

How a UN intern was forced to live in a tent in Geneva - codewithcheese
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33893384

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awendt
Compare this statement:

> "Interns get a lot of experience," says Ahmad Fawzi, head of the UN's
> information service in Geneva. "First-hand knowledge about how the
> international system works: it's invaluable for them, and they have fun."

(while not paying your interns) to Article 23 of The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights:

> (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration
> ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity,
> and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

~~~
hedgew
Not to mention that unpaid internships decrease economic equality and social
mobility by automatically disqualifying those who can not afford to work
without pay.

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ctdonath
Newsflash: young adult learns the harsh reality that living in highly
desirable area is expensive, and adapts without whining by finding a pleasant
and affordable alternative; local media freaks out.

Heck, _I 'd_ like to spend a summer working in Geneva (paid or not) and living
in a tent on a mountain lake. Kudos to the kid for making it work in a way
he'll long remember fondly.

~~~
wereHamster
I wouldn't say Geneva is highly desirable area. There are far nicer places in
switzerland if you love nature and all that (IMHO of course).

~~~
crdb
The one advantage of Geneva vs other Swiss cities if you are cost-conscious is
you can commute across the border and live in France, where living costs
diminish almost proportionally with commuting time.

Ferney is perhaps half Geneva rent, if you're willing to go all the way to the
villages at the base of the mountain (20 minutes drive if your office is near
the airport), you can get a 3-bedroom house for what gets you a rat-infested
studio near Cornavin (been there done that, thought about the French house
VERY hard). This is without mentioning things like cars or groceries which are
a LOT cheaper especially since the peg was removed.

And of course you keep paying tax in Switzerland as a "frontalier" (25%, it's
the highest canton...). And you can use GVA which is an EasyJet hub to jet
around Europe on weekends on the cheap.

I believe some Germans do this with Zurich and Zug from Konstanz, although
that is a bit more hardcore with a 45 minute drive without traffic. Konstanz
is another frontalier city with good quality of life, ultra low costs (4 euro
ostrich fillet steak delivered to your office! don't ask...) and plenty of
culture and food options.

Mountains-wise I might be biased, but I've yet to meet anything that beats the
biodiversity, food, low cost and incredible variety of options in Haute
Savoie. Just stay away from the tourist hubs and start from the smaller
village resorts. The Swiss side just feels more barren, more touristy (or
friendlier to non-hikers, which are there in force) and definitely a lot more
expensive.

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sbank
> [...] the United Nations practice (one it shares with big business and some
> European Union institutions) of employing interns on an unpaid basis.

It's only bad when private businesses do it, of course.

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basseq
One of the problems with unpaid internships is the system favors the wealthy:
if you can't afford (via "[your] family and [your] own funds") to buy your way
in, you won't get "first-hand knowledge about how the international system
works".

From the article: "I am from a developing country," says Sabine, "and I know
of many people from my university who would have loved this opportunity but
could probably not afford to do it."

Populism aside; 1%-er arguments aside—from an _organizational_ perspective,
you're missing out on talent who can't pay.

(From the other side, I laughed a hiring manager off the phone in college who
told me their internship [in Manhattan] was unpaid. You may be selecting for
"passion", but the best* talent knows their worth.)

(* Not saying I'm the best, but I had other options, as will anyone
reasonable.)

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pepijndevos
I have done similar things for no good reason at all. I wanted to know what it
was like to study CS at a university, so I put up my tent on a nearby campsite
and walked into some random classes. For medium-term solutions, it beats
staying in hotels or hunting apartments. You simply put up your tent or
caravan and have your own private place.

~~~
cafard
Yes, I knew a guy who worked in construction at Vail and lived in a tent. It
was summer, and I don't know how long he did this.

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jacquesm
Interns being unpaid is still better than most organizations working with
volunteers that they also expect to pay a fairly large sum for the privilege
of volunteering.

~~~
rayiner
Wait who does that? I've never heard such a thing.

~~~
rhino369
Northwestern Law's environmental clinic? We worked there and paid like 6-7k a
semester for the honor.

Still a great deal compared to sitting through a boring ass class though.

~~~
rayiner
Touché.

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wereHamster
Living in a tent during summer in Switzerland is not that bad. A friend of
mine did that. And he was far from the only one on the campground.

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jgamman
not totally unheard of here in NZ and i think he was a kiwi(?). i remember the
story 10-15 years back about how a couple of guys claimed unemployment benefit
and lived in a cave in one of our national parks and hitchhiked up the
mountain to ski every day. what can you say? it's a national park, you're
supposed to go camping in it...

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cozzyd
At the very least, organizations should offer unpaid interns subsidized loans.

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mikerichards
Make those assholes pay their parking tickets in NY and get the guy a room

