Let All Nations See
“The whole problem lies in serious preparation for work of this kind, and in the actual formation of the proposed societies.”
- Henry Dunant.
Dunant remains a mysterious person, despite the pages written about him. As a boy he was quiet and spent his time mainly in study, in enjoying family picnics, and in taking solitary walks in the lovely country around Geneva. As he grew older, he exhibited personal magnetism. He could stir people to enthusiasm by his writing and private talks, although none of the projects in which he was interested turned into a permanent occupation.
For an idea to attract Dunant, it apparently had to be something grand and almost impossible to achieve. Surely, the basic ideas behind the Red Cross looked impossible enough to suit the most idealistic: to muster and train volunteer help in peacetime; to get national governments to agree on neutral aid to the wounded; to protect medical and nursing personnel; and to furnish necessary relief supplies. He was influential in the founding of the international YMCA, which had its first meeting in Paris in 1855.
Nothing in Dunant’s early history, however, prepared him for the realities of war. The casualties of Solferino shook him to the depths and brought on the “craving” to serve humanity.
The moral sense of the importance of human life; the humane desire to lighten a little the torments of all these poor wretches; the furious and relentless activity which a man summons up at such moments: all these create a kind of energy which gives one a positive craving to relieve as many as one can.
The moral energy of Dunant made him the prophet of the Red Cross. His craving to bring relief to humanity in pain has made itself felt throughout the world.
Red Cross ideal: “Tutti fratelli,” which means, “All are brothers.”