Hans is taking mas to Switzerland

After twenty-eight years of dedicated service to the United Nations (UN), it was time to treat himself and “start a new life”. It’s exactly a year since Hans Geiser left office and he’s doing just that.

In a previous interview with Newsday, the former United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative for TT promised to take his family to the FIFA World Cup 2002 in Korea/Japan. He made good on his promise. What was mind-blowing for him and a cause of envy for many Brazilian fans was his privilege of sitting next to football icon Pele in the VIP section, for the final between Germany and Brazil. He wanted very much to wear his Brazilian T-shirt in support of the Samba boys, but as a delegate of FIFA “you had to show your neutrality”, Hans said. He got his chance to don the shirt after the match. He fulfilled yet another goal — to tour north-eastern Brazil. Why Brazil? “It’s intuition, I guess, that makes you want to return to a country,” he said. He had been to Brazil many times before, and confided that he’s yet to return again. “It’s a country where you feel at home, and the people are extremely pleasant.”

He couldn’t leave off his first love. He began his career as a young International Relations lecturer at a university in Geneva, Switzerland, after attaining a first degree in law and a PhD in his chosen profession. In 1971, Hans seized the opportunity to come to Trinidad to set up an Institute of International Relations at the University of the West Indies. Recently, he visited Suriname for the purpose of initiating an International Relations programme there. (As UNDP Resident Rep, Suriname fell under his portfolio.) But, for all his plans to come to fruition, his base had to be one where he felt truly “at home”. He had traveled all over the world but had chosen to live in Trinidad. Of course, he would make frequent trips to his native-land, Switzerland for business purposes, to visit his siblings and satisfy his craving for the popular Swiss cheese dish “fondue”. “I brought back some of the cheese with me to make it here,” he said. He returned from Switzerland two weeks ago. He resides in Cascade with his wife Susan, a Trinidadian whom he met in the US, and teenage daughter Arianne. Susan, a tourism and hospitality professional, is also a model and actress.

Telling of his affinity for Trinidadian women, he said: “I admire Trini women for their strong personality. I admire a woman with varying qualities, who is warm, loving, compassionate, has humor, (is) down to earth, a mother — the whole package and I have found that here.” His former wife was also Trinidadian. Commenting on his choice of two different “worlds”, he said Switzerland is a beautiful, disciplined but “regimented” country. However, “when I came to Trinidad I felt relieved. I learned more than I was able to teach.” If the truth be told, Hans said that his first encounter with the English language came when he accepted the job to teach at UWI. He said: “I couldn’t speak English. I was sweating the first day in class...but I had good tutoring with friends and ‘girlfriends’ and Trinidad is where I learned my English.” The native language of Switzerland is German. French, Italian and Romanch are also spoken. “There is something special about Trinidad. No other country was able to make me feel at home. I learned to appreciate the sense of humor, you can laugh about yourself — joke, sometimes too much,” he added.

Hans, 62, was brought up in a religious household. His father was a medical doctor and his mother, a lawyer. “The last of seven children, I was supposed to be the holiest of them, a monk... High school for me was in boarding school with the Benedictines, a strict school,” he told People. He was born in Luzerne, a mountainous region in the centre of the country, known for two specific cheese dishes, “raclette” and “fondue” —  poor-people food, he called them. The latter is made with a special cheese melted in a pot and eaten with Swiss bread. The bread is put on a stick and dipped in the cheese, “if the bread falls in the pot you have to give a bottle of wine or kiss the girls”, he laughed. He loves chocolate, a popular Swiss export, “but I can’t eat it. I am sweetness enough. Natural sweetness,” he joked. His mother, he said, was the first woman of that district (Luzerne) to become a doctor of law. She wanted Hans to follow in her footsteps.

He deviated a little, but is currently working with a group of lawyers under the International Labour Organisation (ILO) “helping to develop training manuals in promoting economical, social and cultural rights... It’s part of my commitment to promote international and regional co-operation.” He stands as an “observer” as far as UN relations are concerned and “I analyse what’s going on at present and (what occurred) in the recent past.” He shared his view on the issue, war with Iraq: “While the UN has been getting a rough deal surrounding what has happened with Iraq, I don’t think the UN has been damaged critically. They, Britain and the US, haven’t paid the necessary respect to the UN, but in its promotion of social and economical development the UN continues to be a valuable instrument.” He continued: “The US gave the reason for invading Iraq as searching for weapons of mass destruction. Then they argued the need for regime change. This is not the first time they intervened with force. They did it in the 1950s and all these interventions were not legitimate from the standpoint of International Law... But the UN remains and is there to stay; some of its laws and norms have been violated but it doesn’t mean it’s fatally damaged.”

On a local scale, while in office Hans was able to “put on the agenda and mobilise the community on HIV/AIDS as well as support the government in the challenge of poverty reduction and education. In the area of environment protection we brought expertise and resources.” More on his current projects, Hans has initiated the visit of a Swiss delegation of professionals and businessmen set for October in an attempt to foster business and cultural relations between Switzerland and Trinidad. The first group was taken to Suriname last November. “I’m also planning to take Trinidad Carnival — a group of masqueraders and a brass band, to Zurich and Geneva. Zurich’s Carnival is a Latin Carnival and it’s all about promoting Trinidad and Tobago, its music and culture in Switzerland.” He’s anxious to see the end result of his projects. Work aside, he enjoys “supporting” his wife in gardening. They both love plants. He also likes walking his der hovawart (authentic german breed) dogs, Cooch and Nelly. “Every day I do my exercising in the pool; once in a while a good fete, listen to music, Caribbean music and we do quite a bit of traveling.” His next trip to a country of interest, he revealed, just may be China.