Ann-Sofie Hellgren field story from Brussels

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Hindsight 2020

So far into the pandemic, my close friends and family have been largely spared from both the disease itself and its indirect effects. This makes me privileged, and I know it. And I extend my heartfelt condolences to those less fortunate. Still, 2020 has been no walk in the park. In more ways than one, this has been an utterly bizarre year.

I assume that several of us have moved to another country to start a new job during the coronavirus pandemic, some for the first time, some as part of a long-established international routine. I imagine our experiences may be both similar and inherently different. So, let me share a few reflections from my journey.

In January, I was asked to apply for a job with the UN in Brussels. I did, I was successful, and I took up the new position in May. Brussels at that time was in lockdown, and it took until July before I could gradually begin to install myself in my new town. To find a place to make a home was more complicated than it normally would have been, but manageable, and now I feel almost more at home here than I do back in Stockholm.

Finding my role at work has however been far more challenging. A large part of my job would normally be to network, but how does one build new relationships in the era of Teams, Zoom and WebEx? Where do you even start? And how does one foster trust and camaraderie between colleagues without ever meeting them tête-à-tête? Apart from a handful of days spent in a largely empty UN House in-between lockdowns, I have lived and worked in solitude from home, in accordance with the ‘physical distancing’ à la mode. I have spent close to a decade in post-conflict settings before, but never have I felt more exposed than I do right now living in the heart of Europe. How does one find and keep motivation in isolation?

These are rhetorical questions, of course. I neither have nor do I expect any simple answers. It is said that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, so that is what I do, little by little, day by day. In hindsight, I will never know if it was the right choice to accept this opportunity in these unpredictable times, but I am certain that I would have regretted it had I turned it down. To paraphrase my favourite poet, Gunnar Ekelöf, only the impractical is practical in the long run. And there are reasons to believe in brighter days ahead.

Ann-Sofie Hellgren
Policy Specialist – Conflict Prevention, UNDP Crisis Bureau, Brussels