Jean Henry Dunant

 

Jean Henry Dunant

Saviors in History

 

AURORA HUMANITARIAN INITIATIVE

“There is no man more deserving of this honor, for it was you who, 40 years ago, initiated the international organization for the aid of the wounded on the battlefield. Without him , the Red Cross, the greatest humanitarian achievement of the 19th century, would probably never have been realized.”

These were the words with which Jean Henry Dunant was officially congratulated in 1901, when the International Committee awarded him the first Nobel Peace Prize for his essential role in the creation of the Red Cross and in the beginnings of what would later be known as the Geneva Conventions.

 

Jean Henri Dunant in 1901

 

Jean Henry Dunant's life was one of ups and downs. Born on May 8, 1828, to a wealthy Calvinist Swiss family, he died alone in a hospice on October 30, 1910. He enjoyed great fame and success in business, but in old age, he was exiled from Genevan society, of which he had once been a beloved member, and died forgotten.

 

Dunant's successful and generous parents devoted much time and effort to orphans, parolees, the sick, and the poor. They instilled in young Dunant the value of helping others. As a young man, Dunant himself became involved in humanitarian activities, especially those of a religious nature, because he felt that many moral issues facing society could be addressed through religion. As an active member of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), at the age of 24 he co-founded a YMCA branch in Geneva.

 What inspired Dunant to found a global humanitarian organization? It was in the course of his entrepreneurial activities that he devised this ambitious plan.

 

Along with his vibrant social life and philanthropic work, Dunant also strove to reach his full potential in the business world. He became president of the Financial and Industrial Company of Mons-Gémila Mills in Algeria, where he would develop large tracts of land. In order to obtain water rights, he decided to personally meet Emperor Napoleon III, who was then commanding the French and Italian armies that were expelling the Austrians from Italy. The trip to Solferino, Italy, would completely change his life.

 

Upon arriving in Solferino on June 24, 1859, Dunant witnessed one of the bloodiest battles of the century. When the battle drew to a close, devastated by the suffering of thousands of wounded soldiers abandoned on the battlefield, Dunant organized the local people, especially women and girls, to help the severely wounded soldiers on both sides.

They acted under the motto “tutti fratelli” (“all are brothers”), coined by the local women. Dunant believed that women would play a decisive role in the future of humanity, a potential that should be harnessed for the good of the human race. “The influence of women is an essential factor in the well-being of mankind and will become more and more valuable as time goes on,” he later wrote.

 

Back in Geneva in 1862, Dunant recorded his recollections of the Battle of Solferino and his concerns in a small book titled “Un souvenir de Solferino” (“Souvenir of Solferino”). He described the battle as “pure carnage; a struggle between wild beasts, enraged with bloodlust and violence.” He also developed the idea that there should be a neutral organization to provide assistance to people affected by war: “But why have I revealed all these scenes of pain and anguish, with which I may have aroused feelings of sorrow in my readers? … It is a logical question. Perhaps I could answer it with another question: Would it not be possible, in times of peace and tranquility, to establish relief societies to assist the wounded in times of war through enthusiastic, dedicated, and perfectly qualified volunteers?” he wrote in his book.

 

His plan was destined to become the cornerstone of the organization that would soon be known throughout the world as the Red Cross. “Such societies, once formed and their perpetuity assured, would naturally remain dormant in times of peace... They would not only have to secure the goodwill of the authorities of the countries in which they were created, but also, in the event of war, they would have to request authorization and powers from the rulers of the belligerent states to enable them to carry out their work effectively,” Dunant wrote.

In February 1863, the Geneva Society for Public Welfare appointed a five-member committee, including Dunant, to continue implementing its ideas. The outcome of the initial meetings was the creation of an International Committee for the Relief of Wounded Soldiers in the Field. This organization later became the International Committee of the Red Cross.

 

Geneva Society for Public Welfare (Committee of Five) in 1863

 

At the same time, in his book, Dunant also proposed ideas regarding the need for “a governmental treaty recognizing the neutrality of the organization and allowing it to provide aid in a war zone.” This idea eventually led to the First Geneva Convention, signed in 1864.

 

Dunant's devotion to his humanitarian activities and neglect of his business led to the ruin of his company, generating scandals and ultimately its bankruptcy in 1868.

That same year, he had to resign as Secretary of the International Committee and move to Paris. In his memoirs, "Les Débuts de la Croix-Rouge en France" ("The Beginnings of the Red Cross in France"), he described being reduced to eating a crust of bread for dinner, using ink to blacken his coat and chalk to whiten his shirt collar, and sleeping in appalling conditions.

 

However, he continued to advocate for his ideas during and after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. He even launched an international congress for the “complete and final abolition of the slave trade” in London in 1875. Until 1886, Dunant lived in poverty and traveled throughout Europe on foot.

 

Eventually, he ended up living in the Swiss village of Heiden, where he was given shelter in room 12 of the local hospice for the last 18 years of his life.

However, he was not an unknown beggar. In 1895, journalist Georg Baumberger wrote an article about his meeting with the founder of the Red Cross in Heiden. Baumberger's article was a great success, and Dunant was honored and congratulated for his work. Later, in 1901, he was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize (with Frederic Passy), becoming the first Nobel Prize winner from Switzerland.

 

Despite his awards and international recognition, Dunant remained in Room 12. He didn't spend a single cent of the prize money he received. Instead, he left the money to various charities in Norway and Switzerland and donated a bed in the hospice to be used by the poorest people of Heiden in times of need. On October 30, 1910, he was placed in a simple grave, without mourners or funeral services, in accordance with his wishes.

 

Jean Henri Dunant's grave at the Sihlfeld Cemetery in Zurich

 

Henry Dunant transformed his personal idea into an international organization, the Red Cross, which would win the Nobel Prize three times. In its 153 years of existence, the International Committee of the Red Cross remains the world's leading humanitarian network, helping people affected by war and disaster in around 150 countries, fulfilling the long-cherished dream of its founder, Jean-Henry Dunant, the man behind the Red Cross.

With affection,

Ruben