ICRC delegate: A demanding and fascinating career

Extract

A prison visitor… a spokesman for enemy internees in a nation at war… a doctor or surgeon at the bedside of wounded or sick victims of hostilities… a registrar of records to identify detainees, search for the missing, bring families together again… a distributor of food and blankets… a transport manager: these are only some of the jobs of an ICRC delegate. He must be a man of goodwill who may be considered to be a help to the detaining authorities in the solution of the delicate problems arising from the detention of prisoners of war. The delegate knows that his work will not be easy. His activities take place, typically, in a disorganized and war-torn country. He will be concerned with the enemies of that country, prisoners and internees who will very often be the object of hatred. He will speak in the name of what is right and in the name of humanity, at the very moment when passions are at their height and when such language has the least chance of being heard.