Iraq is responsible for the safety and protection of its civilians, and the outside world should stimulate both Baghdad and the Kurdish government to take that responsibility, says Jeannette Seppen, until very recently ambassador for the Netherlands in Iraq. After two years in Baghdad, she has left for the same position in Pakistan. After ISIS entered the arena halfway through her term in Iraq, Seppen’s work changed enormously, with more emphasis on humanitarian aid. She spoke in admiration about victims of ISIS for the resilience they have shown. In this exclusive interview, Rudaw spoke to Seppen about her years in Iraq, where she visited the Kurdistan region often as the Netherlands upgraded its embassy office in Erbil into a consulate. Rudaw: How did the coming of ISIS and the fall of Mosul in June 2014 affect your work? Jeannette Seppen: When I compare my first and second year, it looks almost as if I have been on two different posts. There was always attention for Iraq in the Netherlands, of course, but that increased tenfold after Mosul fell. Before the summer of last year we were an embassy that first cared for its Dutch citizens and focused on development of trade and investment, next to keeping up to date with political developments and trying to protect human rights. After the summer we were pulled into the humanitarian work, and we set up a military training mission for the army and the Peshmerga. At the same time the attention for Iraq increased; the number of questions in the Dutch parliament about what happened in Iraq was incomparable, before and after. The Netherlands is one of the European nations providing trainers for a mission to train the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army. Was there any hesitation to send them here, because of the bad safety situation? It’s not often I have seen the Dutch parliament agree so fast to provide military personnel for a training mission. Our embassy had to make it happen. There was a lot of diplomatic work to be done before the military could come in. They are now in Baghdad and Erbil. I visited both locations and noticed the trainers are very motivated, and not only to teach the military aspects, but also about human and women’s rights. I hope this will in an indirect way help to solve the conflict and to push towards stability. ISIS kidnapped thousands of Yezidi women and children, and many remain in their hands. What can the world do to help them? The international community must do its utmost to stimulate and help the Iraqi and the Kurdish governments, because it is their responsibility, of course. Setting up a military training mission does not help the women directly, but it does help to change the environment in which this happens. As these male warmongers are treating women this way because they never learned to respect them, I am now even more motivated to work on women’s rights. What does it do to you as a person? Both as an ambassador and a human being it is terrible to hear and see what happens. Personally I realize what a luxury life we have in the Netherlands. Just look at what happens to the society in Iraq, especially to the women. It’s unknown in its extreme. It is part of waging a war that one can never agree to. It makes me feel helpless, and at the same time forces me to be modest. We can only try to do what we can do. Yezidis ask for a special international force to protect them once they go back to their region. Will the Netherlands participate if such a force is made? This is a complex story, as the national government is responsible for the protection of its civilians, whatever religious or ethnic background they have. When the time is there, my government will have to decide. Many Yezidis and Christians want to leave Iraq and come to Europe, like also many Iraqi and Kurdish young men. What can the Netherlands do for them? For Iraqi and Kurdish youth the chance to come to the Netherlands will be slim. And once there, it will be hard for them. They might be safe, but it is not easy to find work and build good lives for themselves and their families. What the Netherlands can do for them is to help make an environment in their own country where people can live a normal life. Our long term strategy, with attention for human rights, programs for reconciliation and economic development, is meant to help make Iraq a country where the young want to be raised and to stay. It is fascinating to talk to Dutch Kurds, who came back to Kurdistan and say: “I returned to build my country with what I learned in the Netherlands. That is what I want to invest in.” When I talk to representatives of the church and to Christian politicians, they emphasize that we should help them to make Christians stay. Because they belong here, it is a multicultural country. They even ask countries to stop giving Christians visas, for they should not leave Iraq. What has the Netherlands achieved in Iraq and Kurdistan? In the past year we opened a consulate in Erbil, and a visa facility for businessmen, officials and students. Because of the crisis, for the moment we will not be able to secure the big investments or trade orders, but still people will need answers to questions and support from an embassy or consulate. Even though there is a crisis, we keep playing our role. This is what Kurds and Iraqis will remember: that we were there when it mattered. If you can help to develop a country economically, the stability will also profit. What are your best memories of the past years? On the one hand it is sad to see what happens to the country, and on the other it’s promising to see how much resilience people show. It was surreal to visit [the Iraqi province of] Wassit and see the happiness of the governor and his people—that they had visitors again. Those are beautiful moments; that even using modest means you can still do something. And the way IDPs and refugees try with all their might to regain their lives, the resilient people you meet. On the one hand it is sad normal people always are the victim, and on the other it is admirable how they are able to get through. What I told my successor is that we should try to contribute to bring the lives of these people to a more normal level. Let’s realize how good things are for us, compared to so many others, and let’s get the energy and the means from this awareness to share with others that have so much less.
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