Henry Dunant

The Revolution of War

    There were a plethora of people to choose to be my hero. This set of notable people includes citizens who have saved innumerable lives, formed worldwide charities/organizations, overcame their hard uprisings to make differences, fought against tyrants, etc... However, one person who has nearly all of these marks of a hero as well as being inspiring personally to me is Henry Dunant. Even though he started as a privileged man, he decided to dedicate his time to improve the well-being of those that were less-privileged than him instead of just securing his kids a place in high society. Even when faced with extreme hardships, he never lost sight of his end goal for the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross). That extreme altruism that Dunant portrayed is something that I hope to recreate, albeit on a lesser scale.

     He was born on May 8, 1828, in Geneva, Switzerland to a wealthy family. There was no indication that he would become the selfless hero whose actions have indirectly impacted a surfeit of people. His life started rocklily, however, as he had to drop out of school. Nevertheless, he persevered and became the president of an industrial company. He needed a permit to continue working; he decided that approaching Emperor Napoleon III would be the best way to do so. However, on his trip, he witnessed the battle of Solferino, which left 40,000 soldiers lying on the battlefield. This atrocious sight rocked Dunant to his core, and it prompted him to write a book detailing his feelings. This prompted him to gather everyday people to help the wounded soldiers of battles. He traveled worldwide coercing nations to form similar committees. In 1863, his friends and he created the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded (future ICRC). A meeting with 36 representatives from countries soon followed, where they laid the groundwork for future expansion of the ICRC. On August 22, 1864, 12 nations signed the Geneva Convention. The convention laid out protections for medical people stating that they had neutrality, and they were to be given all supplies needed to help the wounded. Other parts were added in later years. However, in 1875, his business went down in flames. The ICRC turned its back on its founder and ostracized him. For the next 20 years, he was a beggar on the streets, an unknown. However, he was rediscovered in 1895 due to the hard work of a journalist, and he was bombarded with prizes, including the 1901 Nobel Peace Prize. He died in a small town called Heiden in 1910 by his wishes.

     He is my hero because he selflessly saved the lives of others, and he was the catalyst for a movement to save more lives on the battlefield. Without him, medical personnel would be unable to address wounded citizens and soldiers without fear of losing their own lives. While he was working to form the ICRC, few people believed his work would pan out to anything; however, through his dedication to his project, it bloomed into something larger than himself. Even when he was forgotten by society, he persevered and stayed true to his roots of helping the wounded. Even after he got recognized for his work, he stayed humble and worked on his project. The traits Dunant expressed through his trials are what I hope to embody: perseverance, selflessness, and humility. I don’t personally know him, and I haven't been affected by any of his actions as my family hasn't participated in war or has received aid, but I have seen examples where thousands of people got aid that they otherwise would not have access to. I hope that when I look at myself when I am fifty or so, I see echoes of Dunant in me. He provides a model for me, who hasn’t endured anything close to suffering, to become more selfless and in turn a become better person, as right now I am far from Dunant’s noble example. 

Works Cited

Henry Dunant – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Tue. 18 Feb 2020. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1901/dunant/biographical/>