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An ex-German diplomat looks back at time spent in many places including PHL
Text and photos by VIDA CRUZ
In 2011, former German ambassador to the Philippines and University of the Asia and Pacific political economy professor Dr. Klaus Zeller wrote “the book he had to write”—“Crossing Many Borders to Reach Home: A German Story.” It detailed the experiences of his youth and in office as a foreign diplomat.
Now in 2014, with the launch of the second volume of “Crossing Many Borders to Reach Home,” subtitled “From Europe to Asia—and What is Home,” Zeller has said he has written “the book he wanted to write.”
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The books he had to and wanted to write.
“He writes vividly and passionately about his professional life as a diplomat for Germany and for Europe,” said former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Delia Domingo Albert in her introduction to Zeller’s memoir at the Feb. 27 book launch at the Manila Polo Club. Albert also happens to be the Filipino Zeller has known first and longest since his first posting as ambassador.
When he was a postgraduate student, Zeller was asked by an elder colleague to join the Foreign Office in Germany. Though he originally wanted a career as an academic, he was happy to accept.
Zeller said that the highlights of his career include his first postings as ambassador, his Philippine posting, and also working in the German Chancellor’s office for seven years.
“It’s very interesting to see into your profession from such an angle,” he said.
He is also quite knowledgeable in ASEAN affairs and with some friends has been campaigning to make the Philippines more open to foreign investors—specifically Europeans—and to make the youth interested in foreign affairs see that “it’s not all about the US.”
Albert has said that many Europeans feel that “Philippine relations with the US has left no space for others.”
Home is where the heart is
But it seems that beneath the astute insights into foreign affairs is also a longing for a home.
“I have had several homes,” he said. “But having several homes means one becomes more or less alien everywhere.”
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Dr. Klaus Zeller said diplomats are artists.
“Here [in the Philippines], I am legally alien,” he joked. “The only advantage of being an alien is that your view of your surrounding is shattered. You will see clearly what surrounds you—and that’s good. And so I am happy to have lived in several places, especially in the Philippines, especially with my wife, Pinky. And at the same time, to have a critical distance from the places I am passing through—including my own country.”
Zeller also writes and speaks passionately about his wife Pinky, daughter of former ambassador to Germany Ramon del Rosario.
“She is the main answer to the question ‘What is home?’” he said, pointing to her from his place behind the podium. “She kept prodding me to write this book. She is also among the few who have really read it.”
Mrs. Zeller also set up the Zeller Scholarship Research Fund as a birthday gift to her husband on his 70th birthday a few years back. The proceeds of the book go to the fund, which has so far graduated 14 postgraduate scholars. The scholarship is something Zeller had always wanted to develop when he began teaching.
Gratitude and looking to the future
Both of Zeller’s books are full of pictures of the different people he met in the different places he lived in, which vary from France to Australia to Iran. He calls the book a sort of calling card, as it also contains stories about people and places that “they may not even know.”
“Even when I was moving around so many places, I realized that I was never alone,” said Zeller.
The book is also a “thank you” to those same people who helped him survive the different countries he lived in, including the Philippines. For the latter, he was profusely thankful to his wife and her family, as well as UA&P for giving him the opportunity to retire as the university defines it—“to put on a new set of wheels and go faster than ever before,” according to Professor Bernardo Villegas, a friend of Zeller’s.
“Putting on a new set of wheels” means that Zeller is often surrounded by young people, with whom he always exchanges ideas about foreign affairs.
“Personally, I like people who can think for themselves and out of the box,” he said. “If we want to invest in the future of our country, we have to invest in our young people as much as we can.”
And his advice to such young people, especially those interested in careers in foreign affairs?
“You have to work hard and learn a lot. History is very important. If you are interested in diplomacy, you must have a concrete approach,” he said. “Diplomats are artists—I didn’t reach that level.” —KG, GMA News
Tags: klauszeller, memoirs
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