David Hyde outside his tent. Photo: Geneva Tribune
A New Zealander living in a tent in Geneva has resigned from his unpaid internship at the United Nations.
David Hyde has been camping on ground overlooking Lake Geneva not far from the UN Beach Club, where more affluent staff sunbathed and sipped cocktails.
Geneva's Tribune newspaper described his efforts to cope with a torrential rainstorm, climbing out of his sodden tent dressed in a suit and heading off to his unpaid job.
Now the 22-year-old has decided to pack it in.
"I'm announcing my resignation from the United Nations internship programme," Hyde told The Guardian. "It's my own decision and I chose to resign because I felt that it would be too difficult to continue to focus on my work as an intern at this stage."
He told The Guardian that during the internship interview he had not told the truth about his ability to support himself while in Geneva, as in the past responding to such questions truthfully had closed all doors to him.
The policies of unsupported internships were not right and interns should push for their value to be recognised, he said. “Call me young and call me idealistic but I don’t think this is a fair system.”
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His mother Vicki Hyde, who lives in Christchurch, was unable to confirm this morning that her son had decided to quit the internship, and said she had yet to hear from him directly.
Speaking earlier to the BBC, David Hyde said that during the interview process, the UN had told him clearly that Geneva was an expensive town, and wanted reassurances that he would be able to fund his internship himself.
"I guess my budget was not realistic in the end," he said. "It was way more expensive than I imagined. I thought I could find a really budget way to live, but to be honest I've ended up living in a tent."
But the this situation isn’t all bad for Hyde. The Tribune reported that for the rest of his time in Geneva he would have a roof over his head. Flooded with offers of help, he had chosen to make contact with New Zealand expats working in international organisations in Geneva.