Vatche Arslanian (1955 – April 8, 2003) was a member of the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

for the

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 ...

(ICRC) in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. He was one of the six ICRC delegates who chose to stay in the country during the

2003 Iraq war The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

and continue helping local relief workers. He was killed by gunfire in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

while travelling with two local Red Cross workers, who were able to escape. Five other civilian vehicles were caught in crossfire, and thirteen people were killed in total. Arslanian was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

citizen who

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from Syria. He worked for the

Canadian military } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force ...

for a number of years and moved to

Oromocto "Effort Brings Success" , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Oromotco NB flag.png , image_shield = Oromocto NB coat of arms.jpg , image_map = , map_caption = , ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

when he was transferred to

CFB Gagetown 5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, formerly known as and commonly referred to as CFB Gagetown, is a large Canadian Forces Base covering an area over , located in southwestern New Brunswick. Construction of the base At the ...

to serve as captain at the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

school. He was released from service in 1995 when he refused a transfer to

CFB Shilo Canadian Forces Base Shilo (CFB Shilo; french: Base des Forces canadiennes Shilo — BFC Shilo) is an operations and training base of the Canadian Armed Forces, located east of Brandon, Manitoba and adjacent to Sprucewoods. During the 1990s, C ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

. He insisted on remaining in Oromocto to continue his efforts to reunite his family. From 1992 to 1998 Arslanian served on the Oromocto town council; he served as deputy

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

for part of this period. In 1999, Arslanian began his association with the Red Cross. He volunteered to help at CFB Gagetown which was receiving over 1,000 Kosovar refugees. He did his first overseas work with the ICRC in 2000, when he served as a logistician in the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

republic of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Since July 17, 2001, Arslanian had been in charge of logistics for the ICRC in Iraq. Balthasar Staehelin, ICRC delegate-general for the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, said "the courageous decision by six ICRC expatriates to stay in Baghdad voluntarily and work alongside their local colleagues during the worst of the fighting made a marked difference to the lives of thousands of people. Arslanian was one of those six, and we can find some solace in knowing that he helped to make that difference."

References

External links

*
Reflections from a Canadian Red Cross worker in Iraq
', an interview with the Canadian Red Cross, January 2003 *
Oromocto Man Working For The International Red Cross In Iraq
', an interview on CBC Radio, March 18, 2003 (

RealAudio RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fi ...

format) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arslanian, Vatche 1955 births 2003 deaths Canadian people of Armenian descent Deaths by firearm in Iraq Male murder victims Syrian emigrants to Canada Syrian people of Armenian descent

See also

References

External links