Europe adds to dirty-money list
BRUSSELS, Feb 13, (KUNA): The European Commission Wednesday adopted its new list of 23 third countries with strategic deficiencies in their antimoney laundering and counterterrorist financing frameworks.
Vera Jourova, EU Commissioner for, Justice told a press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Wednesday that the aim of the list is protect the EU financial system by better preventing money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
“We have established the strongest anti-money laundering standards in the world, but we have to make sure that dirty money from other countries does not find its way to our financial system. Dirty money is the lifeblood of organised crime and terrorism. I invite the countries listed to remedy their deficiencies swiftly,” she said. ‘The Andromeda Council’, a collection of short stories of vignettes in which Clethe Gubler, spouse of Dr Benedict Gubler, Ambassador of Switzerland in Kuwait tries to decode diplomatic life, and helps to interpret and construct the taken-for-granted role of a diplomat’s spouse with honesty,
humour and empathy.
The life of a diplomatic spouse is anything but normal. Wives of career diplomats have to juggle their personal lives, professional commitments, education, and travel and at times face social, cultural, linguistic isolation and even physical danger. And shifting around the world every three or four years takes a heavy toll on families, as spouses are forced to sacrifice their own careers and children hop from school to school. This and more finds expression in ‘The Andromeda Council’, a collection of short stories, a series of vignettes in which Clethe Gubler spouse of Dr Benedict Gubler, Ambassador of Switzerland in Kuwait tries to decode diplomatic life, and helps to interpret and construct the taken for granted role of a diplomat’s spouse with honesty, humour and empathy. Examining the reality behind the glossy façade, Gubler draws on her personal experience to paint a realistic picture of diplomatic life with its challenges and victories.
Clethe Gubler, a former government lawyer from Brazil is a warm, affable pragmatic woman who left a successful career behind to embrace her new life as a Swiss diplomat’s wife. A Brazillian by birth, Gubler gave up her career, her country and familiar surroundings when she married for love. She lived in different countries, on different continentss where she tried to reinvent herself and put her hard-earned skills to good use. Apart from creating a warm home, and doing her duties as gracious hostess, she also immersed herself in humanitarian activities in different postings. And while doing so, she realized that the life of a diplomat is so much more than what is publicly perceived. She realized that although diplomats have a vantage point into cultural affairs and realpolitik, and at times a unique view into the first draft of history, there is a price to be paid. And when she found the time, which was during a particularly cold spell in Strausburg, she gave in to the writing bug and penned her insight into her life and experiences before and after marriage.
‘The Andromeda Council’ is a short delightful read punctuated with real-life incidents and experiences, musings and reflections, humour and self-realization. The book persuades us to take a close look, an unbiased look at the life of a diplomat behind the stereotype of glamour, endless parties and privileged living. She writes easily about many unusual — sometimes wonderful, sometimes difficult — experiences in strange places, and emphasizes that despite the challenges, it is a life of extraordinary privilege rooted in service and that she has grown with each posting, each adventure.
In Kuwait, Clethe Gubler is also the President of the International Women’s Group (IWG), an elite cultural association, formed by 150 members from both the diplomatic community accredited in Kuwait and women from the business sector. In a short period, Gubler has reenergized IWG with her indomitable spirit, professionalism and sense of fairness. Here, Arab Times catches up with Clethe Gubler on her life and her book.
Arab Times: You were a lawyer in your home country. What did you specialize in?
Clethe Gubler: I graduated in law and worked in Brazil mainly in the public sector. It was a challenging career, even though it was not my first option. My parents didn’t support my first choice of a fine arts school, although my grandfather was a painter as is my mother. But I did my best because I am a positive person and I work hard on every project that life puts in my hands.
AT: You met your husband in The Netherlands. You knew that marrying a diplomat meant giving up your own career — was it a difficult decision?
Clethe Gubler: I met my husband while attending an extension course in Public International Law, at the Hague Academy of International Law, in the Hague, Netherlands. When he proposed to me some months later, he was quite honest and clear about the consequences of my decision: leaving my country, family, friends, career and networking. However, this was the fruit of a mature decision, taken with care and time, but somehow frightening as well. I don’t believe people would be so daring nowadays! Leaving a steady career behind you requires a lot of courage. My family never understood, but I don’t regret, and I would for sure do it again!
AT: From Brazil to Switzerland — are the cultures
very different?
Clethe Gubler: Living between two cultures offers a great opportunity to grow and improve one’s skills, but one has to be tolerant, patient and respectful of the changes to come. Brazil gave me my first nationality and formed the base from where I continued my journey. Switzerland gave me a big family and love and also taught me about humanitarian issues. Switzerland is a country where many cultures and nationalities coexist in tolerance and respect. And tolerance is the highest level in the echelon of humanity. I am proud to be Brazilian, and I am also proud to represent Switzerland through my supporting role to my husband. Both countries form a wonderful partnership, by the way. Several Swiss companies operate in Brazil.
AT: What led to your book ‘The Andromeda Council’?
Clethe Gubler: The Andromeda Council, a collection of short stories, was written during a very cold winter in Strasbourg, France. Temperatures remained below zero for two weeks. A chilly Siberian wind was blowing outside. At the end of the day, I had some spare time to write and also answer some of my friend’s expectations, who had been asking for a book for years. For many people, it was amusing to see a Brazilian from Rio de Janeiro married to a German-Swiss. When we arrived at a new post, we were first observed from a distance, with respect and curiosity. The book aims at providing the real story of having to move every three to four years. What does the job of a diplomat involve? How do we live outside the official ceremonies, meetings, delegations, and representation? The challenges, and most of all, the high price we pay to do this job. In our own countries, our compatriots sometimes have no idea! Above all, a diplomat is a public servant who works abroad. The experience of representing a country and working on building a bridge between your homeland and the host country, defending the interests of your citizens and those of your country, is priceless. My book offers real testimony of someone who is in the field.
AT: What were the specific stereotypes about diplomats you were trying to break?
Clethe Gubler: The stereotypes stem from a lack of information, and there is a new generation of diplomats who are trying to make the job easy to understand to the public in general. Just like in the army, we are sent wherever we are needed. This work involves political negotiations, mastering economy, science, history, law and international relations. But above all is the human factor, because no master’s degree can help if one doesn’t know how to speak to others. And finally, respect. We are guests in a host country, and we must understand the rules and usages, to thank for the hospitality and to keep good relations.
AT: What does it mean to be the wife of a diplomat?
Clethe Gubler: Many of us had careers before our marriage, and we left it to found a family. If we can combine our previous experience to improve the work of our husbands, it is even better. In my case, it was providing legal advice to NGOs, acting in humanitarian service or bringing any help whenever a situation occurs. Keeping in mind that my husband is the diplomat of the family, I must maintain a clean and cosy residence, where the Swiss community and local guests feel comfortable to come back many times. AT: Did you try your hand at writing earlier?
Clethe Gubler: “The Andromeda Council” is my first collection of short stories. For the time being, I’m giving final touches to “Cacimbo Sky”, which concerns our experience in Angola (West Africa). In this book, I will share a little bit of history and how things are improving and developing in a relatively short time after conflicts ravaged the country for forty years. The word “Cacimbo” refers to the dry, cold season. When the sky is mainly cloudy and most of the people, eagerly wait for summer, like in any other part of the globe.
AT: Your book is interspersed with humour, irony and honesty. You have been very honest about your life before and after marriage, and your time in your different postings — You have been very forthright — did your book ruffle any feathers?
Clethe Gubler: Certainly not, fortunately. The book brought joy, curiosity and some readers confessed to becoming emotional. I am above all a storyteller. Many are already asking for the sequel, and all I need is time, which is not easy with my work as President of the International Women’s Group — IWG, Kuwait. It is a great honour and pleasure to contribute to this prestigious cultural group, and I feel I must offer my best to show my respect to all those who trusted me with this position. Perhaps for the third book, which will be about the privilege of living in Kuwait, I may dedicate a chapter to IWG.
AT: How difficult is the life of a diplomat? How ordinary, normal and routine-bound is it — I remember reading about you visiting the butcher and the incident where your home had no water in Strasbourg, and the section where you mentioned about how careful you had to be about expenses. I know your book explains it in great detail but if you could summarize it for our readers.
Clethe Gubler: It helps a great deal when you are born in a military family because the required preparation concerning your future life starts in your early years. A diplomat’s life involves travelling around the world, adapting like a chameleon and learning that we are all human beings trying to survive, accept and give thanks for all kinds of food and living in all types of homes (until now I just didn’t live in an igloo). And just like in the Army, or perhaps even more so in the diplomatic career, severe respect for the budget is an important rule. One must equilibrate the notion of good quality and fair price and apply it to all aspects of life: invitations at the residence, expenses with maintaining residence and chancery, general services etc. It is even better if you are a good cook, which means you don’t have to offer expensive or luxury food. Just offer your guest what you like more and can do with all your heart. They will feel it, for sure. Those are the basic principles by which we all must abide.
AT: There must be some very special experiences that a diplomat’s life can expose you to — do you want to share one such experience.
Clethe Gubler: In our early years at the Foreign Service, we were assigned to the Protocol service in Bern. My husband joined the staff which prepared state visits to Switzerland. And this gave us the opportunity to shake hands with the great leaders of the world. I would be so unfair to cite names, all I can say is that they were all simple and marvellous at the same time. Those golden days, in which we had the privilege to share a meal, with people who changed the globe, will be forever engraved in my heart. AT: How has your book been received?
Clethe Gubler: “The Andromeda Council” circulated the globe through the web, but some issues in the book version, were distributed to people we met along the road. Amusement and smiles were my best feedbacks. Some chose it as their summer holiday reading, others preferred to read it while flying. It also helped some students choose a career.
‘Of course, I will write about Kuwait, but for the moment it’s just a proposed list of services and addresses for newcomers in the diplomatic missions: medical doctors, dentists, experts, restaurants, excursions, short history. We just arrived nine months ago and I must still complete the catalogue. But this work will develop into a tale of one thousand and one nights, focusing on the ancestral beauty of the land, both its merchant past and the brave people who built the road.’