[originaltext] The worldwide organization of the Red Cross stems from the ide

The worldwide organization of the Red Cross stems from the idea of Henri Durant, a Swiss banker. In 1838, at the age of 10, Durant was taken by his father to visit a prison. There he saw Erisoners chained together exercising in the yard and breaking stones along the road. This experience left a deep impression on him, and made him determine to do something for all who were op. Eresaed and deprived of their liberty. On 24th June 1859 while he was away from Geneva to France, Dunant witnessed the battle between the French and Austrian armies. It was one of the fiercest battles of the 19th century. Shocked by the lack of medical supplies and the attention given to the wounded, Dunant decided volunteer services had to be organized. He gathered together a number of women who attended hundreds of wounded soldiers of all nationalities and helped the surgeons as best as they could. From that battle Dunant determined to form a body of people who would rally together in times of war and attend to the needs of wounded and dying. Dunant held that suffering human being should be helped for his own sake only without regard to race, religion or political beliefs. Many European states supported him and on 22 August 1864, the first Geneva Convention was signed. This lays down that once the soldier is wounded, he and everyone who comes to his help cease to be an enemy. A symbol by which the relief Workers could be recognized was devised. As a tribute to Switzerland, the symbol was a Swiss flag reversed, that is a red cross on a white ground. So the Red Cross was born.