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Somorita Ibrahim, Security Operations Assistant, Bangladesh
My undergraduate and master’s degrees were in Electronics and Telecommunications, so I didn’t have the typical background to join UNDSS. My first role here was in the radio room, where my IT and technical knowledge proved essential in coordinating communications across Bangladesh. I’m now using my IT knowledge in a different way: I’m responsible for producing identity cards for UN personnel and their dependents across the country. I really enjoy my career here as UNDSS is the agency that serves the people who are working to make the world better. There’s quite a bit of civil unrest here in Dhaka, so the UN’s missions are vital – and it’s UNDSS’s role to keep UN personnel updated on potential threats. The best thing is that I get to work with people from all the world, creating a truly international atmosphere. The personnel here are incredibly diverse, and I’ve got to learn a lot about their cultures and perspectives. Many of them are from police or military careers, so their experience is completely different from my own – I find it exciting to discuss their backgrounds and understand what motivates them. The biggest surprise for me is how centrally everything is managed – UNDSS deals with every UN agency in every part of Bangladesh. As such, I get to know just about everybody who is based here, whatever their mission and their specialist function. If I had to sum up my time with UNDSS, I’d describe it as a life-changing opportunity. I have a completely different perspective on everything now and my horizons are so much broader. |