The New Zealand Embassy is officially open for business. And to celebrate, the Ambassador hosted a coming out party in a former Khedive palace, attended by Prime Minister Helen Clark, Maori warriors and Zamalek’s diplomatic caste.
Warrior may be somewhat romantic for the London-based dancers and diplomatic caste rather too imperial, though party I think describes the event perfectly.
Cairo again proved it had that village feel, as the Marriott’s ballroom was chock-a-block with familiar faces from the embassies, advertising men, naval officers, bankers, school types and everyone’s friend, Hisham Fathy, the expatriate community’s favorite real estate agent.
There was a buzz about this party. People had been talking during the week of the tattoo, bare-chested Melonesians and their thunderous signature welcome, the haka:
Ka Mate! Ka Mate!(We’re going to die)Ka ora Ka Ora(We’re going to live)
New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote, and their second elected female Prime Minister entered the ballroom, accompanied by Maori elders, amid a Maori honour guard, who made grotesque faces, poking out their tongues and puffing chests.
There was a sense of occasion in the air; the tribal chief striding the carpet, an entourage and a personal guard of warriors, could easily be misconstrued as theater and possibly jingoistic.
New Zealand fought hard to build a state of equality and inclusion between the British settlers and the indigenous Maori, who migrated south from the Pacific Islands around the time of Augustus Caesar in the 1st Century.
The status the Maori have in New Zealand has not come without bloodshed or social and economic adversity, thus an official occasion could not be imagined without the Maori, who encapsulate the Kiwi’s distinctive character.
Nicknamed Kiwis, after a flightless bird and not the fruit – which is a Chinese gooseberry – New Zealand holds a unique position in the world. Having closed their harbors to the US Navy’s nuclear warships, endured a French embargo on their agricultural products and traded in their F1-11 fighter jets, the Kiwis have the moral high ground on peace and reconciliation that others can only dream of.
I am not sure if the Kiwis mention the Rainbow Warrior any more, though it is a telling tale for today. Could you imagine, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, dispatching hostile operatives to infiltrate, target and sink the Greenpeace vessel, Rainbow Warrior, moored in Auckland Harbour?
That French secret service bomb ended in the death of Fernando Pereira – father of two – is a reminder that it isn’t the Muslim world who has a monopoly on state-sponsored terrorism.
At the AUC Sony Gallery, the embassy celebrated New Zealand photographer John Feeney, who worked up and down the Nile, before the population mushroomed and the taxis wore out. Some of these images are iconic; Nasser’s funeral and the last Nile flood, but the simplicity of the sabil-kuttab of ‘Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda on Al-Mu’izz Street, which today is being carefully restored, was my favorite.
The Prime Minister s visit may have been only for a few days, but she hit the ground running, her Ambassador told me. There was a business lunch for 120 with guests flying in from Dubai, London and New Zealand. A trip to the Sinai to visit the 26 Kiwi soldiers stationed with the MFO, a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Arab League and a long discussion about regional issues with President Mubarak.
Ambassador Wilson also said that the highlight for the Prime Minister was undoubtedly the warmth with which she had been received by the Egyptians.
“An important aim of the Prime Minister s visit has been to update the image of New Zealand, Ambassador Wilson said. “New Zealand is a much more diverse society than it was 20 years ago, when the Egyptians closed their embassy in Wellington. The economy has undergone considerable growth and the climate could not be more positive for future trade links between our two nations.
The opening of the New Zealand Embassy surely signals that the Kiwis are looking to do business in the Middle East. Providing business support through networking, market analysis and research is one of the primary functions of an embassy. The New Zealanders have signaled their intentions sure enough, they are open for business and are waiting for your call.
