Red Cross: Per Humanitatum

For the sake of humanity: this was motivation enough for Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, to initiate the International Red Cross, a humanitarian institution with a mandate to protect victims of armed conflicts, including wounded, prisoners, refugees and -- as in Texas right now -- those affected by natural disasters.

Until the Red Cross was established, no organized army nursing system existed for war casualties. Dunant envisioned the need for a safe and protected institution to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield, so he traveled to Solferino, Italy to meet with Napoleon III where he witnessed the aftermath of war.

Shocked by the dearth of medical attendance and basic care of the Battle of Solferino, Italy -- where 40,000 soldiers of both sides of the conflict died or were wounded on the field -- he devoted himself to the treatment and care for the wounded and succeeded in organizing relief assistance.

On walking tours to old town and the United Nations complex, we learned much about Dunant and the International Red Cross.

In 1864, a summit of nations convened in Geneva to address a commitment to honor the fair treatment of wounded soldiers in armed conflict under the symbol of the Red Cross. On the tour to old town, our guide Michael pointed out that the flag of the Red Cross is the converse of the Swiss flag, a white cross on a red field.

Today, the Red Cross is the most widely recognized organization in the world and has won three Nobel Peace Prizes in 1917, 1944 and 1963. The international organization acknowledges both the cross and the crescent, representing Muslim nations, and includes 190 countries worldwide helping 160 million people annually.