World citizen who has stayed true to his roots<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
During his tenure as a United Nations peacekeeper in Africa, Omar
\nHalim cried twice; once, because he was proud of the UN, the
\nsecond time because he was hurt by and ashamed of the UN.<\/p>\n
\"In Namibia, we (the UN) made mistakes, but it was a
\nsuccessful mission and I cried because I was proud,\" Omar, 69,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Later in Somalia, I saw American black hawks hovering above
\nthe UN compound in Mogadishu, launching rockets at civilians,
\nkilling 72 people, mostly the elderly,\" he said. \"I cried because
\nI was hurt, I yanked my UN ID card from my chest and threw it
\naway.\"<\/p>\n
In October 1993, all hell broke loose in Mogadishu, as U.S.
\ntroops were ordered to kill faction leader Mohamed Farah Aideed.<\/p>\n
The urban warfare -- in which a number of U.S. military
\ncorpses were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu -- was
\nbrought on-screen in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, adapted from
\nthe best-seller of the same name by Mark Bowden.<\/p>\n
\"The UN knew that the conflicting Somali clans had signed an
\nagreement to adopt a peaceful government. Instead of continuing
\nits peacekeeping efforts, the UN declared Aideed a criminal,
\nwanting him dead or alive,\" Omar, who considers himself a citizen
\nof the world, said.<\/p>\n
After the \"black hawk down\" incident, U.S. and UN troops were
\nwithdrawn from Somalia, leaving some civilian officers, including
\nOmar, to keep the peace. In order to do so, UN officials had to
\ntalk with Aideed.<\/p>\n
\"I flew from country to country to meet Aideed, to talk to
\nhim. When we finally met, he embraced me and kissed my right and
\nleft shoulders. Later, I asked a Somalian about the meaning of
\nsuch a kiss. He said, 'It was a gesture of the highest respect a
\nSomalian could give',\" Omar told The Jakarta Post from his
\napartment in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"General Aideed, honestly, did you ever want to kill me?\" Omar
\nasked him, as he was known to hate the UN for its perceived bias.<\/p>\n
\"Once, I was only meters away from you. I saw you but you were
\nnot aware of my presence, I was in a woman's dress,\" Aideed told
\nOmar.<\/p>\n
\"Aideed is a leader who knew what he wanted for Somalis,\" Omar
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Being impartial<\/p>\n
Omar Halim is an Indonesian citizen but his curriculum vitae
\nshows his lengthy experience in Africa and the U.S. and his work
\nfor the world's largest multinational organization, the UN, a
\nsource for him both of pride as well as disappointment.<\/p>\n
\"The UN is a multinational organization. Its power lies in its
\nimpartiality. Once it bows to a certain country, it loses its
\nintegrity,\" Omar said.<\/p>\n
Thus, he said, he always tried to maintain his integrity.<\/p>\n
When he was chairman of the recruitment and promotion
\ncommittee at UN Headquarters in New York, he had to deal with
\noffice politics involving highly respected government officials
\nfrom UN member countries.<\/p>\n
Omar said that if he had been more partial to a certain
\ncountry that was in power, he could have been a top UN official.<\/p>\n
\"But for me, without integrity, I am nothing,\" he said.<\/p>\n
This seems to have been for him a guiding principle.<\/p>\n
The Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono administrations have trusted him with a number
\nof advisory jobs, including the drafting of the Cessation of
\nHostilities Agreement for Aceh.<\/p>\n
Omar was born to a Chinese-Indonesian family in 1936 in Tegal,
\nCentral Java. He finished high school in Kanisius College in
\nJakarta and continued his studies at the University of Indonesia
\n(UI), majoring in economics.<\/p>\n
Later he won a scholarship to study in the U.S. at Wesleyan
\nUniversity, Connecticut, and at Harvard University,
\nMassachusetts, majoring in economics at both.<\/p>\n
Shortly after graduation, he was offered a job at UN
\nHeadquarters.<\/p>\n
He lived for about 30 years in the U.S., marrying an
\nEquadorian, with whom he has a daughter and a son.<\/p>\n
His is the epitome of a modern and global family: His wife
\nlives in South America, he lives in a modest apartment in
\nJakarta, his son and his family are in one part of the U.S.,
\nwhile his daughter is in another part of the same country.<\/p>\n
\"We meet two to three times a year. Usually my wife and I
\nvisit them in the U.S. because we have more flexibility time-
\nwise,\" he said, adding that he could not live in South America
\nwith his wife because he would not have enough to do there and
\nvice versa -- his wife could not live in Indonesia for the same
\nreason.<\/p>\n
He has now been back in Indonesia for eight years and has
\nworked in a variety of jobs.<\/p>\n
He has been a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies (CSIS) and the Research Institute for
\nDemocracy and Peace, executive director for the Indonesian
\ndelegation to the Asia-Europe Business Forum and executive
\ndirector for South-South Technical Cooperation.<\/p>\n
The power of the kris<\/p>\n
But now, apart from his academic and diplomatic tasks, he was
\nrecently appointed chairman of the Association of Indonesian Kris
\nLovers.<\/p>\n
Omar said the kris was state-of-the-art technology and he
\nwanted the younger generation to understand that.<\/p>\n
\"Nowadays, if young people see a kris they usually ask, 'Does
\nthe kris have magical power?',\" Omar added.<\/p>\n
With the association, he said, he wanted to emphasize the
\nscience behind the kris, as well as its history. Although he said
\nhe was not the most accomplished kris expert in Indonesia, he
\nknew a lot about krises, including the Javanese terms.<\/p>\n
Omar, who has about 40 krises and spears at his apartment, is
\nan interesting mix of global and local values.<\/p>\n
Although he is, of course, a fluent English speaker, he is
\nstill fluent in both Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese. And although
\nhis Javanese roots are discernible in his speech and gestures,
\nthe way he expresses opinions is very different to most Javanese.<\/p>\n
He is a no-nonsense person who states the bald facts --
\nhowever ugly they may be -- with ease. He is also the kind of
\nperson who can list his achievements matter-of-factly, without
\nappearing to boast.<\/p>\n
He said he was \"religionless\"; nevertheless, he faithfully
\nplaced every kris he was about to unsheathe on his forehead.<\/p>\n
\"It's a demonstration of respect to whatever resides in the
\nkris,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I admire the kris because of the craftsmanship that goes into
\nits production, not because of the superstitious side of it,\" he
\nsaid. \"However, I believe that a kris has spirit -- not a genie
\n-- something to protect its owner or to enhance its clout.\"<\/p>\n
His worldly side arose when he talked about feminine beauty.<\/p>\n
\"The most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life was an
\nEthiopian girl. She was stunning, with wavy, long black hair and
\nlarge eyes.<\/p>\n
I could not forget her face,\" Omar said, reminiscing
\nwistfully.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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