The Foreign Service Journal, April 2006

Always Something New And so it goes. When someone recently asked me, “Are you looking for a job?” I found myself answering: “Always.” Another asked: “Where are you going next?” I had to think about that one, because visits to friends and fam- ily or work could lead me almost any- where. But wherever it is, I’m open to new places and adventures. Maybe, if I ever settle down long enough, short stories, a play or a novel might actually get written some day. Caroline V. Meirs Alexandria, Va. utu COCKTAILS AND ANIMALS: HOW I RETIRED Retirement is scary. I grew up in State and worked for the Army and State for 35 years; so retirement changed a half-century-old connection. As the Bureau of International Organization Affairs’ policy adviser on disaster management between 1994 and 2005, I negotiated United Nations agreements on emergency telecom- munications and urban search and rescue, helped father Reliefweb, the U.N.’s first disaster Web site, showed how a solar-powered plane could track refugees and rhinos, seized an airplane, worked on sanctions and crises and sat on important disaster expert panels. I also ran the Global Disaster Information Network, an international public-private partner- ship started by Al Gore. At the end of Clinton’s time I considered a move to the Hill or a political appointment, and was slated for the latter. But then the 2000 election went south. By 2004, despite my involvement in many important crises and chal- lenges, I needed a change. Fortu- nately, my disaster work was well regarded and I hadn’t burned politi- cal bridges. I retired to join an inter- national animal-welfare NGO. The move has been fantastic and builds on my background, so I offer it as a retirement planning model. Plan Before Your 60s The retirement plan began by deciding not to wait until my 60s, a bad time to start fresh. I also sought courses, projects and jobs supporting my core specialties of crisis manage- ment and multilateral diplomacy; and consulted headhunters. Offers came my way; but a lion, camel and gorilla led me to animal welfare. Animals have always been impor- tant to me. I’ve ridden camels since age 5, and as an adult I investigated the caravan trail from Somalia to Cairo when I saw a camel burned alive — a career-changing trauma before I knew it. I uncovered a smuggling operation in primates, helped release dolphins and investi- gated the effects of oil pollution on whales. During the first Persian Gulf War, I advised frigate commanders who inspected ships, often stocked with animals suffering from little water and much heat. While driving in southern Sudan, my driver and I saw a gorilla and worried he would be eaten, but could do nothing. Enter the lion of Kabul. During the Afghan conflict, BBC spotlighted the story of a lion that the Taliban had tortured. I realized every animal lover would want to be in Kabul, and within 24 hours many called. But most well- meaning animal-relief workers who called were not conflict veterans. I feared they might interfere with humanitarian workers, so the North Carolina Zoo and I assembled an international coalition and inserted professional relief workers. The World Society for the Protection of Animals — an umbrella body for over 600 animal welfare groups, many in developing nations — also sent a great team. Still, while animal relief work- ers at WSPA are professionals, many others are not trained to work in U.N. emergencies. Could trained animal- relief workers make a difference? Senior U.N. and Red Cross friends agreed that animal welfare should be important in both disasters and development. If Pakistani sheep are protected from winter, the earth- quake victims will have jobs in spring and can buy a future. Otherwise, the victims will become beggars, vulner- able to exploitation. In fact, about one billion people worldwide (more than the population of North America and Western Europe com- bined), many dependent on animals, earn less than a dollar a day. Such poverty endangers economic devel- opment, the environment and politi- cal stability — issues my whole career focused on. Animal welfare in disasters or peacetime enhances pro- ductivity and protects livelihoods, and thus is as crucial as shelters, clearing landmines or farming. Protect People and Animals About a year before retirement, while starting a project helping Native Americans, I met WSPA’s impressive director general, a retired two-star British Army general. He agreed 68 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 6 I decided then to go into animal welfare, which really involved just a focus shift. It is a field that is useful, similar to my diplomatic work and challenging. — Larry W. Roeder Jr.