环球英语 — 156： Red to the Rescue

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Hello. I’m Mike Procter.

Voice 2

And I’m Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight 1. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

The battle was fierce and terrible. Almost forty thousand [40,000] men died in the fighting, or later from their wounds. All over the battlefield men cried out for help. Jean Henri Dunant was deeply shocked by the terrible things he saw.

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Henri Dunant was a rich businessman from Switzerland. He went to Paris to work on a business deal with Emperor Napoleon the third. But Napoleon was away in Italy, fighting a war. Henri Dunant went to find him. He arrived just in time to see the battle of Solferino. It was a day that changed his life forever. The year was 1859.

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Men lay dying 2 on the battlefield in the fierce sun. There was no one to care for their wounds or even to bring them a drink of water.

Dunant did what he could. He persuaded local people to help. But four days after the battle, he discovered five hundred [500] more wounded men - men he had not seen before.

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He said, ‘I succeeded in getting together some women who helped me as best they could. These men needed food and drink. Their wounds needed treatment. Their bodies needed washing. All this happened in a hot, dirty atmosphere with terrible smells and cries of pain all around’.

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Dunant finally returned to his home in Geneva in Switzerland. But he could not forget what he had seen. He wrote about his experiences in a book called ‘A Memory of Solferino’. He suggested forming an organisation 3 for the purpose of caring for soldiers wounded in battle.

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Dunant sent the book to all the political and military leaders in Europe. Many people supported his idea. In 1863 the first steps were taken to form what is now the Red Cross. The next year, sixteen [16] countries signed legal documents that established rules for military conflicts. This was the first Geneva Convention 4. Together, the Geneva Convention and the Red Cross provide for the care and protection of men and women wounded in battle. Doctors, care workers and hospitals are also protected from attack under the terms of the agreement.

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The Red Cross and the Geneva Convention have both grown and developed in order to provide for the needs of the modern world. Now, almost every country has its own Red Cross organisation although they are not all called by the name ‘Red Cross’. This image was chosen because the organisation began in Switzerland. The Swiss flag is a white cross on a red background. The Red Cross just reversed 5 the colours and put them the other way round.

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Switzerland is a neutral 6 country. It never takes sides in a military conflict. The main idea behind the Red Cross organisation is that all people are equal. They should all receive the same level of care and protection when they are in trouble.

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Dunant was a Christian 7. His ideas came from the Bible 8. Jesus said, ‘There is a saying, “Love your friends and hate your enemies. But I say: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who hurt you. In that way you will be true sons of your Father in heaven.’

Dunant treated soldiers from both sides of the conflict. The Red Cross and the Geneva Convention both have this same purpose. They try to make sure that everyone receives care and respect no matter from what nation, race or religion they come.

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But some people thought the image of a cross on the flag represented Christianity. They were not willing to work under that image. In 1906, several countries decided 9 to use the image of a Red Crescent instead. In 2005 - the Red Crystal 10 - was added. These other images now make it easier for every country in the world to join in. Each country is free to choose which image they will use.

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Each country organises its own version 12 of the Red Cross, Crescent or Crystal. Their work has expanded into many new areas. These days, the organisations work in peacetime as well as in war. Some countries organise 11 health care programmes, special care for babies or homes for children who have no parents. The national organisations try to prevent human suffering wherever it is found. The trouble may be floods, earthquakes, fierce winds or people who are starving. Both the local and international parts of this great organisation come to the rescue.

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But what happened to Henri Dunant, the man who made it all possible? It is a sad story. When Dunant returned to Geneva, he spent all his time working on his new plans. He did not return to his work. He did not look after his business interests. The result was that his business failed and many of his friends lost a lot of money. His friends turned against him. Dunant had to leave the Red Cross and Geneva. He went on supporting the work of the Red Cross for as long as he could. But he soon became very poor. He had no money, no food and no home. People forgot all about him for many years.

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In 1895, a newspaper reporter discovered Henri Dunant. He was a sick man, living in a free care home. The newspaper reporter wrote about him. Suddenly, Dunant was famous again. People sent money to help him from all over the world. He received many honours. One of them was the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. And the Red Cross remembered what they owed him. They sent a message from Geneva, ‘There is no man who more deserves 13 this honour. Without you the Red Cross would probably have never been started’.

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But Dunant remained in the same room in the free care home. He gave all the money he had received to the home and to other organisations that were helping 14 the poor. He said, ‘It seemed to me that I had something to do, a sacred duty that would have an important effect on the human race’.

Dunant died peacefully in his sleep in 1910. But the great organisation he started still honours him every year on his birthday, May the eighth. That day has become Red Cross, Crescent and Crystal Day.