KUWAIT, April 11 (KUNA) -- The Red Cross and Red Crescent societies are the most engaged in providing humanitarian assistance around the world, and many fail to realize that they carry no religious underlying messages , said a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday.
Speaking to KUNA, Regional Media and Publishing Director at ICRC's Office in Kuwait Fuad Bawaba said that the idea for this international organization was born in 1859. A battle was fought in northern Italy between the Austrian and French armies, and in just 16 hours, 40,000 soldiers were killed and injured.
Swiss businessman Henry Dunant was on his way to see Napoleon, and saw the dead and wounded on his way. Moved by this, he recruited the help of nearby villagers and provided care for the victims. All parties agreed that the wounded would be protected from any attack.
Dunant was greatly moved by this experience and when on to write about it. From this was born the ICRC in 1863, in Geneva. To honor Dunant, the emblem of the committee was taken from the Swiss flag - the red background and white cross on the flag were switched.
Bawaba explained that the emblem of the ICRC "does not represent any religious movement" as some believed, but was in fact chosen in honor of the Swiss businessman whose idea was behind the committee's founding.
He added that at the time, the ICRC held a conference and 16 countries, including the Ottoman Empire, agreed to use the ICRC's flag as a sign of protection from 1964-1976. In 1876, the Ottomans went to war with Russia, and suggested that they would be using a crescent on their flags instead of the cross, which was also another switch of the Ottoman flag itself and had no religious connotation.
Bawaba said that Switzerland accepted the Ottoman proposal, on a temporary basis, and the red crescent and red cross flags were used as a sign of protection for those engaged in humanitarian work.
He explained that the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement had three main branches: the ICRC which operated during warns and monitored the implementation of international humanitarian laws; the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that worked during natural disasters and coordinated aid efforts; and the national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world.
As for the ICRC office in Kuwait, he said that it was established after the Gulf War and that it now covered all of the GCC countries. - Kuna