Saturday, May 03, 2003
Barbarian, thy name is UN Delegate
The decision to make the cafeterias into “no pay zones” spread through the 40-acre complex like wildfire. Soon, the hungry patrons came running. “It was chaos, wild, something out of a war scene,” said one Aramark executive who was present. “They took everything, even the silverware,” she said. Another witness from U.N. security said the cafeteria was “stripped bare.” And another told TIME that the cafeteria raid was “unbelievable, crowds of people just taking everything in sight; they stripped the place bare.” And yet another astonished witness said that “chickens, turkeys, souffles, casseroles all went out the door (unpaid).”
The mob then moved on to the Viennese Café, a popular snack bar in the U.N.'s conference room facility. It was also stripped bare. The takers included some well-known diplomats who finished off the raid with free drinks at the lounge for delegates. When asked how much liquor was lifted from the U.N. bar, one U.S. diplomat responded: “I stopped counting the bottles.” He then excused himself and headed towards the men's room.
Via jwz, TIME: Food Fight
It's a sad day when not even The Onion can't outdo real life. I could see something like this happening at a college or university, where the students have no money and can be easily bribed with free food, but this is the United Nations here, supposedly the epitome of civilization where we work out our grievances and don't resort to rioting.
Sheesh!
