Andre Durand History of the International Committee of the Red Cross Volume II: From Sarajevo to Hiroshima. 1994.
The book gives the reader an overview of the ‘miracles’ done by the Red Cross. It praises the Red Cross and all the missions they have accomplished in the past 50 years. Everything in this book talks about what the Red Cross is all about, their values and principles, as well as what they do in dangerous countries. The book is written about the Red Cross itself, therefore biased. It only includes the ‘good’ things, not what they have had trouble doing or not done at all. The author worked for the Red Cross, therefore biased and doesn’t include everything that the Red Cross has done. However, the book is a good resource to learn about the main missions of the Red Cross, as well as what they have accomplished so far.
Don Habibi page: 3- 35 Journal of Human Rights
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aqh&AN=24175912&site=ehost-live January-March 2007
This article shows the bad side of things. It provides examples on why the Red Cross organization doesn’t always do what it’s supposed to. The humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross have lost sight of their own values, established long ago. The author, a professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, is clearly concerned about Human rights in the Middle East and does not agree with the political side of humanitarian organizations. They follow the United Nations’ political principles, which conflicts with their own ideals. However, the article pertains to fairness and human rights, including unfair justice created by humanitarian organizations in the Middle East. The author, however biased, uses a rather large variety of sources which include the Red Cross itself and Amnesty International.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies “What we do” 2008
http://www.ifrc.org/what/index.asp?navid=04_01 The article, taken from the ICRC website, is the perfect source to know what they do. The International Committee of the Red Cross created a website in order to inform readers about their principles as well as their main actions in risky countries. They explain their goals in detail and what they expect to do in the near future. The author, obviously working for ICRC, describes in detail everything they do but omits the issues they face or aren’t able to cope with. However, the article gives a full view of what we should expect of a good humanitarian organization, and provides information on their overall goals.
International Committee of the Red Cross “Discover the ICRC” 2008
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_discover_the_icrc?
The website, created by the ICRC (international committee of the Red Cross), is full of interesting facts and ideas. The International Committee of the Red Cross gives an overview of its goals and statistics, as well as its origins. This article completes the preceding article, in a sense that they both talk about the same subject but state different facts. The article only states one of view, which enables the reader to know what the Red Cross says about itself. There is so obvious bias in the article; however its data is well researched and accurate, therefore a good source to use.
International Committee of the Red Cross “International Committee of the Red Cross: Handbook of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement” 2008
The book gives us an overview of the “miracles” accomplished by the Red Cross. It was written to provide information about the organization, and is currently used inside the organization itself. The handbook gives information on the wars and how the Red Cross has managed to help some people in difficult situations, such as in Kosovo. The article shows some bias, because it is written FOR the people of the Red Cross and shows only the Pros, and doesn’t mention the cons. However, the data and the dates are accurate and the events described in the book seem precise. It could be meant to be used as a motivational piece of writing, because they inspire people to do better things for the organization and to get more involved. Nonetheless, the article can be used for dates and events, even though some things, such as the struggles they face, have been left out.
Lewis, Neil. "Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo." The New York Times
2004
This article made front cover for the New York Times in 2004 due to its contents on torture in Guantanamo. Written by Neil Lewis, the author condemns the US government for using torture on prisoners. He mentions the investigations done by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and argues that the Red Cross should reveal its conclusion to the public instead of keeping them secret. One of the main goals of the Red Cross is to help prisoners of war that have been treated badly or tortured; and the investigations done by the Red Cross relate to that. Many humanitarian workers have complained to the American government, and are trying to change things in prisons all over the country. The author of the article, Neil Lewis, is clearly concerned about the treatment of prisoners and human rights. The investigations done by the Red Cross are clearly what they are entailed to do usually, and help many prisoners. The article provides a good example of what the Red Cross is able to do and can be used as a good source.
“Profile: International Committee of the Red Cross." BBC News 2008
This article, written by the BBC, gives a very accurate profile of the humanitarian organization. It describes its activities in detail as well as its leader, and its main goals. The article contains a lot of information concerning the Red Cross, and can be used safely in a presentation. Because the article has been written by the BBC, an organism that has access to many resources, the data and events presented in this article are believed to be relatively accurate. The humanitarian organization also argues its choices and decisions, mainly concerning confidentiality throughout the world, as it enables them to access places that other organizations cannot attain. Some parts of the article contain only facts, while others discuss issues and leaders. This article can certainly be used as a good source, because it has been backed up by sources as well as re-edited by the BBC.
"Red Cross: Millions needed for Pakistan quake aid." Associated Press Nov 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQ1xhRo256Itkv8iKFTl8uUTXpAwD946MF180>.
The Red Cross has appealed for $8million in early November, due to a massive earthquake that ravaged Pakistan. This is a short article concerning the actions that the Red Cross has taken in order to help Pakistan especially children and women that need medicine and food. The article, written by Associated Press, can be used as a good source that contains an example of the Red Cross’ actions. The article also contains number and statistics, which shows that they have back up as to whether the information is valid or not. However, the author is unknown; therefore it is harder to determine if the information can be relied on. As an Associated Press article, the reader assumes that the information is legitimate and accurate. It is a good source to find real numbers and stats.
Strom, Stephanie. Red Cross FDA Bad Blood. New York Times, 2008.
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?disc=7498;article=3739;title=CJD%20Voice%20Discussion%20Group
This article, published in the New York Times in 2008 might be giving us the ‘not so good’ side of the Red Cross. 15 years ago, the Red Cross received warnings from the FDA (Food-Drug Association) saying that the blood they were collecting and distributed was of bad quality. The author is clearly conserved about the safety of the patients, who can easily get syphilis or malaria. The Red Cross hasn’t done anything to recall the bad blood, and hasn’t recorded the number of people that have been infected with another disease. However, the Red Cross, as the largest supplier of blood in the United States, has been put under a federal court order to improve the way it collects and packages blood. The author, Stephanie Strom, is concerned about the health of Americans, and shows that the Red Cross might not be the safest organization out there. Nevertheless, the author takes both sides, and yet manages to be biased. She doesn’t go in depth about the way the blood is packaged, and doesn’t give a chance for Red Cross officials to explain themselves.
The Nobel Foundation, "International Committee of the Red Cross -The Nobel Peace Prize 1963."
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1963/red-cross-history.htmlThe Nobel Prize foundation has given 3 Nobel prizes to the Red Cross. As a humanitarian organization, the Red Cross has tried to develop and help countries that are implicated in conflicts with other countries, as well as civil wars. They have mainly tried to help children and women, and the Nobel Committee has given the organization 3 Nobel Prizes. The website, which is written by the Nobel Prize Organization, has given sources and shows a relatively low amount of bias. However the Nobel Prize Organization has given them prizes, and will not go against what they have done. Therefore we can conclude that there is a small amount of bias in the article. Nonetheless, the information given on the website has been checked many times and is backed up by somewhat biased sources.
