Trivia and Quotes
Trivia
 Henry Dunant, son of a Geneva francophone upper class bourgeoisie family, works for a Swiss exploitation company in French Algeria; when the colonists are thirsty, he returns determined to convince the firm and emperor Napoleon III to build a dam for them. After his Uncle, Dr. Hubert Dunant, diagnoses him not with Algerian typhus, just malaria, also his first meeting -dropping drawers in hospital for a shot- with nurse Cécile Thuillier, and meeting his careerist brother Daniel`s fiancée, Léonie Bourg-Thibourg, daughter of the firm`s boss, the board approves his plan. On his way to the emperor, who didn`t even concede to receive him, Henry gets stuck in Castiglione, part of the Austrian province Lombardy which French troops came to `liberate`; his Geneva friend Dr. Louis Appia saves his life by presenting him to suspicious Austrian troops as his medical assistant, and he soon gets passionate about senseless cruelties of war while helping out with what he learned from grandpa. Cécile, part of a godsend shipment of Swis staff and supplies, becomes his right hand and true love. After French troops take the village and reinstate senseless abuses, his letters home, published in Geneva by family friend journalist Samuel Lowenthal, whose newspaper gets attacked too, the unprecedented shocking first-hand truth about war cruelty, start enough public commotion to make his plans eventual turn true in the form of the now worldwide indispensable, strictly neutral humanitarian last resort for all in need, the International Red Cross, named after the symbol Dunant devised by painting in blood the Christian symbol French and Austrians had in common as Catholic nations to safely evacuate from Castiglione 1848. Henry Dunant, born of a well-to-do Geneva family, is sent to Algeria on his first job as a fund manager for the company of Mr. Bourg-Thibourg. True to the open-minded spirit of tolerance he first embraced as a teenager, Henry wants to help improve the natives` living conditions.
A dam must be built to deal with the drought problem. Having failed to obtain the necessary authorizations from the colonial administration, Henry decides to seek out the Emperor in person. Napoleon III is waging war against the Austrians - never mind! Henry will go to him, into the battlefield. His life changes forever when he reaches Solferino. He is horrified upon discovering the unbearable atrocities of war and the thousands of wounded abandoned by the troops. He rolls up his sleeves and tries to organize some relief, and even persuades the army to let prisoner doctors and surgeons treat the wounded, whether Austrian or French.
This inspires his great idea, the goal he will never stop fighting for - alone against the world, in spite of all the threats - the recognition of the neutrality of the wounded and medical staff alike. While crossing the enemy lines in a daring attempt to bring back the wounded, he creates a symbol that is now recognized worldwide: white flags with red crosses traced in the blood of the wounded. It is the willpower, the audacity and the conviction of this man that gave birth to the International Red Cross Convention. In his struggles, Henry will often be faced with disillusionment and betrayal. But he will also stir up public passion. Two women will accompany him in this fight: Cécile, a deliberate, yet humble young nurse, and Léonie, a proud bourgeois woman who will draw on her political connections to help him. They both know better than to ask anything in return from this man who cherishes freedom above everything else and who is willing to devote his entire energy to promoting his ideas.
His friend Samuel joins the struggle as well by offering him his newspaper Le Journal de Genève as a forum to speak out about the atrocities of war. Samuel will also publish Dunant`s book, A memory of Solferino, which has the effect of a bombshell and helps him finally meet Napoleon III, whose support will influence other sovereigns. However, wrapped up in his concern for the war wounded, Dunant neglects his financial management duties in Algeria and is blind to the traps laid by those who would lay claim to his ideas. Accused of embezzlement, he is ostracized from society and will remain in debt to the end of his days. It is thirty years before his deeds are finally recognized. They earn him the very first Nobel Peace Prize. Henry Dunant: Red on the Cross
(dunant-themovie.com)
En 1859, Henry Dunant, un joven apasionado y tenaz de Ginebra, dirige una mina en Argelia. Preocupado por mejorar las condiciones de vida de los colonos vuelve a Europa, dispuesto a entrevistarse con Napoleón III. En su viaje hacia Italia, en donde se encuentra el Emperador, Dunant es testigo de las atrocidades de la guerra y del desamparo en que se encuentran los heridos de ambos bandos. Allí surge la idea de crear una organización internacional que, amparada por leyes internacionales, supliera esta situación carencial en todos los conflictos. Una organización que cuidara de todos los soldados heridos en los campos de batalla, sin importar su raza, credo o religión, que visitara a los presos en sus cárceles, y proveyera de ayuda a los refugiados. Esta institución que fundó Henry Dunant se llamó "La Cruz Roja".
(ebu.ch)
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www.francophonie-texas.org/red-on-the-cross/
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