The Foreign Service Journal, November 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2019 77 government in Bonn. Laden with new purchases, they returned by car, foot and subway to East Berlin. West Berlin was an exotic place to visit, but East Berlin was still home. There were count- less tales of West Berliners who had on impulse given goods and groceries to their Eastern brethren. One report claimed that a Mercedes sedan had changed hands that way. At the end of that long and joyous weekend, everyone in Berlin was exhausted. Banks had run out of cash because of all the claims for welcome money. Most alcohol in the city had been consumed—incredibly, there was no violence or rowdy- ism. Food stocks were low. Resupply began that Monday, and it never stopped. USBER cut back on flash sitreps, because many readers had acquired Berlin fatigue. I escaped Clay Headquar- ters for a few hours to walk the city and see what had happened. It was surreal. The fall of the Berlin Wall was a turning point in history. Those of us who served in Berlin at the time had a privileged seat. James A. Williams served as political adviser to United States Mission Berlin from 1986 to 1990. Located in Clay Headquarters, for 45 years the hub of the American Sector of Berlin, USBER was part of the Four-Power occupation regime for Germany and Berlin that dated from 1945. Mr. Williams is now retired in Arlington, Virginia. SHAWNDORMAN The View from Suriname Stanley Myles Paramaribo, Suriname I n November 1989 I was geographically far removed from the momentous events happening in Berlin and Eastern Europe. Since the summer of 1988 I had been assigned to the American embassy in Paramaribo, Suriname, as the deputy chief of mission. Still, the events in Europe had a powerful impact on the whole world, including among the people of Suriname. At the time, Suriname had its second democratic government since gaining its independence from the Netherlands in 1975. This government had been elected in 1987 when, under pressure from the Netherlands, the United States and others, the military government that in 1980 overthrew the first democratic govern- ment agreed to permit new elections. However, the new civilian government was weak and unstable, partly because of rivalries among the partners of the ruling coalition, but also because the leader of the 1980 military coup, Dési Bouterse, remained as commander of the Surinamese Army. The United States supported and encouraged the civilian government to resolve its internal divisions and work to decrease In November 2004, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city of Berlin donated these segments of the inner wall to Battery Park City, NYC. Photos taken Sept. 21, 2019.