An Interview with the Secretary
General of the International Federation
of Red Cross & Red Crescent
21 July, 2009 | by Jimluce
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) is a big, unfathomable institution like the United Nations. We all
know it is critical -- it is in every neighborhood of the world whenever
we need help -- but why? How? And who?
His moving and dramatic personal story augments the idea of the Red
Cross Red Crescent’s latest campaign, "Our world. Your move." I will
write about the campaign shortly. But for now, Bekele.
Bekele was a political prisoner in Ethiopia and restarted his life in Canada
as a refuge in the early 90’s. There is a riveting account of his life in
the Ottawa Citizen, in the country he sought refuge years ago.
The Citizen describes his life in Ethiopia in the late 1970’s: married with
a young son, managing the Franco-Ethiopian Railway at the age of 34.
Over 3,000 employees reported to him. Then, all hell broke loose. The
Ottawa Citizen reports:
Eventually, at age 40, he gets out of prison and finds himself working
for relief agencies, ending up with the Red Cross. This story is riveting,
but already written.
"From that time forward, I became a Red Crosser," Bekele told the
Ottawa Citizen. "I strongly committed to spend my life making a
difference in people’s lives."
It did not happen that way. Promoted first to secretary general of the
Ethiopian Red Cross Society, Bekele was later called into service for the
government. Shortly after, the political climate became unstable and he
was forced to make a difficult decision to protect his family.
He fled with his family to Canada where he lived as a refugee. Two
years later the IFRC hired him to head its Africa department. He moved
up the ladder quickly, today serving as its Secretary General.
Many in the Red Cross world believe Bekele is particularly suited to the
task. A gentleman with a courtly manner and a twinkle in his eye,
Bekele is nevertheless said to be shrewd and driven. One needs such
traits when dealing with the complex challenges of vulnerability, disaster
response, and coordination of tens of millions of volunteers covering all
corners of the globe.
Let’s start with the basics:
The world is big, so I will only focus on what I have seen. For example
the hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka, where the organization I founded --
Orphans International Worldwide [www.oiww.org] -- began a program
in the wake of the Tsunami.
Or the massive response of the Red Cross Red Crescent I saw when I
was building Orphans International Sumatera after the Tsunami in
Indonesia.
Or the excellent job done by Societies from around the world --
including the American Red Cross -- at our neighbor to the south, Haiti,
which suffered four hurricanes last fall.
I was there in Jacmel, Haiti, visiting our kids at Orphans International
Haiti, and saw my old friend Matthew Marek, the American Red Cross
director there.
He was so exhausted from disaster response I failed to recognize him.
That, to me, is the Red Cross.
The International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is Geneva and its
150-year history. It is its founder, Henry Dunant. It is also Bekele
Geleta, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies. My interview with Bekele will be posted in
the Huffington Post.
The IFRC is also the 186 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies
that comprise the Movement, including the American Red Cross and its
staff.
I have interviewed David Meltzer, Senior V.P. of International Services
for the American Red Cross and will present his thoughts shortly. Then
it is staff in the field like Matthew Marek in Haiti.
Bekele. David. Matthew. And 97 million volunteers, supporters, and
staff around the world. This is the humanitarian team of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Get involved
Our world. Your move.
Courtesy
General of the International Federation
of Red Cross & Red Crescent
21 July, 2009 | by Jimluce
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) is a big, unfathomable institution like the United Nations. We all
know it is critical -- it is in every neighborhood of the world whenever
we need help -- but why? How? And who?
- My father explained to me early on in
life that, to get ahead, you need to
start at the top. To answer these
questions, I interviewed Bekele
Geleta. Bekele is Secretary General
of the International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies.
As expected, he made me get it.
First and foremost, he is an
incredible man. I am drawn to
His moving and dramatic personal story augments the idea of the Red
Cross Red Crescent’s latest campaign, "Our world. Your move." I will
write about the campaign shortly. But for now, Bekele.
Bekele was a political prisoner in Ethiopia and restarted his life in Canada
as a refuge in the early 90’s. There is a riveting account of his life in
the Ottawa Citizen, in the country he sought refuge years ago.
The Citizen describes his life in Ethiopia in the late 1970’s: married with
a young son, managing the Franco-Ethiopian Railway at the age of 34.
Over 3,000 employees reported to him. Then, all hell broke loose. The
Ottawa Citizen reports:
- October 1978, inside the main police station in Addis Ababa.
Bekele is hanging upside down, his feet being beaten bloody by
interrogators. They insist he belongs to the Oromo Liberation
Front (OLF); he insists he doesn’t. He is a civil servant, not a
politician or an activist.
It does not matter. Bekele has been caught in another purge... of
the socialist dictatorship... in an effort to eliminate the OLF.
Many of his friends and relatives have been arrested.
"At that time there were roundups in the country, lots of killings
left and right," says Bekele. "Anybody who was reported to be
politically anti-government was rounded up and sent to prison."
Finally he is brought before a special investigator, who declares a
sentence of five years in jail, no trial.
Bekele is transferred to the Central Prison in Addis Ababa, known
informally as Karcheli prison. The inmate population numbers in
the thousands, with as many as 1,500 political prisoners alone.
Pickpockets, activists, academics, businessmen, murderers, civil
servants -- all are penned together behind the imposing walls and
iron bars of the prison building in the city’s downtown, "right
behind the offices of the Organization of African Unity," says
Bekele.
When he first arrives, he is put into a cell with 200 inmates and
two hole-in-the-floor toilets. There are no chairs, no tables, no
beds except for some mattresses on the floor.
Eventually, at age 40, he gets out of prison and finds himself working
for relief agencies, ending up with the Red Cross. This story is riveting,
but already written.
"From that time forward, I became a Red Crosser," Bekele told the
Ottawa Citizen. "I strongly committed to spend my life making a
difference in people’s lives."
It did not happen that way. Promoted first to secretary general of the
Ethiopian Red Cross Society, Bekele was later called into service for the
government. Shortly after, the political climate became unstable and he
was forced to make a difficult decision to protect his family.
He fled with his family to Canada where he lived as a refugee. Two
years later the IFRC hired him to head its Africa department. He moved
up the ladder quickly, today serving as its Secretary General.
Many in the Red Cross world believe Bekele is particularly suited to the
task. A gentleman with a courtly manner and a twinkle in his eye,
Bekele is nevertheless said to be shrewd and driven. One needs such
traits when dealing with the complex challenges of vulnerability, disaster
response, and coordination of tens of millions of volunteers covering all
corners of the globe.
Let’s start with the basics:
- The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the
world’s largest humanitarian network.
The Movement is neutral and impartial, and provides protection
and assistance to people affected by disasters and conflicts.
The Movement consists of almost 97 million -- that is not a typo
-- volunteers, supporters, and staff in 186 countries.
Signatory governments to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949
and their Additional Protocols (1977, 2005) have given the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) a mandate to
protect the victims of international and internal armed conflicts.
Such victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees,
civilians, and other non-combatants.
The Movement has three main components: The International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the 186
national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - like the
American Red Cross.
The world is big, so I will only focus on what I have seen. For example
the hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka, where the organization I founded --
Orphans International Worldwide [www.oiww.org] -- began a program
in the wake of the Tsunami.
Or the massive response of the Red Cross Red Crescent I saw when I
was building Orphans International Sumatera after the Tsunami in
Indonesia.
Or the excellent job done by Societies from around the world --
including the American Red Cross -- at our neighbor to the south, Haiti,
which suffered four hurricanes last fall.
I was there in Jacmel, Haiti, visiting our kids at Orphans International
Haiti, and saw my old friend Matthew Marek, the American Red Cross
director there.
He was so exhausted from disaster response I failed to recognize him.
That, to me, is the Red Cross.
The International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is Geneva and its
150-year history. It is its founder, Henry Dunant. It is also Bekele
Geleta, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies. My interview with Bekele will be posted in
the Huffington Post.
The IFRC is also the 186 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies
that comprise the Movement, including the American Red Cross and its
staff.
I have interviewed David Meltzer, Senior V.P. of International Services
for the American Red Cross and will present his thoughts shortly. Then
it is staff in the field like Matthew Marek in Haiti.
Bekele. David. Matthew. And 97 million volunteers, supporters, and
staff around the world. This is the humanitarian team of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Get involved
Our world. Your move.
Courtesy
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