What do you know about diplomats? Have you ever thought about becoming a diplomat?

Being a diplomat is hard. Generally, novices will be sent directly to Africa for internship, which seems to be three years. Whether you can survive there depends on your nature.

[Approaching a diplomat] The ups and downs of a diplomat's life

Working in some parts of Africa, the living conditions are worse, the temperature is higher and the materials are in short supply. It's nothing. The most unbearable are malaria and typhoid fever.

Cowherd and Weaver Girl among Diplomats

In the past, people complained that the policy of bringing spouses and children to visit relatives was too rigid. Now that the policy has been relaxed, it does not mean that all the family problems of diplomats have been solved. According to statistics, at present, spouses and children are still in the minority, and there are still many insurmountable difficulties in the life of diplomats. Most diplomats still live a life of cowherd and weaver girl.

In the era of planned economy, if a diplomat's spouse wants to go abroad, with a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other ministries and commissions, he can get the approval of his unit without any difficulty, not only retaining the personnel establishment, but also continuing to receive wages. However, in today's era when the commodity economy permeates every corner of society, this kind of good thing has long gone forever. No matter how considerate and reasonable the state organs and institutions are, they are also a radish and a pit. It's been several years since you left, and it's hard for the company to keep your job, let alone get paid. As for companies and enterprises, especially foreign-funded enterprises, there is basically no way to lend them. If you want to leave, resign completely. The emergence of these new situations has caused great obstacles to the appointment of diplomats' spouses.

Maybe it's the influence of male chauvinism, maybe it's other reasons. Anyway, the husbands of female diplomats rarely go abroad to accompany them, and at most they lead their children for a month or two during their wives' term. Even the wives of diplomats who have overcome various difficulties to accompany their husbands abroad have very contradictory psychology. In the embassy, there is a clear difference between supernumerary and supernumerary. As an accompanying family member, although she holds a passport with her husband, there is a note under her name: someone's wife (husband). This line determines your family status. Husband goes out to work, wife stays at home, watching her husband busy, but she can't help. If a diplomat's wife doesn't have any job in China, there is no difference, but the wives of a new generation of diplomats not only have jobs in China, but also have as good academic qualifications and professional titles as their husbands, and some positions are even higher than their husbands. When you go abroad, you must adjust your role according to your new identity, which is very uncomfortable for many ladies.

In addition, at present, personnel changes in domestic units are too fast, and they are often streamlined and reorganized. Ladies are uneasy about staying here, and they often have to contact the unit for fear of losing their hard-won jobs.

Educating children is a problem.

Although the current policy allows underage children of diplomats to be on the job, there are still many unavoidable problems in taking their children abroad to study. In developed areas such as the United States and Europe, the conditions are relatively good. In the past two years, many China diplomats have really sent their children to local schools. They are both happy and sad to see their children receiving a good education there. A junior high school student's parents said: "If I can work here for a long time, even if it is seven or eight years, my children will be admitted to the university, so I can go back with confidence. However, according to the usual practice, the term of office of diplomats generally does not exceed four years. By the time I should go back, the child was still in high school. Should I keep the child or take it away? This is the real problem before us. Leave children abroad, because there is neither guardian nor policy. It's difficult to readjust to China's education system after studying abroad and returning to China halfway. If it is not good, it is a bowl of raw rice. "

If working in developed countries is a dilemma, diplomats working in more "hard areas" don't even think about it. In most parts of Africa, the living conditions are very bad, so you can imagine how high the education level can be. Diplomats in China say that they will not bring their children to school here, and even if the policy allows them to visit relatives, few people enjoy their children. According to the current practice, from Beijing to most parts of Africa, we have to transit through Paris, France or Frankfurt, Germany. Some diplomats don't want to give up the opportunity to visit their children, and they don't want to let their children go to Africa, so they come up with a compromise: complete the procedure of visiting their children in Africa, take advantage of the opportunity of connecting flights to let their children go around Europe, and then let them go home.

In black Africa: a long illness becomes a doctor

The same diplomat, one went to France in Europe and the other to Guinea in Africa, all spoke French, but lived a completely different life. To understand the life of diplomats, we should not only pay attention to Europe and America, but also pay attention to those diplomats who have been fighting in difficult areas all the year round. This is the feeling that the reporter heard more than once in the interview.

So, what's the hardest part? Lao Liu is over 50 years old this year. He worked in Africa twice, and the last time was in a West African country. When I mentioned that experience, Lao Liu was filled with emotion. Lao Liu told reporters that working in Africa, especially in black Africa, has worse living conditions, higher temperatures and lack of materials. It's nothing. The most unbearable thing is the rampant pathogens such as malaria and typhoid fever. Because of the high temperature and humidity all the year round, it is really difficult to stop mosquito attacks in those places. Even if you don't get bitten by mosquitoes, you can't guarantee absolute safety, because plasmodium bacteria in the air will unconsciously invade the human body and enter the blood. This kind of bacteria has a strong reproductive ability. Once the bacteria invade, it won't be long before there will be an abnormal reaction of cold or heat, which is also commonly known as "swing".

As the saying goes, a long illness makes a doctor. The experience handed down from generation to generation in China Embassy has taught diplomats some basic skills of self-diagnosis, and everyone knows exactly what medicine to take and what injections to take. Once the condition is found to be serious, the embassy will send the patient to the medical team in China for injection of quinine, a specific drug for malaria. Lao Liu said that before going abroad, he photographed everything he could, but after a term of office, he still didn't escape "rejection", and more than once. It is really rare that China diplomats working in that area are not infected with infectious diseases. A young diplomat was sent to work in Africa shortly after his marriage, and his newly married wife later visited relatives. As a result, she was infected with malaria soon and had to go home early.

However, working in hard areas is not without its merits. Having worked in Africa for two terms, what impressed Lao Liu the most was the sincere feelings of the local people towards China. Lao Liu said that although China is far away from Africa, China's influence here is very great, and in many places it even exceeds that of individual European countries that have a traditional influence on Africa due to historical reasons. The landmark buildings, such as stadiums, hospitals and government buildings, aided by the China government are a true portrayal of the selfless help of the people of China to the people of Africa. China medical team went deep into the grass roots and mingled with the local people, and I don't know how many lives were saved. The local people know very well that China's aid to Africa has never attached any conditions and has no utilitarian purpose. So most Africans always regard China people as their own. In black Africa, no matter what troubles you encounter, as long as people around you know that you are from China, they will enthusiastically lend a helping hand.

In La Paz: Always be ready for oxygen.

Lao Liu told reporters that the so-called "hard areas" are not just Africa. In fact, every region has its own "Africa", but each has its own bitter method. For example, Bolivia in South America is also recognized as a difficult area by diplomats, because the altitude there is too high, and the capital La Paz is nearly 4000 meters above sea level. For diplomats from China, high altitude hypoxia is the biggest obstacle to their work and life. It is said that people from the plain have difficulty breathing here. If they catch a cold and their noses are stuffy, it will be difficult to breathe only through their mouths. Over time, the lungs will deform, and even the strongest young people can't stand it for a long time.

In order to solve everyone's "breathing" problem, the embassy is specially equipped with oxygen inhalation equipment. If someone thinks something is wrong, take a few sips at once, which can alleviate the situation at that time.

Build an embassy in the war

In fact, there is no need to go to Africa or the United States to find examples of diplomats living and working hard, and they can be seen everywhere around China. China's eight embassies in Central Asia and Transcaucasia were all newly built after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. In a word, the conditions in the early days of its establishment are described as "one worse than the other".

In the early 1990s, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and other countries in Central Asia were in turmoil, and from time to time they fought with each other. It is not uncommon for tanks and armored vehicles to shoot at each other in the streets of the capital, and assassinations are even more common.

1in the spring of 992, China successively signed diplomatic agreements with these newly independent countries from the Soviet Union, and the first batch of China diplomats set foot on this land with war. When a diplomat with the sacred mission of establishing an embassy arrives at his destination, the first thing to do is to find a safe place to stay. According to a comrade who worked here at that time, "There are no star hotels here. Just find a place with water and electricity. " Daytime is better. At night, the street was dark, and occasionally gunshots could be heard. It was really scary. "Due to the limitations of local conditions, it is difficult to meet our requirements by choosing the embassy premises. For example, before 1999, the Embassy of China in Azerbaijan worked in a hotel in Baku. Because there is no single house, the national flag can only be inserted in the window of one room. Although so far, China's embassy buildings in Central Asia and Transcaucasia, whether temporary or permanent, have finally been settled, most diplomats still have to temporarily rent houses in local residential areas, use the landlord's furniture and sleep in the landlord's bed. Maybe the landlord has the key in his hand and could break into the house at any time. It is more common for beggars and drunks to knock at the door in the middle of the night. The diplomat told reporters that at that time, he was looking forward to the opportunity to go to Moscow. On the one hand, he can buy some food and daily necessities by the way. On the other hand, he can take a hot bath there.

Diplomats have no hidden income.

When it comes to diplomats' salaries, almost everyone said in unison that the reform of the salary system for overseas personnel introduced by 1994 is a milestone in improving diplomats' living conditions. A diplomat told reporters: "In the past, the salaries of our diplomats in China were pitifully low. When people ask this question, we are afraid of jokes and dare not tell the truth. When we go out for a cup of coffee, we must look at the price before making a decision. " At that time, the foreign exchange allowance of an intermediate diplomat was only tens of dollars a month. At the end of the four-year term, it would be nice to buy a TV set in a duty-free shop with the money saved through my teeth, let alone any savings.

When the foreign exchange wage system was first implemented, the salaries of diplomats were much higher than those of domestic government officials. However, with the passage of time, the gap between the salary of diplomats and the income level of similar personnel in China has been narrowing, and the wage advantage of working abroad has also been decreasing.

According to the reporter's understanding, the staff of the embassy have no other income except wages, and even medical expenses, rent and water and electricity have to be paid from wages. Overseas personnel have no bonuses, no subsidies, no ways to generate income, and they don't distribute things at will like some domestic units.