Belgian Red Cross
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The Belgian Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that aids in providing emergency and disaster related services and relief as well as providing education for disaster awareness within the population of
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It is a member of the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...
.


Mission

The mission of the Belgian Red Cross follows the same guidelines and principles of all International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement organizations: to prevent medical,
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...
, and
sociological Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
problems and crisis. The Belgian Red Cross aims to aid in resolving such problems and issues through the implementation of trainings, educational development, and through the overall assistance and presence of Red Cross members in times of turmoil. The members of this organization believe in the strength of social bonds amongst individuals as being the greatest preventative measure against isolation and
marginalization Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
.'


Red Cross v Red Crescent

The
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
and The Red Crescent are both
humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
organizations that are dedicated to providing relief and assistance for
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
, inspecting the conditions of prisons and helping in times of natural disasters. There is little difference between the Red Cross and the Red Crescent other than their symbol. The cross is a symbol best known in
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, and those that are Muslim do not particularly want to be represented with a Christian symbol; hence the crescent. The crescent is an Islamic symbol important to the
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, similarly as the cross is to those of the Christian belief. Therefore, the Red Crescent and the Red Cross both provide primarily the same
humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
services and aid as one another.


History

The Belgian Red Cross was established on February 4, 1864, by Doctor Andrea Wegner. Its headquarters is in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium.


Rode Kruis-Vlaanderen

This is a
Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
independent volunteer based organization under the umbrella of The Belgian Red Cross and is a connected member of the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement. The mission of this umbrella organization is best divided into three parts. # The first mission is to provide protection and defend the interests of the respected populations, both in their homes and when abroad. # The second part of this organization's mission statement is to encourage and teach self-reliance skills in order to best be proactive in the planning of an emergency. # The third is being proactive in the organization of the supply of blood and other medical supplies in order to be able to provide the necessary care for the individuals in need. The assistance from volunteers is what heavily drives this organization, and is the foundation on which it practices.'


Croix-Rouge de Belgique

This is a French-speaking Belgian branch of the Red Cross. This subsidiary organization of the Belgian Red Cross is also like Rode Kruis-Vlaanderens as it is a connected member of the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement. The mission of this Belgian Red Cross branch are as follows: *To prevent psycho-social and medical crises and aid in solving them through the implementation of trainings, education, and physical presence in the environment. *Reduce the risk and effects of isolation and
marginalization Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
by working with individuals to learn how to best strengthen the communicative and social bonds between themselves and others. *Provide and foster respect for cultural diversity in order to encourage tolerance of others. *Fulfill the missions mandated by the public authorities, and respect the founding values of the organization.


Museum of Remembrance

At the Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Belgium, the world can reflect and remember the First World War, and the role that the Red Cross played during this wartime. It was created by the ICRC (
International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
) Delegation to the EU (
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
), NATO (
North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
) and the
Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the ...
and the Belgian Red Cross. The exhibit features the work both back during the war and currently; which allows the common eye to see the semblance that much of it has. In this exhibit visitors can look up if any of their ancestors or relatives were registered as a
Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
during '14-18'. This exhibit was open to the public eye for viewing until the end of December 2014.


Services and projects

On March 22, 2016, the Belgian Red Cross sent approximately 400 people to respond to the bombings in Brussels. They sent 30 ambulances to the
Zaventem Airport Brussels Airport, nl, Luchthaven Brussel, vls, Vliegpling Brussel, german: Flughafen Brüssel is an international airport northeast of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. In 2019, more than 26 million passengers arrived or departed at Brus ...
and Maelbeek metro station. They transported over 100 wounded individuals to over 16 different hospitals to gain medical care.'


Reuniting family members

One of the mission projects of the various
umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...
s of the Belgian Red Cross is providing assistance in helping individuals reunite and find their family members. The Belgian Red Cross aids in providing resources for people to find their family members that may be lost or missing as a result of some of the following factors: violent situations and armed conflict, man-made or natural disasters, migration, war (e.g.,
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
), or any other situations of humanitarian need.


References


External links


Belgian Red Cross websiteInternational Red Cross website
{{Authority control Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies Organizations established in 1864 1864 establishments in Belgium Medical and health organisations based in Belgium