We (my husband and I) arrived in Geneva, Switzerland with 5 hours to fill before we could check into our Airbnb and nap. Because life had been busy, these first 24 hours had no plan except the Airbnb reservation, but sometimes, an open window provides the best opportunity…
We took a taxi to a fancy hotel and ordered coffee and a light breakfast, and both Googled “things to do if you have one day in Geneva”. Visiting the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum came up on my list. I don’t know much about the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but the exhibits looked meaningful. We taxied over (with our bags), and realized the musée international is on the campus with offices for the ICRC, so the place was bustling with workers (who all seemed connected to each other - lots of greetings, hugging, and folks sitting together for their lunch meal). The beauty of this experience was relishing that feeling of being deeply impacted and deeply curious by our world (especially the heroes in it), and I walked away thinking about how much learning I want to do. Here are 3 powerful photos from the visit.
When you walk toward the museum entrance, these banners fly overhead. Now I realize what an important symbol of care these are, showing up in war-torn countries, where human rights are at risk/already being violated and fear dominates. The ICRC needs to navigate the most complicated politics in order to do their work, and I'm now more curious about how our current politics are impacting the US's commitment to the ICRC.
In the "Restoring Family Links" exhibit: These are dozens and dozens of pictures of young children, each holding a plate with a number - 072, 073, 074... They were lost after the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The "photo-tracing" work was led by ICRC, along with UNICEF. Photos were taken, then uploaded into database and made into physical books, to help adults find children. It went on until 2003 - so many years of children's lives disrupted. This project reunited 20,000 children with their families - an amazing number, and learning today that 800,000 were killed and 2 million displaced (Hutus who fled to Zaire), I also realized how many children (and families) were forever impacted. Another area were I need and want to learn more.
These are the two matching "teacher" cards from "Equality Memory", which also contains artists, fire fighters, attorneys, gardeners and many other jobs where the "match" is not exact, but an expansive view of two folks doing the same work. This game, along with several others, was available in the cafe and as I browsed through the cards, I realized just how important visuals like these are (I know about the "draw a scientist" study where most kids draw a white male, and some hopeful news that this data is changing). I just love that the museum makes games like this readily available, and how wisely they've chosen, to help us continue to know and do better.
Newtreemom
ReplyDeleteSo interesting, thanks for sharing.
Such meaningful moments -- thank you for sharing! Reading this has made me remember that traveling is so good for the soul (I used to do it a lot, but not anymore -- I think it's time to re-evaluate!)
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