"Every trafficking story is a story that can shake you to your core. We're talking about children sometimes, about babies… We're talking about women at very vulnerable ages. We're also talking about men that desperately seek employment and find their hands into criminal gangs that would exploit them for sexual purposes to any other purposes." Ilias Chatzis heads the team fighting human trafficking and migrant smuggling at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In this episode, he joins podcast host Melissa Fleming to talk about how a man who grew up on a Greek island came to have a burning sense of justice and a crime-fighting career of more than 25 years. In this conversation, Ilias describes how reports about online abuse of children and sexual predation of women have surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and how criminals are always adapting to new technologies to exploit their victims. Ilias also shares his concerns over the lack of resources worldwide to fight trafficking and smuggling and why we must learn from history if we are to ever overcome these scourges.

Awake At Night

Every trafficking story is a story that can shake you to your core

“We took around seven children back to the UNICEF compound here in Kabul… there was a little boy called Mudares who was just three and he came in and he kept saying, ‘Where's my mother? You know, ‘why is my mother not here?’ … We put him on the seesaw, he'd never been on the seesaw before, so I was on one end of the seesaw, and he was on the other… And at one point as he went up high, he shot his hands, both his arms right up high in the air and I said, ‘Hold on, you need to hold on’ and my child protection colleague said to him, ‘Why did you let go, you know, he must hold on?’ And he said, because when I go up high, I feel I can reach the stars and I want one from my mother.’ It was a reminder for us all just to keep going for the children of Afghanistan -- because if Mudares can look to the stars, we can all look to the stars and do better.”    In this episode, UNICEF’s Chief of Communications in Afghanistan Sam Mort speaks to Melissa from Kabul shortly after the Taliban’s takeover. Sam, along with other UN colleagues, has remained in Afghanistan to help the country’s people as they face a worsening humanitarian situation.   She tells stirring stories of loss, reunification and reaching to the stars for hope.   “I see a bravery in Afghanistan's girls and women that I haven't seen anywhere else, because the fears and the threats are real and they acknowledge it. And they move forward,” she says. 

Keep going for the children of Afghanistan

“We know that whenever you have these sort of atrocity crimes that happened here [Bosnia and Herzegovina], they're often preceded by hate. They're often preceded by individuals and responsibility, whether they're political leaders, whether they're religious leaders, whether they're average population, putting out hate or putting out ‘the other’ so that religious community is evil, or they're responsible for XYZ.”    Ingrid Macdonald is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is tasked with spearheading the UN’s efforts to support development in a country still deeply scarred by ethnic divisions and the legacy of war and the 1995 genocide at Srebrenica.   Ingrid, who was raised in a small New Zealand mining town, joined the UN in 2016. But she has a long record of working in humanitarian, development and human rights jobs around the world, from Darfur to the Philippines and from Peru to Ukraine.   In this insightful episode, she talks about the challenges she faced in many of those roles and her vivid memories of trying to advocate for the vulnerable, including her time helping women in Afghanistan.    Since relocating to Sarajevo in early 2020, just as COVID-19 was taking hold across the world, Ingrid has been focused on finding ways to bring divided communities together as well as tackle hate speech and genocide denial, just 26 years after Bosnian Serb forces massacred 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica. 

Build Trust and Build a Future

“When I could no longer pursue the dream of being an artist because my hands became too weak to hold a pencil, I needed to dream, a new dream, and I realized that that is, in itself, a gift to be able to sort of pivot and change direction and ask yourself, what else? That I still have my spirit. I still have my mind and I still have a deep desire and yearning for an extraordinary life. And I still want to be of service to humanity and the world.”    Eddie Ndopu is an award-winning disability activist from South Africa and one of 17 United Nations advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare degenerative condition, and given only five years to live, he is now 30 and has dedicated his life to ensure that the voices of those at greatest risk of being left behind are being amplified and heard worldwide.    During this inspiring episode, Eddie recounts the difficult daily challenges he has faced throughout his life, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how his mother, “the wind beneath his sails”, sacrificed so much to make his life possible. He also talks about his big dream: to be the first physically disabled person in outer space and to address the United Nations from there.    Eddie’s heartwarming story and courageous spirit are proof of his belief that everybody should be afforded the opportunity to dream and become everything that their imagination desires. 

A Barrier-free Life

“The women and the girls of Afghanistan have earned the right to be heard, to take their place in society openly, as they have done behind the scenes for decades, if not centuries."    Nada Al-Nashif is Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights and has been serving the United Nations for almost 30 years. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, her life was turned upside down with the Iraqi invasion of 1990, when her family was forced to flee and leave everything behind to rebuild their lives in Jordan.     Following her uprooting, Nada took her first UN job in Libya during Gaddafi's rule, and then served across other conflict zones, including Lebanon and Iraq. In the late 1990s she travelled to Afghanistan as part of a UNDP team negotiating with the Taliban to open girls’ schools.    Nada also experienced one of the darkest days in the UN’s history. On 19 August 2003, a truck packed with a tonne of explosives blew up the UN’s headquarters in Baghdad, killing 22 colleagues, including the UN’s Special Representative for Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello. “It's hard to accept but you need to because you cannot keep asking ‘Why was I there? Why me? Why not me?’” she says. Nada explains how her own injuries act as a constant reminder of human vulnerability and the blessing of having survived to tell the story. 

Need to be heard

“Going to space will become like taking a plane today; working in space, living in space, having a one-week holiday in space.” Simonetta Di Pippo is the Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. Trained as an Astrophysicist in her native Italy, Di Pippo was the first female director of the European Space Agency. Since then, her work has been integral in using space for our common wellbeing here on Earth - from monitoring soil and water through meteorological data so farmers can grow healthier crops to tracking climate change using satellites. Simonetta shares her passion for space being preserved as a global common benefiting all humanity and on the importance of ensuring peace in outer space.

Space Diplomat

“If anything works for women, in any country, it is most likely to work for most people. If you want to address the majority of the people who really need you, target women.” A voice of deep authority on this subject, with a lifetime of activism and service, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the Executive Director of UN Women. She was born and raised in South Africa, and as a young teacher, joined the struggle to end apartheid and to reshape her country. She served in parliament, in ministerial roles and as Deputy President when Nelson Mandela took over the Presidency. She used her positions to bring new perspectives to the country’s priorities, combat poverty and bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor, with a particular focus on women. Phumzile shares anecdotes about her friendship with Mandela and describes the formative issues behind her leadership of women’s rights and drive for investment in gender equality that culminate in the Generation Equality Forum. These insights inform the combination of innovative alliances across generations, feminist and youth movements, civil society, philanthropy, governments and the private sector that promise accelerated change for the women and girls who need it most.

Empower Your Women!

"I understand the people I speak to in my current job, because I've been in their shoes: I've been arbitrarily detained. I've experienced enforced disappearance.” Michelle Bachelet was the first female President of Chile for the Socialist Party of Chile (2006–10; 2014–18). She is now the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Michelle’s father served in the Air Force and, in 1973 after being taken prisoner during a coup that overthrew the government, he died in jail at just 50 years old. Michelle shares the harrowing stories of how she and her mother were later taken to a clandestine detention centre, her exile in Australia and East Germany, her motivations to study medicine and return to Chile and why, despite everything, she remains a prisoner of hope. As she herself believes: “We may not be all responsible for the past, but we are responsible for the future.”

Prisoner of Hope

“Not just tolerance. I don't like the word tolerance. Tolerance means I am superior than you are. I don't want to be tolerated. I don't want to be a second-class citizen. I want respect. Mutual respect and mutual understanding.” Rabbi Arthur Schneier is a Holocaust survivor and a human rights activist. He shares harrowing memories of his childhood in Vienna and later in Hungary after the Nazis came to power. Many of his family members were murdered, including his grandfather, a prominent rabbi who died in Auschwitz. He was determined to also become a rabbi in his honor, and to make a new life in the United States. From the Park East Synagogue in New York City, Rabbi Schneier has dedicated a lifetime to promoting peace, reconciliation, and inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue. UN Secretary General António Guterres has called him “an inspiration for the world and for the United Nations.”

United, we prevail. Divided, we fail.

“What we're seeing is the desperation out there in the hospitals. We're seeing desperation in the communities. We're seeing even among our team being affected directly by it. At the same time, you know, we've seen communities come together.”   Yasmin Ali Haque has worked for the UN’s Children’s Fund, UNICEF for almost 25 years and is now the Country Representative in India. She explains how the current coronavirus situation there is driving some of the world’s poorest families back to negative coping mechanisms including a returning rise in child marriage. Involved in emergency response throughout her career, Yasmin was also working in Sri Lanka when the devastating tsunami hit in 2004 and shares some of the heartbreaking stories from the wreckage alongside her memories of growing up in a repartition camp in Bangladesh during the Indo-Pakistan war in the 1970s.   “When I talk to people in the community, whether it's a health worker or a mum or a dad or a grandparent, that's the reality check for me. Are we really doing what is needed the most?”

Are we doing enough for the children?

“I returned from Bangladesh...and sent all of my dresses for dry cleaning. I have not worn these dresses again. I can't wear them. There's too much pain...because I came out and I was wet with all the women crying. I like to open the wardrobe and remind myself of the survivors at all times. They are my moral compass and I have to keep fighting for them. This is what keeps me going.”   Pramila Patten is the Secretary General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict whose work aims to end rape as a weapon of war, making it a crime that is both preventable and punishable. Pramila travels the world to meet survivors, carrying back the harrowing stories they entrust her to retell. She then advocates tirelessly on their behalf for accountability and justice.

It Breaks Your Heart to Hear About the Brutality

“[There are] two iconic images of the 20th century: Diana walking through the minefield in body armour and then with a little girl who lost a leg to a mine. I was proud to...highlight the incredible work that's been done by deminers around the world by hosting that visit.”   Paul Heslop is the Head of the UN Mine Action Team in Afghanistan and has been clearing mines in conflict zones for nearly thirty years. He shares the remarkable progress deminers have made in removing explosive devices across the globe with Mozambique (his first post back in ‘94) declaring itself mine-free two years ago. Paul also recounts his time as a field officer for the Halo Trust when Princess Diana came to visit a minefield in Angola where he was working back in 1997. He recalls that epochal moment and how his quick thinking led to the non-profit gaining huge worldwide exposure through the iconic photographs of the trip. 

Clearing Mines for 30 Years

“As long as they are treated in hospital, you see them communicating. And as soon as they get out of the hospital, they are pointing a gun at each other.”   Aboubacar Kampo is UNICEF’s Director of Health Programmes but he has also worked as a physician and surgeon in some of the world’s most complex emergency zones, from Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Abou shares his experiences from the ER wards of Chad, where the government is forced to share beds between the rebel forces. He also recounts the harrowing story of Irene, a victim of rape and violence in Liberia. Abou’s life-changing work is proof that, even in areas facing gross atrocities, we can see the good side of human nature.    “The one thing that we learn with complex emergencies is that the condition of the peoples is always the same. In Liberia, they have been fighting a war for more than 10 years... [but] ...if you meet the local population, as poor and as deprived as they may be, they still share a meal with you.”

Good People Have Always a Smile on Their Face

“I remember sitting on the porch… with the local principal and I said, ‘You need food and you need medicines. Why exam papers?’ And he said, ‘Look, that's for now. But the exam papers are our future. Our kids are our future. This is more important to us than food and medicines.’”   David Shearer is the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for South Sudan but has also served in crisis areas across the Middle East and Afghanistan. He shares his captivating career stories from a posting in an occupied Palestinian territory, the nerve-wracking negotiations to release his wife from gunpoint in Somalia, and his incredible work entering behind Sri Lankan government lines to deliver exam papers to its schools. He also recalls how he narrowly missed out on becoming the Prime Minister in his home country of New Zealand. 

We Are the World

“It was a Close Protection Officer...who heard me. Had I not decided to knock exactly at that point in time, they would have repaired the backhoe [and] started to dig. They would’ve destabilised the area over which I was lying and I would not be sitting here today.”   It’s been over ten years since Senior Civil Affairs Officer, Jens Kristensen found himself trapped in the earthquake that hit Haiti’s Hotel Christopher. Jens recounts his harrowing experience of being confined in a dark coffin-like space for five days with no water or drink, not knowing when, or if, he would be rescued. He also explains his remarkable decision to return to work after just two days following the rescue knowing that “mentally and physically I was capable and still able to help.”   “It was a terrible, terrible disaster for the UN. For Haiti. For the world...I think that finding me as a survivor gave people hope. It was a light in the darkness. People were there. People were cheering. It was a new birthday.”

Light in the Darkness

Extraordinary personal stories from people who have put themselves in harm’s way to help refugees.

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Awake At Night

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