After six years as a Combat Engineer Company Commander in the Royal Thai Army, 29-year-old Captain Settawit Chansuk, a civil engineer by education, is currently deployed to UNMISS.  

In this short interview, this committed peacekeeper speaks about the importance of United Nations Peacekeeping and why, he believes, the work done by the mission’s engineers across South Sudan plays a vital role in building durable peace in this young nation.

Tell us about your job at UNMISS and the impact you feel you have had on the ground?

I’m the Platoon Leader for engineers from Thailand deployed here. I think, as engineers, our impact is felt immediately by the communities we serve. This year UNMISS took on a mammoth task—rehabilitating 3,200 kilometers of main supply routes across South Sudan during the dry season. This work was being undertaken by the mission’s engineering troops from seven different countries. Thai engineers have played a significant part in helping the mission achieve this ambitious goal, despite COVID-19 slowing down our progress. We’ve repaired innumerable stretches of main as well as arterial roadways here which have helped communities by increasing access to healthcare, giving a boost to local businesses and enabling people to convene and connect. Whenever we complete a project, we can witness the positive effect almost immediately. We also build relationships with local communities who are very appreciative of our collective efforts.

What do you like most about the work you do?

I’m a trained engineer and, honestly, I enjoy constructing roads because I believe that it’s one of the bedrocks of human civilization. But building and repairing roads in South Sudan has an added dimension—when the rainy season begins, many existing routes become impassable. When we rehabilitate these roads, we’re restoring community connections, enabling our peacekeepers to swiftly protect civilians who may be in imminent danger and enabling our humanitarian partners to provide aid to those who need it the most. We contribute strongly to building durable peace here and as engineers, we literally do that brick by brick.

What’s one thing you have learned since starting your mission?

I’ve learned that connections, whether it’s through the work we do, or with one another as colleagues from different countries. Everything at UNMISS revolves around doing things together as a team. There isn’t a single hero in UN Peacekeeping; it’s a collective effort.