Diplomacy chokes: How missions & staff coped with crisis

Smita Sharma in New Delhi

In the early 90s posted in Paraguay as a young diplomat, Frank Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, recalls transiting through Chile once. He saw people wearing gas masks. When his aircraft took off, the image of heavy brown mushroom smoke looming over the city remained stuck in his memory. Today Ambassador Castellanos, the Dominican envoy to India and dean of the Diplomatic Corps, has serious concerns about Delhi's air crisis that has affected his sleep. 

He conveyed the concerns of the diplomatic community comprising of 159 missions in India to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) formally. A former Indian foreign secretary calls this 'unusual' reflecting how serious the situation has become.

In his meeting with the MEA official, the Dean said: “We completely understand that this is an issue that affects 22 million people that live in this city and not just the diplomatic community. We all breathe the same air.”

But bad air can choke diplomacy: Chile choked in the early 90s leading to heartburn literally for diplomats posted there. The slash and burn practices primarily in Sumatra and Kalimantan led to a disastrous South East Asian haze crisis in 2015 that engulfed not just Indonesia, but also Brunei and Singapore. Being named the most polluted city in the world by WHO in 1992 was a diplomatic nightmare for Mexico City which panicked but decided to fight the good fight. 

“We update our emergency plans, our car rationing and our monitoring stations. We are making international commitments to phase out coal by 2030,” says Mexican ambassador to India, Melba Pria. 

The diplomatic community has been struggling to cope with the gas chamber that the NCR has transformed into. Gas masks and air purifiers are being used extensively by missions and their staff. Outdoor exercises and physical activity for children stopped in British and American schools in this season. European missions have allowed extended vacations to diplomats with families to fly to Bhutan, Singapore and other neighbouring destinations with better air quality. 

Thailand's Ambassador Gongsakdi has asked his headquarters to consider designating India a 'hardship posting' for better staff welfare measures and budgetary compensation. Costa Rican envoy Mariela Cruz Alvarez decided to call it quits in Delhi after she was forced to seek hospitalization in Bengaluru, thanks to respiratory ailment.

In a blog that went viral, the envoy, a yoga practitioner and strong follower of Art of Living, wrote: “We need to wake up fast. India I love you and it hurts me to see you drowning in loads of plastic and toxic air.”

Even Beijing managed to formulate a strategy following the national debate triggered in 2011. In 2013 the Chinese government came up with a 10-point action plan. Air quality monitoring standards were changed. Fuel standards were improved and heavy fines imposed on farmers who burnt crops in north eastern parts of China.

Public participation increased through technology. There were more than 5 million downloads of the Blue Map App last year that empowers citizens to monitor local as well as global air index on their cell phone and also report violations of chemical factories and industrial plants polluting China. 

Not acceptable: ‘Doing nothing’

New Delhi: Excerpts from an interview with Mexican Ambassador Melba Pría

How has the air crisis in Delhi affected your and the embassy staff’s daily working?

We have been affected. But the important thing to remember is that everyone in Delhi and in many cities of this country are affected. But what about the children who grow up in Delhi and are forced to breathe this air? 

Has any staff suffered from respiratory problems or has anyone sought leave? 

There have been mild respiratory issues. We are arranging to buy additional air purifiers and replacing filters. 

Does Mexico City or any other city in your country face similar issues? 

Mexico City was named the most polluted city by the WHO in 1992, but we managed to achieve considerable progress. One of the greatest achievements is that the citizens have become more aware. 

Any emergency measures you recommend?

What worked for Mexico City may or may not work for Delhi or other cities. My message is air pollution will not end simply by wishing it away. What is not acceptable is to stay frozen, doing nothing about it.