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Former President of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei
• Charlotte Osei was head of the UN electoral mission
• She opened up about her experience in the war-torn country
• She describes them as very polite and welcoming
Charlotte Osei, the former president of the Electoral Commission, unveiled her experience in Afghanistan at the head of the United Nations electoral mission a few years ago.
Charlotte Osei says the citizens of the war-torn country are very polite and welcoming.
She explained in an interview with Joy FM that contrary to the perception we have of them, Afghans are nice people. “Afghans are the most hospitable, incredibly kind and incredibly generous people. They would like you to come [to their] at home, and you couldn’t go because the security protocols just wouldn’t allow you to do it, ”she explained.
“If an Afghan colleague wants me to come to dinner, he will have to give advance notice; UN security should go to their homes, check it out.
“And there were even times when they said to us, you can’t go to the office this week, we have to do that or we have to build another bunker, so it was a very tight security system and to do good measure. ” Charlotte Osei said that like most Ghanaians, the average Afghanistan wanted the basic element of life to survive.
“They want a peaceful life; they want to have the possibility of earning a living, that their children go to school, have a good education, they want them to find a job and to be independent at the end of their studies.
“You want good health care; you want access to health, the same things we want, you want to be able to go out and have a good time with your friends and family and come home safe. So that’s what they want and it’s not exactly what they got, ”she noted.
Charlotte Osei also recounted her experience of the war and the training she received prior to her posting.
She revealed a frightening moment when those around her came face to face with a group of people wielding guns. “Train if you get captured by the Taliban, what to do and what not to do. The training worried me a lot. They actually laughed at me, but I told them I knew it was supposed to make me safer, but it actually worried me more, ”she revealed.
“There was a day when we came back from the office and my office was a 45 minute drive from the UN compound, so that always calls for a little anxiety and trepidation. Even when you always go in an armored vehicle, it should still be in a convoy. So out of nowhere we saw a group of young men of about 20 people all holding AK47s, they looked scary. I didn’t see the driver react so he said it was a local gang. They walk in front of the car and they just split up and we crossed. My heart was pounding, ”she revealed.
She also revealed the first two things she was given upon arrival in Afghanistan and how those two things turned out to be crucial for her time there.
“When I arrived in Kabul, the UN driver and the UN armored vehicle meet you. When they take you to your car, the first thing they give you is your bulletproof vest and helmet… so that’s your introduction to life with your laptop. And you’re still in an armored vehicle, ”she revealed on the show.
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