August,
2008- September, 2008: We had heard that Kevin S. Kennedy would soon
be Director, but that Jean Jacques Simon, Head of Radio Okapi, would be OIC until
Mr. Kennedy was able to assume command . Little did we know that Mr. Simon and
a P-3 Radio Producer close to Mr. Doss
were surreptitiously planning a massive reorganization of PID before Mr.
Kennedy arrived. When the P-3 Radio Producer submitted a written plan for this
re-organization to Mr. Doss, with the express goal of creating a new Rapid
Response Unit, this written plan was
sent by COS to those affected by the plan, and the war was on. The
Unit Chiefs insisted that the P-3 write a written retraction and send it to
the SRSG. He refused, doubtless thinking he had the support of the SRSG, but
the winds had already changed. The P-3 had forgotten that we were still under
the direct supervision of DSRSG Mountain, whom he had neglected to copy in his
evaluation. As a result, the carpet was pulled out from under him, and soon
both he and Jean Jacques Simon found themselves the subject of CDU
investigations. This imbroglio was both divisive and destructive, None
of us knew what SRSG Doss had planned for us, but if this abortive putsch was
any indication of his modus operandi, it was going to be a bumpy ride.
October,
2008-February, 2009: I knew Kevin Kennedy from New York, and was very
happy about the prospects of working with him. He did not disappoint. Kevin
proved to be a very demanding and hard
working supervisor with an extensive knowledge of the UN system, as well
as a sophisticated communications professional always ready to engage his
colleagues on all levels to get their views.
For us in video, this was particularly important, since he was receptive
to our ideas and our needs for his editorial input. This led to a fruitful
creative atmosphere, and the most notable result was our weekly television
magazine MONUC REALITES, which was a true 21st century communications
vehicle for promoting the MONUC mandate inspired by CNN’s BACK TALK. I shall
explore exactly why this program was so significant in a later section. Suffice it to say that
we had many indications the show was
popular among all levels of Congolese society, and we never had any
complaints from any Congolese.
While Kevin made promotion of the MONUC mandate among the Congolese
population our top priority, he also encouraged us to produce material for
other audiences, most notably UN CHEMIN VERS LA PAIX SEME D’EMBUCHES, a
22 minute oral history of the ten years of the MONUC Mission that showed how the mission had evolved over the
years. He also supported distribution of MONUC HUMAN RIGHTS, which was shown
around the world for International Human Rights Day in 2008, as well as DRC
distribution of the first two episodes of LE PROFESSEUR REPOND!. Kevin had
given himself two years to put MONUC PID in order, and he was making real
progress when UN HR reform, forced him to return to his post iat UNHQ 6 months
ahead of schedule. This was very unfortunate both for the Video Unit and PID as a whole,
since we did not have a professionally competent Director PID after his
departure in early 2010.
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