enter withhim. And so it came to pass.Yes, the next step was to get new phones. But I’ve overstepped my time limit. And for that, you’llhave to wait for the next instalment.Aamir AliNEWS FROM THE ORGANIZATIONSUNITED NATIONSMagic of cinema brings alive League of Nations at the Palais for a weekendIn the framework of the Secretary-General's Creative Community Outreach Initiative, theDirector-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) authorized the shooting at thePalais des Nations on 13 and 14 November of scenes from the film Belle du Seigneur, adaptedfrom Albert Cohen's famous novel.Set in the late 1930's, Belle du Seigneur is regarded as a classic of French modern literature and isone of the main works of fiction with a League of Nations background. It is the story of theobsessive love affair between Solal, an Assistant Secretary-General in the League of Nations andAriane, the wife of a staff member. The novel includes ironic passages in the life of a ratherunproductive international civil servant.Directed and written by Brazilian director Glenio Bonder, who started his career as a diplomat, thefilm brings together well-known actors, including Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Solal and NataliaVodianova as Ariane, and a production team that includes Oscar winners and nominees, such asDirector of Photography Eduardo Serra, whose work on The Girl with the Pearl Earring won him anOscar nomination.44