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silence, but there are days when it’s bad, it’s tough. I am trying to grow thicker skin,” she says. Lisa found talking to her husband helped put a perspective on the bullying. For Anne, separating herself from it and all those associated was the only solution. All three cite boredom as the reason behind expat bullying. “You have a group of mainly women who moved away from their family and friends, who are not working or in the role they had in their homeland. It raises insecurities and people act in ways they wouldn’t at home,” says Lisa. “Also for many who don’t plan to stay long-term, Luxembourg isn’t a reality for them, so they behave with less accountability.” Tina corroborates that Luxembourg’s expat community is indeed cliquey, with too many alphas in a small territory: “Everybody has their place and it’s not so welcoming to new people.” Anne believes there is definitely a schoolyard mentality where bullies prey on weaker members of the expat community. “We live in smaller communities here, everyone knows everyone else, so the situation feels worse.” Do expat organisations and clubs have a part to play in the bullying? Tina has had no direct evidence of this, but says she imagines they are rife with cliques and dominated by those in charge. Lisa says groups should be neutral as they can “inadvertently exclude the victims of bullying who are already feeling socially isolated”. For Anne, it was clear that the power one bully had in a specific network affected her greatly. Trust has become a serious issue for all three victims. “I am much more private now. If no one knows what I am doing then information can’t be used against me,” says Tina. Talking to someone you trust is a good first step, advises Lisa, who admits “I find it much harder to trust other people and I have gone from someone who loved making new friends to someone who is happy with a small trusted group of friends”. Saying it out loud helped Anne immensely: “Since I’ve been able to share my experience, I feel more confident against situations of bullying.” If you need to talk to someone about × bullying, contact SOS Détresse. ↳ www.454545.lu/en
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Sarita Rao Mike Zenari
Bardad Sambou brings a unique viewpoint to finance
Cultural mix is strength in Kirchberg Bardad Sambou, head of client service operations at the custodian bank State Street Luxembourg, believes the life of a nomad has helped him shape his approach to financial services. Born in Belgium,
he has worked as a UN intern, been an olive farmer and set up a mineral water export business in Norway with his brother. “I was exposed to different cultures from the very beginning of my life. My parents moved from Morocco to Belgium in the 1960s, where I was born and raised. I was living one culture at home and another outside. It was not always easy but the more I grew, the more I realised that this is one of my strengths,” says Sambou. Sambou spent several months in New York City at his first job working for the
UN: “With over 190 countries represented and six official languages, you realise how diverse the world is.” He came to Luxembourg in 1999 and says he has witnessed two decades of constant change. Not only has the country changed, but, he notes, the financial industry has continued to experience phenomenal growth. Sambou believes his business experiences, particularly the mineral water business that he still runs with his brother, have been extremely valuable. “It’s a little village with 2,000 inhabitants and 2,000 lakes, so selling water was an obvious thing to try. We have a good export strategy, a good understanding of → different business cultures and a