Page 40 - Bulletin, Vol.83 No.1, April 2024

MARIA DWEGGAH – IN MEMORIAM

Maria, I have so much to tell you – I will miss you dearly

By Evelina Rioukhina

I wanted to take Maria to lunch, and was waiting for the 6th
floor (our favourite place) to open, or at least the Vieux-Bois
if it was delayed. I wanted to tell her about recent
events/changes and to share with her all the updates on
issues important for both of us. . I now know that is not
going to happen. My dearest Maria has passed away.

This is very shocking news for me. It is as if a part of me
has collapsed. An important part of life in Geneva.

I met Maria in 1995, at the UN Special magazine meeting.
She was deputy editor and Jean-Michel Jackobowicz was
editor-in-chief. He read my articles and introduced me. I got
off to a difficult start with Maria as she did not like my
'allegorical' style, nor my topics. We both felt that we belonged to two extremes, two
polar worlds. Jean Michel insisted and I stayed. Some time after the incident, I wrote an
article (on extremes) that changed everything - Maria came to see me and we
developed our friendship, which lasted almost 30 years. It was a special friendship - our
UN Special friendship, but also much more. Since that day, we have talked about
everything, she has asked my opinion, shared her thoughts and opened up her secret
garden to me - poetry, photos, feelings of beauty. We realised that we shared the same
passion - writing, but also the same love for people and for the Organization.

Her love for people was exceptional, and her dedication was admirable. She put her
heart and soul into the magazine (50-page issue every month), if necessary, she didn't
sleep and was ready to go whenever and wherever she had to, she was a reliable
partner. We were together, and we became a family. We had strong ties - our home,
our UN Special. Our thoughts and feelings were the same, we just expressed them in
different styles.

Beyond her poetic soul (which is not known to many), Maria also had a great talent as a
leader and trade unionist. She felt responsible for people, always assisting them, never
thinking of herself, nor her own interests, but only of people. That is why she was known
beyond the United Nations. I am also grateful to Maria for her support for the Memorial
project (for colleagues who lost their lives in the line of duty working for the
Organization). Today the Memorial is on the UNOG grounds, with a slightly different
meaning since it has been adopted by the peace-keepers. She backed the book
against hunger (rice); our activities for the restoration of the Sphere; all the humanitarian
and solidarity issues;, our solidarity actions with the tragedy in Algiers, in Baghdad. She
was always with us (UN Special). She esteemed the magazine and we were always
there for her.

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 83 No.1, 2024-04 39

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