Page 44 - Bulletin, Vol.80 No.2, September 2021

Normally, we schedule a general assembly in the spring, which was not possible in
2020.

How did you join the association?

I started my career at the UN in 1971. Two years before I retired, I was working at
GPAFI (supplementary insurance).

My predecessor, Anders Tholle, whom I admired because he was brilliant and
dedicated, came into my office and said to me in a friendly way: "You are a
member of AAFI/AFICS from now on and also a candidate for the committee. I told
him that I was not yet retired but he replied that they needed me. I insisted that I
was not yet retired, but he said they needed me, which was a bit of a direct way of
going about it, but as time goes by I agree. I think it is very important for members
to join our association before they retire so that they get the best information and
can consider the best way onward.

What difficulties do you face?

The main one is the difficult access conditions to the Palais, which have a knock-
on effect. These difficulties are increasingly deterring our members from attending
meetings or simply visiting us. In this respect, it would be so simple to issue a few
authorisations per day to allow access to the Palais for our pensioners with
vehicles instead of turning them away at the entrance. For some of them who have
difficulty walking and who have given decades of their lives to the organisation,
these bans are difficult to accept. As people cannot enter the Palais, they lose
interest in their former workplace and the link is increasingly severed.

Do you have an example of one of your recent interventions?

A lady contacted us to try to find a solution to obtain reimbursement of the end-of-
life expenses of her mother, a former international civil servant.

This reimbursement was finally obtained thanks to our intervention but the delay
was significant. Most of the time, it is better to contact us as soon as possible so
that we can accompany the widow(er) or their children who are not familiar with
the intricacies of certain administrative procedures. Our colleague France Henry is
currently helping about ten people, often very old, who send her their files.

We have also discovered that people pay their bills well but do not ask for
reimbursement, often because it is too complicated.

Fortunately, there is direct payment for high hospital costs, but the person has to
live in the region where the international organisations are known. But I would like
to take this opportunity to thank the staff of UNSMIS and the Pension Fund, who
do a remarkable job.

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 80 No.2, 2021-09 43