Fijian uniformed UNMISS personnel awarded medals for their efforts

UNMISS Juba South Sudan medal parade Fiji UNPOL Force Military Corrections Officer SRSG award

A Fijian UN Police officer at work. She and her uniformed compatriots serving as peacekeepers at UNMISS were recently awarded medals for their efforts. Photo: UNMISS/Ilya Medvedev

17 Aug 2016

Fijian uniformed UNMISS personnel awarded medals for their efforts

Julio Brathwaite/Beatrice Mategwa/Filip Andersson

From the white, alluringly sandy beaches of the Fiji Islands, 29 men and women have travelled over 39 hours and some 16,300 kilometers to South Sudan to serve UNMISS. These men and women are Police, Corrections and Military officers who are making their contribution to the Global Peacekeeping initiative of the United Nations. In this video, they receive United Nations peacekeeping medals.

All of these officers are stationed in hotspots throughout the country, with the majority being based in the capital Juba, the unfortunate scene of heavy fighting on 8-11 July. The Head of the United Nations Mission to South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Margrethe Loej, congratulated the officers on their contributions and touted their country’s long standing service in the United Nations.

“Since 1978 Fiji, a nation of only 900,000 inhabitants, has deployed more troops on a per capita basis to UN peacekeeping operations than any other nation”, she remarked.

Every waking day comes with different tasks and challenges for Assistant Superintendent Reshmi Singh and her Fijian compatriots. Their various roles, mainly focused on Protection of Civilians, need one to be committed, friendly and approachable, according to Reshmi Singh, who is currently working in community policing at a Protection of Civilians site in Juba.

At a ceremony on 10 August, Reshmi Singh and her fellow Fijians received their medals in recognition of their service. Ellen Margrethe Loej recognized the achievements of all of them, especially the female personnel who work on issues related to women and children.

Enjoy the full photo album

Don't miss the video of our Fijian colleagues at work