STRIVINGTOSERVE ALL HUMANITY

In June 1859, Dunant travelled to Italy to meet French emperor Napoleon III with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting business in French-occupied Algeria. He arrived in the small town of Solferino on the evening of June 24 and witnessed the aftermath of a deadly battle where 40,000 soldiers died or were left wounded on the field.

Dunant was so taken aback by the near-total lack of medical attendance and basic care for the wounded soldiers that he completely abandoned his original intent and set out to help with the treatment and care for the victims. He rallied the local villagers and convinced them to participate in providing relief assistance.

Upon his return home to Geneva, Dunant wrote and published a book entitled Memory of Solferino in 1862. To raise awareness to his cause, Dunant sent copies to leading political and military figures throughout Europe and began advocating the formation of national voluntary relief organisations to nurse wounded soldiers. At the same time, he also called for the development of an international treaty to guarantee absolute protection for medical personnel on the battlefield.

In 1863, Gustave Moynier, president of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, read Dunant’s book and subsequently organised an international conference that successfully deliberated the possible implementation of Dunant’s ideas.

This meeting encouraged the Swiss government to invite the governments of all European countries, as well as those from the United States, Brazil and Mexico, to attend an official diplomatic conference held on Aug 22, 1864.

The summit ended with the signing of the first Geneva Convention and the adoption of a common distinctive protection symbol, in the form of a white armlet bearing a red cross, for all field medical personnel.

A few months later, Louis Appia and

ACharles van de Velde, a captain of the Dutch Army, became the first independent and neutral delegates to work under the symbol of the Red Cross in an armed conflict.

In 1876, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) came into existence. Five years later, Clara Barton helped start the American Red Cross. As more and more countries signed the Geneva Convention, the Red Cross rapidly gained momentum as an internationally respected movement and a popular venue for volunteer work.

As a tribute to his key role in the formation of the Red Cross, Dunant was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. Sadly, he died nine years later in the small Swiss health resort of Heiden. In remembrance of his contributions, Dunant’s birth date, May 8 was later designated as World Red Cross Day.

By the time First World War broke, there were already 45 national relief societies throughout the world. The movement had extended beyond Europe and North America to reach Central and South America, Asia and Africa.

During those chaotic war years, Red Cross nurses from around the world came to support the European medical services involved in the war. On Aug 15, 1914 the ICRC set up its International Prisoners-of-War (POW) Agency, staffed by 1,200 volunteers. Throughout the duration of the four year war, the Agency distributed 20 million letters and messages, two million parcels and about 18 million Swiss francs in monetary donations to POWs of all affected countries.

The Agency also facilitated the exchange of about 200,000 prisoners between warring factions. The accumulation of about 7 million records through inspection visits to POW camps from 1914 to 1923 also helped to facilitate the identification of about 2 million detainees and initiated the ability for them to establish contact their families.

A year before the end of World War I, the ICRC received the 1917 Nobel Peace Prize for its outstanding wartime work. It was the only Nobel Peace Prize awarded throughout the duration of the war!

Capitalising on this prestigious recognition, the Red Cross embarked on a series of fund raising exercises to finance its various humanitarian activities designed