Explorers' differences end in Antarctica

Explorers' differences end in Antarctica

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuter): When Hoang Thi Minh Hong was growing up in
Hanoi she never dreamed she would be the first Vietnamese to
reach Antarctica.

Nor did Glaswegian Mark McLaughlin, during his eight-year
battle against drug addiction, ever envision himself as a junior
envoy for the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO.

But Antarctica was where they, and 33 other explorers, spent
January in an experiment which proved that, spirited away from
their homelands, young people could live in peace and harmony
whatever their backgrounds, beliefs or religions.

The young people were chosen for the unique trip to mark the
50th anniversary of UNESCO, to gain an appreciation of the
fragile environment of Antarctica and to foster mutual trust.

Representing 25 countries, the world's main religions and
contrasting economic and cultural backgrounds, they shared a
common age, 16 to 24, and an ability to speak English.

Palestinian Dana Budeiri was chosen from the West Bank city of
Ramallah while colleague Karen Sabbagh, an Israeli, hails from
Jerusalem.

Seamus Colligan and Michael Rainey, from opposite sides of the
Protestant-Catholic divide in Northern Ireland, achieved what
politicians in the British-ruled province have often failed to do
-- prove that they can work together.

The team also included a black and a white South African, a
Russian and a Chechen and a Bosnian, Serb, Croat and Moslem.

"They are what we call conflict couples," said Robin Dunseath,
a spokesman for the expedition.

"They come from all sorts of backgrounds. Some are wealthy,
some have no money at all. Some have beaten drugs to get there or
been close to militant elements in their own countries.

"We've put them in situations where their safety depended on
the other person."

Training

After leadership training in southern Argentina under the
guidance of a former member of Britain's elite SAS (Special Air
Services) force, the team set off on the Tandem One Step Beyond
Challenge voyage that focused on scientific, cultural, leadership
and environmental projects.

Each member of the team had been selected with the help of
voluntary and government organizations for their leadership
qualities, enthusiasm and potential.

By all accounts the expedition, the brainchild of British
explorer Robert Swan, who accompanied them on the voyage aboard a
Russian icebreaker, has been an overwhelming success.

Hoang Thi Minh Hong's achievement has made her a minor
celebrity in Vietnam, a status she hopes to use to increase the
country's awareness about environmental issues and Antarctica.

"Very few people have any idea about Antarctica," she said in
a telephone interview from Ushuaia in southern Argentina, where
the team was being debriefed after the expedition.

"It opened my eyes to what the world is all about," said
McLaughlin about the experience.

"Up until two years ago I didn't expect to be alive, much less
a special UNESCO envoy. It's really been mind-blowing. I have to
pinch myself."

After completing their one-month privately-funded expedition
to the world's last great wilderness all 35 were made special
UNESCO envoys.

Drug addicts

Although the landscape was spectacular, the highlight of the
trip for McLaughlin, Colligan and Rainey was their chance
encounter with recovering drug addicts in a rehabilitation center
in Ushuaia.

The group's departure from South America was delayed for about
a week when the icebreaker hit a rock in the northern entrance of
the Neumayer Channel in the Antarctic peninsula on its way to
pick them up.

During their prolonged stay, they stumbled upon the center.
With the aid of a translator they listened to, and shared in,
horror stories about drug addiction.

The experience made a profound impression on the trio. They
formed strong links with the addicts there and have promised to
raise funds for the center and make a return visit.

"Hopefully the project will grow," said McLaughlin.

Despite their differences and the physical tasks they had to
perform in one of the world's harshest environments, the group
say they got on amazingly well.

Among the so-called conflict couples, the expedition led to a
greater understanding of each other's backgrounds and beliefs.

"We clubbed together and forgot all about our backgrounds.
Seamus has his beliefs and I have my mine and we just respect
that we are different," Rainey explained.

"Coming from a country where there is so much conflict between
the two communities, I found it really hard to take in that there
were 25 different nations, 35 different people of all colors and
there were no conflicts between anybody at all. We all gelled
well together," he added.

It wasn't until the end of the expedition when the group
returned to Ushuaia that Sabbagh and Budeiri delved into the
issues that have separated their two cultures for decades.

"Every person on this expedition came out with his own life
story," said Budeiri "It left a sensation that people can be
really candid with each other.

"Although it might hurt there has to be a form of acceptance
for differences among us and I think that is what we gained."