Page 49 - Bulletin_Vol.82 No.3_December 2023
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THE DESTINY OF SYLVESTRE COUTINO:
“I WAS JUST PASSING BY – AND I HAVE STAYED
HERE FOREVER”
Story and interview by Evelina RIOUKHINA
Silvestre Coutinho was my colleague in 1. Tell us about yourself.
the Statistical Division. When I arrived at
the Palais, he was one of the first I was born in Beira, Mozambique, where
I spent the first 12 years of my life. I
colleagues I met. He helped me with was sent afterwards to Zimbabwe (my
computers, and I knew I could always mother’s country), to do my secondary
turn to him whenever I had difficulties. schooling in a boarding school run by
And I felt he had a thorough knowledge Marist Brothers from Quebec, Canada. I
of mathematics and mathematical obtained a bursary to go to University for
analysis. Statistics wasn't my field (but
mathematics was at one point), so I 5 years and read Mathematics and
could see how different he was. But I Economics. In 1972 I was granted 6
months sabbatical leave and went
was embarrassed to ask too many around the world and did a comparative
questions at the time. I knew that he had study in the teaching of Applied
created the statistical database for the Mathematics in India, Thailand, Japan,
ECE countries, which was extremely Canada, the US, and in 6 European
difficult to do, and I knew that he was countries, before returning to Zimbabwe
the only one who could provide correct
figures, and whenever we needed them, to continue teaching Applied
Mathematics. While on sabbatical leave
he could always provide them. From my I also visited the UN in Bangkok, New
former boss, a world-renowned York and Geneva.
statistician (Wolf Scott), I knew that he
only turned to Sylvestre for rare and 2. How did you come to work for the
reliable data, and that is how Sylvestre United Nations - was it your dream, or
helped us run the first projects for the was it simply a job opportunity, an
newly independent States in the 1990s. opportunity not to be missed?
Where data was often lacking, Sylvestre
could provide it. And I always wondered In February 1974, I was called by the
Rhodesian government to do 35 days of
how he managed to do it when no one military service scheduled for
else could. Then our paths diverged and September. I refused and resigned from
soon he retired. I met him occasionally my teaching post. Soon after I left the
when he came to the Palais, but now country, after the 25th of April 1974
that we are both retirees, we met again
at the same Carrefour International at carnation revolution in Lisbon, and flew
the Cité Seniors, and I rediscovered this to Geneva where I met other opponents
to the Salazar colonial regime
person. And I would like to share with
you his so impressive story. My intention was to apply for a
Canadian work permit to carry on
AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 82 No.3, 2023-12 47
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