-
Red Cross, Red Crescent
红十字，红新月
In the summer of 1859 a Swiss
businessman, Henri Durant, was travelling in
Italy. At the time, a
war was in
progress between the French and the Austrians, and
by chance Durant arrived at the
scene
of
its
bloodiest
battle,
near
the
small
town
of
Solferino.
He
found
40,000
dead
or
dying
soldiers
on the battlefield, and no one to care for the
wounded. Durant was overwhelmed and
horrified by the sight, but he managed
to persuade local people to help him, and
organized an
emergency service for the
wounded from both armies, without discriminating
between them.
1859
年夏，
一位名叫亨利
·
杜兰特的瑞士商人正在意大利旅行，<
/p>
那时法国和奥地利正在交战，
杜兰特碰巧来到了最血腥的战斗现场
，
那是索尔伏里诺小镇附近的一个地方。
他在战场上发
现了四万名已经阵亡或生命垂危的士兵，
没有人照料伤员。
杜兰特被眼前的景象惊呆了，
他
成功地说服了当地人
帮他为交战双方的伤员组织紧急救护，对双方士兵一视同仁。
When he returned to Switzerland he
wrote a book, calling for an international treaty
to guarantee
the protection and safety
of wounded soldiers and people trying to assist
them, and the creation
of
a
voluntary
organization
which
could
provide
emergency
relief
in
wartime.
This
led
to
the
signing of
the Geneva Convention, which gives rights to
prisoners in international conflicts, and
the setting up of the first branch of
the Red Cross: A red cross on a white background
was chosen
as a symbol of the
organization because it reversed the colours of
the Swiss national flag.
回到瑞士之后他写了一本书，呼
吁订立国际条约，保护伤兵及救护人员并保证他们的安全，
并成立一个志愿组织，
在战时为伤员提供紧急救助。
这直接导致了赋予国际冲突中被俘者权<
/p>
利的
《日内瓦公约》
的签署以及国际红十
字会第一个分会的成立，
该组织根据瑞士国旗的颜
色，把白色背
景上的红色十字选择为该组织的标志。
Today
the
International
Red
Cross
and
Red
Crescent
Movement
(IRCRC)
is
the
largest
humanitarian aid
organization in the world. It has branches in
almost every country. It has 30,000
paid permanent staff and around 90
million volunteers. In China alone, the Red Cross
Society of
China numbers around 70,000
groups across the country and 20 million members.
今天，国际红十字与红新月运动（
IRCRC
< br>）是世界上最大的人道主义救援组织，它在几乎所
有的国家都设有分部，
拥有三万名在职员工及约九千万名志愿者。
仅仅中国的红十字会在全
国就有七万个分会，两千万个会员。
Since the 19th century, the mission of
the IRCRC has widened. Its aim is to protect human
life and
health everywhere, in
peacetime and in war. Whenever and wherever
disaster strikes, including
natural
catastrophes such as earthquakes and floods, IRCRC
relief teams are there. The biggest
ever relief operation was launched in
response to the tsunami which hit Asia and the
east coast
of Africa in 2004.
从
19
世纪开始，国际红十字与红新月运动的使命不断扩大
，它的目标是：不论是在和平时
期还是战争时期，
在世界上的任
何一个地方保护人类的生命安全和健康。
在任何时间、
任何
地点，只要有灾难
——
包括像地震和洪灾这
样的自然灾害
——
国际红十字与红新月运动的救
援队就会出现。史上最大的一次救援行动是针对
2004
年袭击亚洲及非洲东海岸的海啸而开
展的。