RED CROSS MUSEUM

"How does humanitarian action concern us all, here and now?" That's the question! You'll set off - virtually - to meet uprooted people around the world. The presentation of the various themes is original and interactive. You won't remain indifferent during your visit, which is almost like a "field" exploration, far more concrete than a brief media narrative. The all-too-common term "refugee" has a tendency to dehumanize these people who leave their country because they have no choice. Thrown against their will onto the roads of exile, and often with no hope of return, these people are still among the "privileged" (everything is relative) in this daily nightmare that pushes them to leave everything behind. They have the means to leave. They are nevertheless torn from their land, prey to the heartbreak and trauma of family separation or the abandonment of their daily lives. Because of war, famine or disaster, they flee misery, many reduced to statelessness, in search of a better life, an El Dorado that doesn't exist. Behind the term "refugees" so often used in the media, behind the anonymous masses are women, girls, children and men who will tell you their stories. The museum of the ICRC (Red Cross and Red Crescent) has set up "The Humanitarian Adventure", a particularly interesting and well-designed exhibition on the drama of exile.

In the permanent exhibition, three themes are addressed: "Defending human dignity", focusing on international humanitarian law, which implies respect for the life and integrity of the individual, a permanent challenge (let's not forget that the Red Cross was born from the action of Henri Dunant, horrified by the nightmare of the battle of Solferino, a "butchery").

The second theme, "Rebuilding family ties", evokes the trauma and heartbreak of family separation, or "how to rebuild ties", when these are broken (victims lose part of their bearings and their daily lives, and hearing from each other is fundamental to their equilibrium). It states that "the ties that bind us to one another help to define us; when ties are broken, we lose part of our equilibrium and our bearings". So the ICRC helps refugees to rebuild these ties, reconnecting family members who have lost track of each other through photos and other means. The testimonies of these reunions, or the reading of letters from people reunited with loved ones, are poignant.

The third theme, "Limiting natural risks", is about prevention in the fight against epidemics and natural disasters. It's an interactive visit in which you'll be involved. The first theme is the heartbreak of separation. To help you better understand this tragedy, you'll relive the context, for example, the search for a prisoner of war, following the same approach as during the 1914-1918 war by browsing through the archives.

More recently, you'll be struck by the eyes of children who lost their parents and were separated from their families during the genocide in Rwanda, through their photos presented on a masterly wall. You can listen to the testimony of a young Tutsi girl who had to flee the country, about her survival in the refugee camps in charge of her younger brothers and sisters. We'll also hear from a journalist working for the Qatari channel Al Jazeera, covering the war in Afghanistan, who was arrested in Pakistan and sent to Guantánamo for six years, cut off from his family. A young Chinese woman recounts the trauma of the earthquake in Sichuan, China. Other refugees, presented as holograms, also recount their experiences. And there are many more poignant stories to follow. Through these testimonies, the ICRC presents its actions around the world, helping to recreate links between family members. The journalist in Guantánamo, for example, receives his first letter from his family thanks to the ICRC, after several years in detention. Some children in Rwanda are reunited with family members who have traced them thanks to the photos.

The design of the exhibition is unique, and the visit highly original. We pass under a rain of steel chains to evoke the rebuilding of family ties, and discover the work of the archives in real-life mode. The tour was designed by architect Diébédo Francis Kéré (Burkina Faso). The "Defending Human Dignity" room, designed by architect Gringo Cardia (Brazil), features the original copy of the 1864 Geneva Convention. The "Limiting natural risks" room also explains how we can try to anticipate cataclysms, adapting to the new climatic risks of a degraded environment by changing culture, type of habitat, animal husbandry... The subject is truly topical and the presentation of natural disasters not only denounces the phenomenon, but also and above all seeks and finds solutions, calling on, among other things, the knowledge of natives and their ancestral knowledge of managing and respecting Mother Earth. A fascinating visit.