ICRC Visit
Delegation Chief reflects on a life in times of war
Geoff Loane was born an Irishman. But after several decades of service to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he has learned to live an international life, mostly in war zones.
Currently heading the ICRC regional delegation for the U.S. and Canada, Geoff visited the SEPA Chapter December 6 to share his insights on international law and the horrors of armed conflict.
"The scars of war last so long, and the level of human suffering caused by armed conflict is incomprehensible. It breaks down civilization. It is hard to believe that people can be so inhumane, but they do things you cannot imagine are possible," he said, explaining that he has seen combatants work construction jobs together all week in Switzerland, then fly to the Balkans to wage war against each other on the weekend. "On Monday morning, they joke that the other guy would be dead if he had come into their sights on Sunday."
Loane explained that "the Red Cross has to respond to this suffering because we're the only ones who can. If no one else thinks about the casualties, who are mostly civilians, we have to. And the reason we can is because the U.S. Government is one of our two largest donors. The U.S. gives the ICRC 22 percent of all our funding, and there are no strings attached. We can use the money where it's needed the most," he noted.
Loane spoke of his experiences in Somalia, where rebels destroyed their beautiful capital city of Mogadishu and afterwards couldn't say why they did it. He described experiences in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sudan and Ethiopia all in the same vein – it's hard work but it has to be done.
And it takes a toll on the relief workers, in broken marriages, emotional suffering and lost lives.
"The Red Cross, Crescent or Star of David protects us, but our people get killed too if they make errors," he said. "It's hard to see the murders and the suffering, and sometimes the ICRC can only be there to suffer with the people, to witness the horror so we can tell the tale and give hope to the survivors, give the children something to think about when they get older, hopefully break the vicious cycle.
"There are moments when your helplessness in the face of inhumanity is the loneliest thing in the world. I cope because I form bonds of friendship in bad circumstances. But often, I don't know how I manage it," he explained.
Loane disputes those who say that Red Cross work should not apply to the war on terrorists. He points out that the ICRC was formed in 1949, after World War II – the most horrible war ever waged – killed more than 60 million people.
"As far as terror goes, it was off the scale. And that's why the Red Cross needed to keep reminding people of our common humanity, whether we're telling stories of soldiers on the battlefield, civilians in a war zone, or prisoners in places like Guantanamo," he said, adding: "No matter how hard you work to end the war, it takes a lot longer to win the peace. If the Red Cross doesn't speak for humanity, who will?"
Needless to say, his audience of SEPA Chapter Red Crossers was spellbound.
