Page 26 - BPWUK - E-news - Edition 107 - November 2022 - BINDED_Neat

Sylvia remembers Pat as a "foodie" and wherever we went she managed to find the best restau-
rants. The top class Indian restaurant in uptown First Avenue was a must every time we were there,
We were also "regulars" at the homely cafe near the IFBPW office in Battersea when we were stay-
ing there overnight.

In the many years we attended the CSW in New York, Pat and I rented an apartment in a block very
close to the UN for two or three weeks and became locals with other BPW members also being host-
ed. It was a comfortable venue to do our preparations for a day of lobbying or even entertain the
members of FIve O over breakfast and work on joint statements that we wanted to present.
In London and New York Pat always had time to fulfil the shopping lists for the family members, for
Doc Martens, M&S underwear etc.

Janice
Pat was my boss for two years when I was Director of BPW International in London. She always
amazed me with how much she fitted into her extremely busy life. She never allowed herself to
panic or become hectic! She had time for everyone and everything and as a result was an extreme-
ly well-rounded person with an absolute passion for working for women. She never worried about
obstacles or creating great personal discomfort for herself.
As International President Pat travelled to Sri Lanka as well as India and made a point of visiting
“schools” to which young girls were being sent to learn sewing skills in particular. Our policy was,
at that time, to discourage them as we felt they grew into “sweat shops” or the girls ended up
working in sweat shops rather than pursuing other careers. After Pat visited quite a few of these
schools, she arrived in New York for CSW and I remember being summoned as she wanted to
change the BPW policy. After much in-depth investigation, Pat felt that it was better for young girls
to be sent to these schools than not as the alternatives were awful: breaking up bricks and stones
on the roads, prostitution, etc. Attendance at these schools took them away from home; they were
taught skills, they were fed and kept safe. I agreed with Pat on this and to this day I still believe
she was right and our policy was changed in the light of her investigations. She was a pragmatist
rather than an idealist but that pragmatism came from a great insight into human nature. I learned
a great deal from her.
She was also very generous: “Didi” (Thordis) Gudmundsdottir travelled together to Australia to start
to prepare for the Melbourne Congress. We travelled via Singapore, visiting BPW Singapore en-
route and then on to Sydney. Maria Doolan met us at Sydney Airport as Pat was out of Australia at
the time although due to return the next day. Maria looked after us and was then instructed to
drop us off in Sydney at the Opera House which would be a good place to meet up with Pat with
whom we were going to stay. She only mentioned at the last moment that she had bought us both
tickets for a performance of “Madam Butterfly”! We had a magnificent evening.
I might add that after Sydney, Pat flew with us down to Melbourne where we stayed with Judith van
Unen, who also provided great hospitality. Then Didi and I flew on to Bangkok en route back to the
UK. Nok looked after us in Bangkok – again, such wonderful hospitality. We stayed in a hotel but
every day Nok would arrive with her driver to take us out to visit sites in Bangkok, as well as meet-
ing up with BPW. If Nok was working, she would send her driver anyway to take us anywhere we
cared to go.

Sadly, many of those friends and colleagues I have mentioned are no longer with us: Didi died a
few years ago now, and this year has seen the deaths of Judith van Unen, Dr Pat Harrison and now
Dr Nok Viravan. BPW International has been and still is, thankfully, rich in very great women who
have contributed so much. How fortunate I feel to have known them, worked with them, travelled
with them and relaxed with them but what a great loss I feel at their passing, both personally and
on behalf of BPW.□

Find here the link to the memorial service for Dr. Pat Harrison which will be streamed live and
recorded 10am, 18th November (Sydney time)
01:00 am (UK Time) - 3:00 pm on the 17th Nov. (USA PT)

https://www.bpw-international.org/memorialservice-patharrison/
> Calculate your local time to attend the memorial service here