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Jaki Azmi, Deputy Chief Security Officer, Nairobi
After several years at a cadet college in Bangladesh, I became a commissioned army officer, rising to the rank of Major. My undergraduate was in Engineering, and I have a master¡¯s in security management. Working as a military peacekeeper in Liberia in 2007 gave me my first exposure to Africa ¨C and to the United Nations. The poverty and desperation in the post-conflict Liberia overwhelmed me; the civil war may have ended but the scars were still visible everywhere. I was impressed by the great job done by the United Nations. I applied to join UNDSS in 2009. After six months being accepted for a place on the UNDSS roster, I was invited to become the Assistant Chief Security Officer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Retiring from the military and joining the United Nations represented quite a culture change. In Addis Ababa, I rose to the rank of Chief Security Officer, and I have had the chance to work with people from over 60 nationalities getting exposed to amazing cultures languages and experiences. That¡¯s the real beauty of working here. I also worked in Beirut and New York and enjoyed the diversified culture and work experience. Recently I was reassigned to Nairobi as the Deputy Chief Security Officer. My Ethiopian journey was great! The local people are lovely, friendly, and respectful, sumptuous food, and the weather is fantastic ¨C 13 months of sunshine a year, as they say! I am now in Kenya, and enjoying the great people, culture, natural beauty, and wildlife. Ultimately, what the UNDSS does is to make things happen. We are enablers, we¡¯re here to ensure that United Nations personnel are safe and secure and that the United Nation¡¯s activities are up and running. This isn¡¯t just a job ¨C it¡¯s a way of life. It¡¯s completely different from the corporate world as you¡¯ll get to embrace challenging situations and support the UN in solving problems for mankind. If I had to sum up my 12 years here in one word, it would be ¡°exciting¡±.
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