Sheryn Barham, Third Secretary representing the State of Palestine in Argentina
/Exclusive Interview by Diala Ghneim
Sheyrn Barham is Palestinian diplomat representing the State of Palestine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has previously worked as a consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ecuadorian Ministry of Defense. She holds an MA in Diplomacy and International Relations from the Diplomatic School of Spain, an MA in International Relations from the Latin American Social Sciences Institute (FLASCO) in Ecuador, and a BA in International Relations from Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
CV IN BRIEF
Education
Master in Diplomacy and International Relations, Spanish Diplomatic School (Spain).
Master of Arts in International Relations, FLACSO (Ecuador).
Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador).
CAREER SO FAR
Third Secretary at the Embassy of the State of Palestine in the Republic of Argentina.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Consultant at the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
International Relations Specialist at the International Relations Division, Ecuadorian Ministry of Defense
Political Analyst for Middle East, African and Asia of the International Political Analysis Division, Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Drafting Committee Member, “Línea Sur”, Foreign Policy Journal.
Date of Interview: April 11, 2021
Three Pieces of Advise
Be bold and courageous. We all have a right to be represented. You need to work hard, and you need to challenge stereotypes and the status-quo.
Network. A lot. The possibility of where networking can take you is limitless.
Never forget where you come from and why you started. Your roots are a link to understanding who you are today and who you will be in the future.
Tell me about your background and upbringing (your parents, education, inspirations) and how this led to your current career?
Childhood that led to International Relations
My dad is from Beit Jala, a small city of the Bethlehem Governorate, Palestine. My mother is Ecuadorian. She was born and raised in Ecuador. They met in Ecuador.
Growing up, I was mostly raised in Ecuador; and although I knew I was Arab, I wasn’t aware of my Palestinian identity and everything that comes with it. I started becoming aware about who I was and where I came from just a couple of years before graduating high school and going into college.
During my college years, I started learning more about Middle Eastern history and current affairs. It first started with my interest in human rights and sense of fairness that my mom passed on to me as I grew up, but then I learned about the injustices in Palestine. That was the changing point of my educational journey. I made a decision to go into diplomacy and international relations. For me, diplomacy was a pragmatic way of igniting change.
Palestinian Passport
In Palestinian law, you are eligible for a Palestinian citizenship. Whether both your parents are Palestinian, or only one, you can obtain the nationality. However, and because of the occupation and all restraints Israel imposes on us, you need to be personally registered during your childhood; otherwise you can’t be granted a Palestinian nationality and a national identity number. Back in 1993 I wasn't registered by my parents and today I still haven’t been able to get my Palestinian nationality because it is up to Israel, the occupying power’s decision, whether you get citizenship or not.
Hence, I hold a Palestinian passport that only serves the purposes of a travel document, while I only hold the Ecuadorian nationality. I was aware of this factor, and thus I started chasing a career with international NGOs and UN agencies in an effort to get me closer to Palestine.
Foreign Service Recruitment
After college, I began working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ecuador. My area of focus was multilateralism and political analysis on Middle Eastern Affairs. I also worked on the Ecuadorian recognition of the State of Palestine, and took every opportunity to attend conferences and seminars about Palestine. It was through my work that I came across the Palestinian diplomatic team in Ecuador, and I built a good relationship with them. The Palestinian Ambassador in Ecuador -Mr. Hani Rimawi- knew about me, my job, my educational background, and my advocacy for Palestine.
Then something crazy happened.
In 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in Palestine started a program of recruiting Palestinians from the diaspora to join the diplomatic service. This was in response to the absence in representation of Palestinians from the diaspora in our national entities, especially given the fact that the population of the Palestinian diaspora is much larger than the Palestinians living in Palestine itself.
Requirements for joining the Palestinian Diplomatic Service included being involved in international relations, having a particular academic background, and having some experience with advocacy. The program designated 10 seats for the Palestinian diaspora in Latin America, and Ambassador Rimawi, encouraged me to apply and nominated my profile.
Upon acceptance, I was required to complete a master’s degree at the Diplomatic School of Spain. Afterwards, I was assigned to Argentina; thus my first post as a Palestinian diplomat.
My biggest lesson from this story is to network effectively and take up space. Doing so will change your career trajectory.
Could you tell our readers about your job as a diplomat - what does that mean?
As a diplomat, my job is not exclusively related to bilateral affairs between Palestine and Argentina. There is also a multilateral angle. For example, let us say that Argentina is about to vote in the UN Human Rights Council; our job would be to brief the Argentinian government about the latest human rights violations in Palestine to better inform their vote.
We also have cultural and social tasks, such as introducing Palestine to the local community in the country where the Embassy is located and partnering for events, with the Argentinian government and also the different cities and municipalities of the country.
As I grow older, I realize how Palestinians in the diaspora have a huge responsibility and impact to amplify the voices inside Palestine. Engaging with our local host community is of great importance. There is a lot of misinformation, myths and judgements that need to be deconstructed. Our main task, in that sense, is to work on diffusing our history and the side of our story by every means possible: social media, events, interviews, conferences and the such.
It is mind-blowing and frustrating what is happening on the ground in Palestine. Palestinians living under occupation have a tough life, they do not have enough opportunities to fight the occupation as much as we do in the diaspora. It may seem minor but I’m trying to make a difference. You will be surprised by how much you can do with so little. Proof of that was how the different social media platforms were used by Palestinians from all over the world to condemn what happened during the last attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem and Gaza.
Can you elaborate on your typical and not-so-typical day as Third Secretary, including some of your daily outputs and any achievements you would like to share with our readers, as a means of inspiration?
Your role shifts depending on where you are posted. As a Third Secretary, I deal mostly with political affairs. My main job is to raise awareness about Palestine through material production as well as engaging in meetings and activities with the central, local governments and high profile political figures, human rights advocates, civil society, academia and everyone that sympathizes with the Palestinian struggle.
Because of the pandemic we have actively engaged in digital diplomacy. We produce content on our social media pages and arrange seminars with experts.
Prior to the pandemic, I would attend meetings with the Ambassador. We would meet with representatives of local councils and try to find ways of collaboration to push our Palestinian agenda. We also plan cultural events and boost the presence of Palestine within Argentinian civil society. I also meet with national legislators and ministers to build cooperation around certain issues such as political prisoners, education, and cultural cooperation.
As for accomplishments: me being here is an accomplishment itself. I can proudly say that we are among the most active embassies in the entire continent and that’s commendable. I’m very proud to be part of the team I belong to.
Would you say you have come upon challenges -professional and otherwise- owing to your identity as a Palestinian Latina woman working in diplomacy and if so, how have you negotiated that aspect of your experience?
A main challenge for me was being of mixed ethnicity. I was conflicted between being Ecuadorian and being Palestinian. This identity crisis somewhat delayed my diplomatic journey for seven years. But then, it also gave me the opportunity to have over 7 years of great experience before taking on this challenge. Being a diplomat of any country is in itself a challenging path, more so if we talk about Palestine. I believe that my previous experiences gave me great tools that today help me in doing a better job at my current position.
I have struggled with my own self-imposed limitations. I was born in Ecuador, not in Palestine, hence I wasn’t proficient in Arabic so I saw this as a threat to my Palestinian identity. This is something several of us in the diaspora have come across: we were denied not only our land, but the possibility of learning and speaking our very own language. Occupation goes beyond land.
Learning to accept that not being proficient in Arabic does not jeopardize my identity, was a very personal struggle that I had to overcome.
Another main challenge is the frustration and sense of helplessness when it comes to the situation in Palestine. How much more do Palestinians need to endure to reach justice?
On a professional level, being a woman of color in your 30’s and working in a male-dominated field filled with 50+ year olds, you are going to run into male counterparts who underestimate your presence, experience and knowledge.
Being a representative of a very small, occupied country is challenging, being a Palestinian woman poses a lot more challenges. However, all these challenges lessen when you realize you are fighting for a just cause and that you are passionate about your work. I believe what I am doing is right; and that belief makes those challenges a lot easier to handle and bear.
In your opinion, what are the ‘must-have’ skills needed for women to work in your field?
Regarding technical skills, one needs to have language skills, written and oral communication skills. You need to be at least bilingual. In addition, you need to ask yourself where do you want to go within your diplomatic career and that will lead you to the skills you should work on acquiring; be it language, academic studies (specializations), among others.
In a more general context, I would say that the most important skills one needs to have are: emotional intelligence, perseverance and trust in your capacities as you push yourself to become your better version.
To close out the interview, could you suggest three pieces of advice that may add value to young female professionals in the field?
1. Be bold and courageous. We all have a right to be represented. You need to work hard, and you need to challenge stereotypes and the status-quo. Do not ‘go with flow’, just because it is easier. It’s not worth it in the long run. Plus, you will be opening paths for future generations.
2. Have a lot of patience. Life works its ways. You have to fight for what you want. You’ll find ways to get there. Diplomacy, international relations, and international law are all frustrating lines of work, but remember what got you into it in the first place. In the case of Palestine, it has been 73 years and we are just beginning to see a difference within the international community.
3. Network. A lot. The possibility of where networking can take you is limitless.
A bonus advice I’ll offer is to never forget where you come from and why you started. Your roots are a link to understanding who you are today and who you will be in the future. So: “Be proud of who you are and where you come from”. It is amazing to belong to a people who keep struggling and fighting for justice. We also need to support each other.
I hope that, from my current position, I can make it better and easier for future generations to join this line of work. Whether inside the Palestinian government or from other spaces and platforms, we are all running towards the same goal.
So to all young Palestinian girls in the diaspora reading this interview, if I did it, trust me, you can, and count on me if there’s anything I can do to help.
