Wants to be a diplomat always: French Ambassador Elizabeth Dahan
To Her Excellency the Ambassador for France in Sri Lanka Elizabeth Dahan,
her daily life is something of an adventure where she gathers the rich harvest
of her career. She makes the day pleasant for herself and for those who work
with and meet her. Her eyes behind her glasses twinkle with good humour.
To work conscientiously daily for the advancement of her country’s image does take a toll of her, but she does not show it. Her tiny pearl earrings swing as she talks of her life as a diplomat.
She is up at 6.15 a.m. often after a late night spent at an official dinner. She does not dawdle but goes straight into exercises which gives her a youthful figure though she is the mother of three grown up children.
"My day begins with my tasting nothing other than your Ceylon tea, some bread and of course, the delicious curd your country produces in abundance.
"I leave for office before eight in the morning so that my driver won’t have to grapple his way through the school traffic.
"Of course I forgot to mention that while I have my breakfast I read the Sri Lankan newspapers and when I come to office I first check for transmissions from Paris- remember there is a time difference too- and then I read the newspapers from Paris.
"My daily life always consists of a number of meetings, be they with the cultural section, consular section, or trade. Then there are other vital and confidential office matters, which I have to talk over with the relevant staff," the ambassador said.
Ms. Dahan spoke with feeling about not only her work but her ideals and ideas. "I come from the North of France where most of us were affected by the Second World War. But I have realised , and so have the leaders of my country of whom I am proud, that now we need to forget all the bitterness. It is all over, that is our view. There was a time when we never spoke even a word in German. But all that is in the past.
"As a diplomat I have learnt that one must give up hatred, that is a lesson imbibed from history. It is a moral rule that governs my daily life as a diplomat.We now have a youth exchange programme with Germany. This makes the base for a healthy political relationship in the near future.
"We also exchange counterparts from ministries in Germany and France. For example when I was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs managing human resources, a sensitive area, a German counterpart worked with me for a year. Whether it be territorial management, technical fields or justice we exchange people.
"This unique scheme was thought out by both the Presidents of France and Germany as a means of putting behind what was a traumatic past and to build bridges of friendship. Even at grassroots levels we foster this youth exchange so that they grow up with no sense of bitterness, but a sensitive co-operation between two neighboring countries.
"I have mentioned this to you for only then can you assess properly the daily life of the Head of Missions of my country," she said.
Doubtless Ambassador Dahan is not only a diplomat but a visionary with hopes for a peaceful future for mankind.
At 1.30 p.m. she leaves for lunch. "I love your local food but some times it is hot especially the sambol. But I love scraped coconut sambol and kehel muwa. (I got the name from Rohan Perera the P.R. man.) I love the local sweets made with jaggery. I come back to office around 2.30 p.m. and my evenings I do admit are spent at cocktail parties," she said jocularly.
"It is a daily obligatory chore for a diplomat and it has its positive side where you come across people whom you would otherwise never meet. For a diplomat even on a daily basis it is vital that we meet people from a wide spectrum of life. This is the way we keep in tune with the people of the country in which we serve.
"There are of course, the inevitable dinners and my rule is to eat every thing that is offered. This way one does not create awkward moments for the hostess.
"I eat any kind of food having served in Africa, the Far East and enjoy Lankan food. I love the different kinds of food. If I am at home I spend time listening to folk music and classical music and writing letters to my three children and my husband to keep up with family affairs. I am in bed usually anytime between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
"Yes I do admit that I sometimes feel lonely despite a heavy day. I miss my husband and children. But then I chose this career, and so sacrifices have to be made. They are youngsters who have to study in France, two girls and a boy. Anyway let’s look at it this way, they will leave the home nest sometime or another in life. That is life," Madame Ambassador said philosopically.
How does she cope with the heat? "Oh it is alright. I see the positive side and see the marvellous flowers in bloom and the foliage your country has. It is a feast for the eyes and extremely soothing when one has to cope with the stress of daily life."
Elizabeth Dahan has an intimacy with nature apart from her formidable erudition. She has even a Masters from Sorbornne in Chinese.
"If you had a second chance would you choose diplomacy?" "Of course yes and yes. It is a wonderful career. It is a kind of splendid pageant of peoples, countries, different cultures, traditions and languages."
There is little doubt that Madame Ambassador has joyously surrendered herself to her career with devotion, skill and plenty of tact, such being the daily demands of the exacting life of a diplomat.
Continue to Plus page 4 - Portrait of a beautiful woman
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