Diplomatic delight
Keela McMaster-Suckling writes about doing work experience at QCEA in Brussels
In June 2018 a fellow student at Friends’ School Lisburn, in Northern Ireland, Nicole Buckingham, and I were lucky enough to travel to Brussels and stay at Quaker House while working at the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA). Our week of work experience was everything we could have hoped for and more.
We were given a very real insight into some of the human rights issues facing our world today, and the valuable work that QCEA does to advocate for peace and try to bring human rights abuses all over the globe to an end.
We were inspired by seeing how a small community such as the Quakers can really make a difference in the world through focused and faith-driven work.
On our first day, we read a report on anti-migrant hate speech. This was both insightful and informative; from it we were able to gain a deeper understanding of the root of Europe’s hate speech problem and what the EU is doing to tackle it. We then wrote an article on the report to encourage others to read it, which was published in QCEA’s newsletter Around Europe. We helped make a video about the report, which can be watched on QCEA’s YouTube channel.
On our second evening we had dinner with a Slovenian MEP and her staff at Quaker House. The meal was cooked by ‘We Exist’, a group composed of Syrian refugees and asylum seekers who use Quaker House as a place where they can engage with policymakers, who may have never previously met people in their situation.
Meeting two of the group’s leaders, Natasha and Obada, was a truly lovely experience. The food was amazing. ‘We Exist’ is made up of only seven people, but they can cater for up to 600! The evening was a perfect welcome to Quaker House.
Our next piece of work at QCEA was a research-based task to do with the impact that Brexit will have on the peace process in Northern Ireland. Following on from this, we had the opportunity to attend a series of presentations at the Northern Ireland Executive Office in Brussels about the impact of Brexit on the country.
Of course, this is a topic frequently discussed at home, but we learned a huge amount about the extent of the impact of a hard border in Ireland. I found it particularly interesting to hear the views of Irish and Northern Irish MEPs.
An added extra that we gained from our work experience was an understanding of Quakerism and Quaker principles, including what Quakers stand for and why QCEA do what they do.
However, the Quaker principles of peace, love and unity were demonstrated most profoundly in the hospitality we were shown while staying at Quaker House. For the duration of our stay, we were not treated as beginners or a hindrance. While at work we were treated as colleagues, and outside of working hours we were treated like family. We are so grateful for the impactful work that QCEA do and are honoured to have worked for them and lived with them.
If you are ever given the opportunity to visit QCEA and witness their work, grab it with both hands. You won’t forget it.
Comments
It’s good to see QCEA engaging with Brexit, which is causing real pain and fear to people in my Area Meeting from Europe who don’t have UK citizenship.
By frankem51 on 16th August 2018 - 23:06
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