Describing his longtime role as coordinator of international emergency programs in North Korea, Dr. Massimo Urbani uses a Latin phrase: “Vox clamantis in deserto” - a voice crying in the wilderness. To Urbani, the international community misrepresents the pariah nation.
North Korea is looked at solely through an ideological lens, its literate and industrious people forgotten, Urbani said in an interview with Devex. As a result, a large potential for international cooperation is being wasted, he added.
Foreigners “sitting in New York, Paris, Moscow or wherever else” blame North Korea without ever visiting the country about which they opine, Urbani claimed. Those who do bother to visit the country come for a brief “Saturday-to-Tuesday” visit, he added.
“There is no nation in the world we can understand in three days,” he argued.
“All the visits and delegations either hate or love North Korea,” but they do not appreciate the country for what it is, Urbani said.
The time has come for a more sincere and respectful understanding of the country, Urbani stressed.
He pointed out that international organizations are missing out on a large potential for cooperation because they send inexperienced staff or because, as Urbani put it, “even the freshest among the humanitarian operators came and politicized.” The border between humanitarian and political agenda has blurred, creating operational problems because North Korea “does not want humanitarian operators who politicize,” he argued.
Urbani described how difficult life is in North Korea because it lacks the recreational facilities available in most other countries, including those in Africa. He claimed that many aid workers are now used to leading comfortable lives and since many amenities do not exist in North Korea, “a difficult life has been mistaken for difficulties in the projects.”
“There is absolutely nothing there. You just work,” he stressed.
In spite of this lack of amenities, he said, it is easy for professionals to carry out their projects.
Urbani has lived in North Korea for almost 10 years, working on health and emergency projects. A physician with specializations in general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, he became an expert on humanitarian cooperation in conflict zones after extensive fieldwork in countries such as Rwanda, Somalia and Algeria.
In late 1997, his was among the first foreign families to be allowed to move into North Korea. He entered first as country director for a program funded by the European Commission’s humanitarian aid office, then became project officer for four health-related UNICEF projects. He spent the last five years in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as resident head of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Development Cooperation Office, where he also served as consular correspondent.
Dr. Urbani, what were your daily difficulties when working in North Korea?
During these 10 years, I have been sending messages to both fieldworkers and headquarters that were not in line with the methodologies for intervention, not on a technical but on a political level. There is a big fracture between decisions on a political level - still incriminating this nation - and the extremely large ease with which you can work here.
I can say that I have seen the situation from inside, confirming the peculiarity and the uniqueness of this country while simultaneously disproving some stereotypes that by now have become realities. To make an example: the reputation that in North Korea you cannot see, you cannot visit, you cannot monitor. This is absolutely false - and I take responsibility for what I am saying. Undoubtedly, there is only one programming for visits, but once you have set a program with your local counterpart, you have the possibility and the freedom of going and visiting everywhere.
In your practical operations, haven’t you suffered from any limitations?
Absolutely not, because - and I admit this with a bit of false modesty - I know my job. Whoever arrives in North Korea knowing their own job, is only respected, acknowledged and put in a position of fully working. Whenever there is an opportunity to cooperate, the counterpart is ready and available. There is a system with which you have to live, but we have also drafted projects together. The counterpart is extremely cooperative.
Throughout these 10 years, I had projects to implement which I have always implemented everywhere, through daily operations, simplicity and especially through the pragmatism of this people who is used to work. So we have never encountered those difficulties that, for instance, you can encounter in Africa or other nations.
Do you mean that working in North Korea is simpler than in Africa?
Surely. Since very often our work in Africa is spiced up with dances [and entertainment] and this recreational aspect doesn’t exist in North Korea, this is why there is now this image of a country where not only there’s a dictatorship but where it is also impossible to work.
Another problem has been that we transferred all protocols from Africa and developing countries to North Korea. This has been a gigantic mistake, as in North Korea, everybody can read and write. Humanitarian operators have released manuals on how to breastfeed, but North Korean mothers perfectly know how to breastfeed. So all the manuals and protocols, especially those of the U.N., are the same in North Korea as in Rwanda.
Now, all due respect to Rwanda or Burundi, but we shouldn’t forget that North Korea is not a developing country. In the ‘70s, it enjoyed a certain welfare. [Instead, it is] an isolated country, and an isolating country. This is the real problem, they are still at war. This is a nation that has been at war for three generations. And they want peace.
Compared to your first visit to the country, what changes have you noticed?
There have been two precise factors. A direct one: basically, everything we [humanitarian operators] have managed and built. The other, more important, an induced one: we have taken this nation out of the pincers of isolation.
Now, North Koreans know of the existence of another world, of other people. And little by little, they are embarking first on integration into the international community, and second, although nobody says it, their eyes light up at the reunification to their Southern brothers. By seeing us, they have seen that something is inevitably changing.
And if you were to outline a trend for the country and international cooperation?
“Let’s hurry up!” As we cannot go backwards, and undoubtedly reunification will happen. My invitation is to speed up this process as the process has started, and nobody can stop it at this point.
How have the country and the people changed?
I can breathe more oxygen. Earlier, people did not even look at you; now they smile at you, and this is wonderful.
And which other humanitarian operators are in the country?
The Red Cross, [World Health Organization], UNICEF, [World Food Program] and three or four European [nongovernmental organizations].
What are the positive aspects of living and working in North Korea?
The dignity of the Korean people. And then the Koreans’ determination… so, there is no laxism… and, most of all, their solidarity, which undoubtedly stems from their living conditions.
What makes life in North Korea difficult?
There aren’t those facilities that nowadays you can find almost everywhere in the world, starting from discos, cinemas, shops and so on. Given that this doesn’t exist, North Korea has been demonized.
But while we absolutely have to say that there is no entertainment in North Korea, we cannot say that you cannot work in North Korea. In my opinion, this has been a big quid pro quo. And the drama is that there are millions [of funds] floating around the nation, when what is lacking is professional expertise from the side of humanitarian operators.
What is then the right approach?
Do not transfer funds but expertise. Transfer know-how, transfer experts and above all on a long-term basis and senior staff. Senior staff with experience will surely be successful.
From what you are saying, it seems that on a professional basis you experienced no difficulty
Exactly. I would go back there, not tomorrow but tonight itself!
About the author
Silvia Sartori
Silvia Sartori was awarded a bachelor's in international diplomatic sciences from Trieste University, a post-graduate certificate on business in China from the Milan-based Institute of International Political Studies and a master's in Asian studies from Lund University. During a three-year residence in China, she worked in the private sector before joining the European Union Chamber of Commerce. She was also deeply involved with local and foreign nonprofit groups. She has contributed to Italian and foreign media with articles and reports from Asia. Silvia served as a Devex fellow in the first half of 2008. Silvia is fluent in Italian, English French and German and has a working knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
