Polish Embassy outside the Green Zone
by Przemyslaw Przybylski, Bartlomiej Bajerski, Magdalena Rubaj, IAR
An excerpt selected by MZ.
Polish Embassy in Bagdad is located outside the specially protected zone, in Karada (Qarada?), a relatively quiet Christian-Shiite quarter. (...)
The embassy is situated at a street that is protected at both ends, with concrete shields alongside and concrete barriers against running cars. The security is handled by armed Iraqi policemen.
The building of the embassy is surrounded by walls. Sandbags on the porch, shooting openings, cameras everywhere and 24-hours protection by BOR (Government Protection Agency) - these are some of the protection elements that we can tell you about.
This is how the embassy personnel and BOR agents live and work.
Polish Embassy is one of the last diplomatic representations of the multinational coalition that is located in so-called Red Zone, outside the fortified governmental-diplomatic enclave at the center of Bagdad, known as Green Zone. Several times already the Embassy was about to procure a building within the Green Zone, but our authorities have been delaying their final decision.
According to the last January interview with a former ambassador to Iraq, Ryszard Krystosik: "Moving the seat of the embassy to the Green Zone would improve security but it would also make it much harder - if not impossible - for ordinary Iraqis to gain access to our representatives."
Krystosik said that Polish diplomats work in difficult conditions, but "nobody and nothing releases them from their duties of carrying full and proper foreign service activities - all necessary activities for the Polish raison d'etat."
Daily activities of the ambassador include meetings with local authorities and diplomats, mainly in the Green Zone, where they have to go in protected convoys. But some of the Iraqi offices and institutions are located outside it.
Living in the Red Zone imposes many limitations. No walking alone outside the embassy gate, no visiting the city at night. Especially dangerous are evening walks. Typical daily activities within the embassy complex are: work during the day, an evening meal, books, TV, internet.
The ambassador and the post personnel wear flak jackets when going outside the gates. A typical outfit worn by our diplomats: light colored shoes, half-sporty pants and a jacket, or even a polar jacket. But the dark suit is a must during official visits or receptions.
"The diplomat's attire must serve specific goals. The flak jacket - even in a black color - is different from a tuxedo - not only how it looks but also how much it weighs. And wearing a bow tie with a flak jacket would not be properly viewed by others" - joked ambassador Krystosik.
Meals are a separate problem in Bagdad. The personnel of the Polish Embassy often uses a mess in the Green Zone, but such opportunity does not happen every day. Going shopping is a serious business: flak jackets, BOR agents and armored cars are involved, and the shopping cannot last too long. Meals are sometimes ordered from nearby restaurants but nobody would ever consider dining there at the supper time.
The eight-million inhabitants Badgad is still not a safe place. The Green Zone and the well protected area of the international civil and military airport comprises only one eighth of the entire area of this metropolis.
Terrorists however are active even in those zones where explosions or shelling are rather rare. One can get used to shootouts and explosions. The personnel of the Polish Embassy in Bagdad say that they have no other choice at the moment.
