International Experience in Middle East

If for some people working as a policeman is a really interesting experience, working as a policeman in an international mission makes it outstanding!

Since 2010 I am working with the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) in the occupied Palestinian Territories, as a Security Technical Adviser for the Palestinian national Authority in the Ministry of Interior. Main objective of the mission is to assist the Palestinian Authority to reform and professionalize the security sector and build trust and confidence between Palestinian and Israelis for peace through a set of conditions for a negotiated two-state solution.

After the training I received for an international deployment, which proved to be completely necessary, from day 1 I was well adjusted and started working alongside with Palestinian and other international police and military officers. Within 3 years I have learned to work with many different nationalities (Palestinian, Israelis, Jordanians, Americans, Canadians, and almost all the European). Good communication skills and common ‘work’ language in terms of security, training and legislation framework proved to be necessary.

Sharing experiences with other colleagues is also another very interesting part of my work here. I was introduced to different kind of security and training strategies and techniques, new equipment and latest technological developments where in Greece I was not able to be aware of.

In addition, working in an environment like this, I’ve been acquainted to work with respect to the target group. Our work shouldn’t be westernised and imposed. It should be offered as an advice, or in form of alternative solutions and with respect to the local norms, the culture and the desires of our Palestinian counterparts.

I’ve also noticed that things that ‘in our word’ take as granted, doesn’t happen here. It took me long time to learn more about the region and develop specific skills especially in the field of adult learning, consultancy and advocacy and building personal and institutional capacity. The latest required a carefully planned and methodological approach, usually directed from the political level.

Patience has a different dimension here. I’ve learnt that for good. I know that you cannot change things in one or two years and especially when it comes to complex situations, things might take much longer to change towards the better. Historic Palestine is occupied since 1948 and obviously, bringing a viable solution cannot just happen in a few years time. But what can dramatically change in maybe some days is the welfare of the people. Surveys showed that training and educational programs provided to Security Staff made a change and an immediate sound impact at the ground level.

During my work here I had also the change to go and visit, mostly for work reasons, neighbouring countries like Egypt and Jordan and that gave me a broaden knowledge about the Middle East region.

Through this experience I realized that I became more and more thirsty in learning about conflicts, stabilisation and reconstruction processes and the role of the international community. That is the reason that recently I started studying a MSc in Security, Conflict and International Development. Hopefully in the future with enhanced academic background, my already experience and Arabic language skills, which I’m learning for 2 years now, I will have more possibilities to be employed in another international organization in the region.