Day 11(1/13/18) *Geneva*

Red Cross Museum!

Day 11! Today I think the jet lag has finally been resolved:) After a great breakfast, our whole class discussed the 2 books we were assigned for this trip: "The Ghost Map" and "CDC Level 4 Virus Hunters". We are supposed to write book reports on both of them, so I'll post those both on this blog and include my reflections to the book discussions on those (so as to not be redundant and repeat them in this journal post as well).

So, after the book discussion, we had a 4 hour break before our next commitment, so I went to the Red Cross/Red Crescent museum which was a lovely 20-minute walk from where we're staying. What a remarkable museum...I did not at all expect what awaited me there. It began in a dark room with projections of life-size people who were helped by the Red Cross, called "the witnesses", just watching visitors as they came through. Since I was there by myself, this was by far the most chilling part of the museum, and it set the tone for the rest of the museum. I was expecting to see a hope-filled museum all about the massive aid that the organisation provides, along with projections for future aid. However, it was far more focused on the despair that exists in the world; despair so great that humanitarian efforts cannot practically hope to completely eradicate it. There were three exhibits: one on family ties(and communication efforts between prisoners of war, refugees, detainees, and/or orphans and their family members), one on outreach (such as the HIV/AIDS education efforts, sanitation strategies, and emergency preparedness/response), and one on the creative artwork by marginalised people(such as prisoners of war and/or inmates and/or detainees). The museum was very hard to get through, though it is very necessary to see things the way they are, and not sugar-coated, because otherwise it is unlikely for the global community to understand the deep need of marginalised populations. Below are some of the highlights from the museum:

This was the first Red Cross flag ever produced 

The museum had a large section on artwork made by detainees and prisoners of war from several countries, and the red cross' role in their (hoped to be) humanitarian treatment.

These are all index cards with identities of WWI prisoners of war worldwide(there are far more aisles of notecards not pictured here). Families can access them by contacting the red cross with the name of their loved one.

This was the hardest part of the museum for me. It is a wall of photos of Rwandan children who have been separated from their parents. Red Cross workers distribute photo albums with the photos at refugee and detainment camps to hopefully locate the children's' parents. Some children even appeared less than 3 years old. I can't describe the feeling in words of looking at all of those beautiful children on the wall-what is wrong with our world? What have we done wrong?

I got back to the John Knox Centre after getting some very-needed fresh air during my walk back from the museum; going to museums like that makes you realise the simple things in life, and how lucky you are to be able to enjoy them. Simple things such as the birds singing, proper shoes and clothing, smiling faces, clean air and beautiful tall trees. Anyway, I got back and we heard the presentation from the "political" group. Their focus was on the universal human right to healthcare (not just access to healthcare, but delivery of healthcare to everyone). They discussed several topics such as stigmatisation associated with certain diseases, healthcare ethics, models on the distribution of healthcare("first come first serve" vs. s"lottery" models), several UN agencies, and controversies surrounding motivations behind and responses to gun violence. It was quite interesting to learn about these topics from a "political science" point of view, as they focused on policy and public response on many of these topics, whereas I'd assume that a "psychology" group or an "economics" or "biology" group would all have different focuses in the aspects that they'd choose to delve further into!
     There was one main point that were quite interesting and stayed in my mind for a while(they were all interesting topics, to be clear!): social responses to gun violence. The gun violence section reminded me of an episode of "What Would You Do?" in which the host goes into a gun store in Texas and observes peoples' responses to a 7 year old boy going in with his father to get his first gun...no one in any of the many hours of shooting the show found an issue with this, even when they would switch out the gun to be an assault rifle, or some other automatic weapon. I wondered how the responses might differ from a similar situation in a more liberal state, such as Oregon! I remember feeling very uneasy after watching that episode, just as I felt uneasy about the fact that the political group brought up the fact that in many states physicians/pediatricians are legally not allowed to ask about the possession of guns in the child's home. It is quite frustrating to learn about people like this, and their direct impact on child health, and the fact that in their eyes they think they are doing what is right for their children. I would like to understand where their motivations come from, since I cannot imagine that their intentions are bad, I just don't understand fully how they can think this.
 
So, after a great discussion by the political group, a few of us went downtown to dinner which was fun:) Afterwards, we took the long way back to the centre, and on our way we stopped for a little bit in a field where the stars were shining so brightly in the sky....it was so serene. I spotted Orion right away, since for some reason whenever I look at the stars, he's the first constellation I see...he's always there, even when I'm on the opposite side of home!😊

Goodnight!
-Anna