U.K. diplomats run to help front-line workers
United they ran. Some 200 strong in Canada.
Included were five members of the United Kingdom’s consulate in Calgary, as British government staff in diplomatic posts around the world took part Saturday in a live 24-hour global relay marathon to raise money for charities on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were all part of this magic wave across the world,” said Caroline Saunders, the British consul general in Calgary.
“We’re linking it to mental health week in Canada,” Saunders said. “We’ve set up a Canadian health page, which is giving funds to the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Canadian Women’s Federation, because we recognize some of the collateral issues coming out of the lockdown have been an increase in mental-health issues and domestic abuse. So we wanted to draw attention to that dimension of the COVID crisis.”
From Samoa to Vancouver, the #diplomile covered 101 countries over 23 time zones, travelling east to west worldwide.
More than 3,000 U.K. government staff and their families took part, including the Canadian contingent during a 12-hour span that began at the British high commissioner’s residence in Ottawa at 8 a.m. ET and finished with participants on the West Coast at 5 p.m. local time.
Some ran while others walked — on rooftops, in their apartments. or for those not in isolation, on solid ground.
Some even swam.
After finishing their one-mile segment, they passed a virtual baton, alerting the next person in line via phone call or text message.
“It’s been a logistically complex setup,” Saunders said. “But, basically, there’s a wave of runners going from east to west across the globe. It’s fantastic.
“Once the idea came up, everyone jumped on board,” Saunders said of the plan that came together in just two weeks.
“It was a way to celebrate our one team across the world, working together on COVID, but also recognizing other people who are exposed at the front line and trying to raise money for charity to support that.”
The target goal among the participants in Canada was to raise $2,000.
Saunders started the Calgary wave at 9:30 a.m. from the Calgary Soldiers’ Memorial along Memorial Drive N.W. — as a salute to Friday’s 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, when the Germans surrendered to end the Second World War — and fellow consulate members Tracey Grindal, Rabia Ladha, Francesca Dela Cruz and Alyssa Perron followed in Silverado, Kensington, downtown and Cochrane, respectively.
The virtual baton was also passed to diplomats at the British Army Training Unit Suffield, just northwest of Medicine Hat.
A total of 142 people took up the challenge there.
Meanwhile, back in the U.K., the BBC was all over it, and there was high praise for the Canadian contingent from British bigwigs.
“Clearly nothing is #Missionimpossible for @Ukincanada!” tweeted Alastair King-smith, the deputy director at foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Saunders is enthused by the mission.
“It’s brought out a fantastic sense of camaraderie across the world,” she said. “It’s brought together our community in a time of separation and made us feel more together.”
Together during the pandemic, U.K. diplomats worldwide have worked to get British people home.
They’ve also helped to supply protective and medical equipment to where it’s needed most across the world. And they’re helping to drive international fundraising for vaccine research.
“Also, as diplomats, we wanted to recognize workers here in the Alberta Health Services,” Saunders said. “And it’s the same thing that our wonderful NHS (the United Kingdom’s National Health Service) workers are doing in the U.K., and the pressures they’re under. We’re very much aware that our families back in the U.K. are having very significant challenges during this COVID time.”
In Britain, the death toll from the pandemic rose by 346 on Saturday, to a European high of 31,587.
“It’s been incredible to see the level of support in the U.K. for the NHS,” Saunders said. “There’s a huge amount of support. We’re just waiting to see the prime minister announce in the coming days what our reopening program is in the U.K.”