Life at the Dawn of Europeia: A Profile of Paleomiz
A look back at an early Europeian’s career
Written by Maowi, with thanks to Cordova for the wonderful and informative conversations
In July 2007, with a four-month-old Europeia on the cusp of its transition from a monarchy to a republic, the region welcomed a new citizen. She had played NationStates back in 2004, having even authored a United Nations resolution (the UN was the World Assembly’s predecessor, ending in April 2008 after a cease and desist letter from the real-life United Nations), and was keen to dive headfirst into life in this budding region. Welcoming her and later working alongside her were some names the Europeian Broadcasting Corporation’s readers may find familiar – HEM, Lethen, Cordova, and Kazaman – as well as others we now read in our more experienced players’ reminiscences of times gone by, names like Pineapleboy, Pope Lexus X, Pez201, and Mr. Verteger.
It did not take long for Paleomiz to make her impact felt. Her first contributions to Europeia’s executive government were in the Ministry of Immigration, which today we call the Ministry of Outreach, and which she eventually led twice as minister. August saw her embark on an activity spree in the ministry, crafting a message to encourage Europeian nations to join the forums; remarkably, this is the first visible record in the Ministry of Outreach forum of any integration efforts. She also led the charge on a new recruitment telegram for Europeia (testimonial from 2007 Lethen: “This new one breathes originality and creativity. It got me interested in Europeia, lol.”) and was generally an active voice in the ministry, prolifically sending telegrams as well as spurring others on, and continuing to push for welcoming and integration efforts. She would go on to earn the Order of Civil Service for recruiting twenty nations to Europeia – no mean feat when you consider what manual recruitment entailed back in 2007. No handy bot that generates a simple link allowing you to telegram eight nations in one go, automatically keeping records; in those days, manual recruitment meant watching the new foundings page for each feeder on the NationStates website, sending telegrams one at a time, and copying over the names of the telegrammed nations to a log book on the forum so as not to duplicate efforts.
Some things do not change, and as it turns out, Europeia was having mandatory recruitment debates right from the start. From her position as one of the people consistently doing the heavy lifting in the ministry, Paleo was a strong advocate, though ultimately it was out of her hands as she was not at that time a senator. As reported by HEM the next year, the Senate finally decided not to pass mandatory recruitment, and it was a few months yet before a new version eventually came into force.
Outside of the Ministry of Immigration, Paleo’s previous UN experience seems to have reaped quick rewards, with her serving as Europeia’s UN Delegate for much of her time in the region. According to Cordova, “she started the practice of informing us what resolutions were in consideration at the UN/WA;” see the earliest example from August 2007. This gradually evolved into the process of the modern day. She reached further heights in the executive government in a term as vice president for Pineapleboy, pledging upon her election at the end of September “to be a good Europeian, loyal to the core, to kiss babies and shake hands and do whatever is required.” The term ended with Paleo mounting a campaign to be elected president; however, conflicts with her opponent Revengerous – who brought her to court accusing her of treason after she refused to engage in a rather bizarre line of questioning – led her to leave the region in frustration. The responses to her announcement clearly indicate the esteem with which she was regarded in the community. Fortunately, she would be back soon enough, jumping right back into the thick of things, with her second term as Minister of Immigration beginning in January 2008. As Cordova recalls, “she left and returned many times. [...] Those early days of Europeia, we were like a small family and what do families do? They bicker! [...] we were all young and temperamental back then.”
So far, this portrait of Paleo paints an image of a driven, energetic contributor to Europeia’s executive government; however, she was also a frequent presence in the Senate, winning election almost immediately upon her arrival in July, followed by stints in the final three or so months of 2007 and in February 2008. Having also been a multi-term senator in those years, Cordova remembers authoring the citizenship oath together with Paleo: “That oath, improved revised and updated, is still used today for new citizens.” While Europeia’s law registry was far from the behemoth it is today and the writing was not quite as professional, some of the discussions featured themes that may be familiar to the Europeian of today, such as Senate oversight (in this case via Senate committees, on which Paleo had the following to say – “Honored Senators of Europeia, I'd like to propose we add the following to the list of committees: The Senate Committee to Abolish Senate Committees.”)
One fond memory that Cordova recalls is Paleo talking about Europeia on the classic rock radio show she DJed at her university and giving shout-outs to her fellow citizens. “She pronounced [the region name] Yur-ROPE-pia. And that's how I pronounce it to this day.” Unfortunately, if this was a recruitment effort it was unsuccessful, but she did provide some schooling on classic rock that was apparently much-needed by some citizens.
Paleo ultimately left the region for good in February 2008, reapplying for citizenship in May 2008 but never posting on the forum after her citizenship oath. In a few short months as part of the earliest cohort of Europeian politicians, she made a lasting impact on the region. Europeia has come a long way in that decade and a half, but like every individual to have passed through this forum, Paleo remains part of the wonderful mosaic this community is today.
