Francesco Rocca, International President of the Red Cross: "Venezuelans die because of lack of energy in hospitals and this can not be accepted"

From May 21 to 23, Buenos Aires will host the 21st Inter-American Conference of the Red Cross, during which the delegations of the 35 National Societies of the American Red Cross will discuss the humanitarian agenda of the region: migration, change climate change, disaster risk reduction, among many other challenges. Francesco Rocca, International President of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, will be at the head of the event of the "Charter of Buenos Aires", in accordance with the guidelines that the organization will apply over the next four years.

"Urban violence is the new mainland war," said Rocca, who also added social inclusion to the list of challenges. "We are on the side of people in the most difficult moments of their lives, so it is not enough to want to help, you have to know how to help", adds Diego Tipping, president of the Argentine Red Cross, that this year is the host of the second in its history of the Inter-American Conference.

In dialogue with InfobaeRocca and Tipping badyzed the region's humanitarian program, the challenges and the difficult task of dealing with governments to provide the required badistance in each case. In addition, the International President of the Red Cross and Red Crescent recently arrived from Venezuela, where he led the mission to help the humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean country.

"Everyone in Venezuela needs humanitarian aid, Chavistas and those who follow Guaidó … our buoy is at sea, but we have a plan to help 650,000 Venezuelans in one year, especially in the area of health, "explained Rocca.. It is precisely in the health sector that he sees the most urgent: "Venezuelans are starving because of lack of energy in hospitals and this can not be accepted". In his badysis, he also expresses a claim: "Never in my job as a redrootist have I experienced a situation of politicization of humanitarian aid as important as in Venezuela, where it is impossible not to politicize humanitarian action.".

–With whom did you meet your arrival in Venezuela?

Francesco Rocca: With all parts of Venezuela. With the strength of the government, the opposition. With both

–It seems very difficult to avoid the politicization of humanitarian aid …

Rocca: No, the mission to Venezuela is impossible, everything is politicized, all acts are experienced as politicized. And I can tell you, honestly, never in my professional work, in this experience as a processor, I experienced a situation as difficult as Venezuela in terms of politicization, polarization of humanitarian aid.

Rocca: It was a conversation job. Because what happens in Venezuela and when we talk about hunger, or the need for health, everyone suffers. It's not that the Chavists do not suffer or that the people who are with Guaidó, they all suffer, everyone. For the moment, they need help. To do this, a neutral and independent organization is needed. Everyone respects the principles of the Red Cross, which respects the fundamental principles of the Red Cross, the question of neutrality, impartiality and justice. of humanity, of course.

–What was the greatest urgency with which he was found?

Rocca: For us, right now, the health problem. And of course, we have many more topics, but right now, people are dying of lack of electricity because hospitals do not have facilities. It is a subject that can not be honestly nor acceptable. Then there is a priority: the Red Cross provides power plants to hospitals. We bring help and we will help every day in a different hospital. Our plan is to help 650,000 people each year in health..

–And the Venezuelan drama contains another drama, that of migrations. Not only for Venezuelans, but for the whole region. What are the effects? Because you also work in these areas …

RoccaYes, in the border area with Colombia, the Colombian Red Cross is doing an incredible job helping to provide badistance to those arriving in the country, which are about 3 million migrants. And it's very, very difficult. In the border area, the help provided concerns health problems, the first aid these people need. But we are lucky because in Colombia, we have a strong Red Cross, we have more than 27,000 volunteers of the Colombian Red Cross. The reaction has been very good and we have a good presence there, in the border area. But of course, there are 3 million people and that generates a devastating effect. We must not only support the work of the volunteers of the Venezuelan Red Cross, but also the different countries concerned. In Peru, for example, there are thousands and thousands of Venezuelans. All border countries suffer the consequences. This continent is facing many challenges, so that migration will increase the need for work for social inclusion.

–Of course, this is what is preparing, not only the emergence of the arrival of Venezuelans, but also their integration into a society.

Rocca: Yes, I come from Italy. We live the question of the strong immigration of the Mediterranean, and theThe dignity of a human being is not a table with rice and a little chicken, it is much more than that, much more. You can not limit dignity to a meal. And then, you need a school for children, health. These are challenges for countries that already have a lot of internal difficulties. So we are doing what we can to help, but the situation is very difficult.

–In Nicaragua, the political scenario is that of a crisis but the economic scenario is different. What is the task of the Red Cross there?

Rocca: I am very proud of the work of the Nicaraguan Red Cross, as it has the capacity, at the time of the most serious crisis, to have the confidence of all parties and to develop action at the community level. The Red Cross was born in Solferino, on a battlefield. Today, new struggles are a social problem on this continent and the Red Cross also employs them to support the weakest community in Nicaragua.

–We spoke a few moments ago about the work of the Red Cross so that the delivery of aid is not politicized. How do they negotiate?

Rocca: You must work with everyone. And what makes everything easier, when talking to politicians, is to talk about facts. I do not use theory, I always talk about facts, people's needs. And when you talk about the need of people, no one can deny the obvious, what you can see on the street. It may sound difficult, but the reality is very simple when it comes to concrete facts, how people experience the consequences of a disaster or a financial or political crisis. The problem is precisely to speak of the suffering of humanity.

–This week begins the Inter-American Conference of the Red Cross in Buenos Aires, what will be the program of this event?

Rocca: At the moment, the American continent is facing many challenges: migration, the crisis in some countries and the continent is very affected by climate change. It is then time to discuss, to study how to improve the joint work of the national society which, at present, affects the lives of the most vulnerable, the most vulnerable.

–What does it mean for Argentina to organize this conference?

Diego Tips: Well, a challenge, an honor. The first history conference was held here in Buenos Aires in 1923. Today, almost a hundred years later, we are back at headquarters. This will be the largest in history, the most popular, the thirty-five countries of our Americas will be here. Today, young people are already reunited. And apart from that we have about fifteen national observing societies who have been invited to this conference.

–Does Argentina have an interference in the way the agenda of what is going to be discussed is organized? Is it a long process? How did you get there?

Tip: Yes, it's a four-year process. There is a planning committee which is a statutory body of our federation. It is composed of the host country of the previous Conference, of us, the secretariat of the federation and the Inter-American Regional Committee, which are the four countries that mark this agenda.

–Will we find the guidelines for action for the next four years at the end of the conference?

Rocca: Yes, normally that's it. It will be raised in a letter that will be the "Buenos Aires Charter", the approach of Buenos Aires. And the thirty-five countries are firmly committed to complying with the principles of the letter and the challenges that will be set forth therein.

–We know the more media-friendly Red Cross actions like the Venezuelan problem, or the themes of tragedies in the region, climate, etc., but there are others that are quieter. What are these challenges we do not talk about so much?

Rocca: Reflection on the actions of Red Cross volunteers, urban violence and social inclusion. It's a big challenge. This is the new war we have here on this continent. But the challenge of urban violence is a global challenge, and all over the world this is a new frontier for volunteers working in big cities because we have the problem of international migration, but we also have a subject of displacement of the population towards the world. country from the agricultural zone to the city and this requires very strong social work from the national society, volunteers involved in social inclusion. In this, young people are very strong. We are very proud of the work of young people. Currently, the continent's Red Cross youth are working well before the start of the Inter-American Conference, as the voice of youth is the most important at this time.

–How is the volunteer training process going?

Rocca: Training, training of volunteers, is an important issue. Our founder, our father, Henri Dunant, said we do not need to look for money, we need to be ready to serve the people and know what to do in case of a challenge. Because to volunteer at the Red Cross, you have to study, you have to take a course, it's not that overnight you volunteer. You need to know what to do, think about when you have an earthquake in a country, you need to know what to do, what the priorities are, how you work, how help is developed and provided. This is very important. How to talk to the people It's a very important course. Each national society has different priorities but all seek the training of volunteers.

Tip: And it is very important because we are on the side of people in the most difficult moments of their lives. In moments of pain. Then it's not enough to want to help, you have to know how to help, you have to be professionals, even volunteering, because at that moment, we have to protect what is most important for people in need, their dignity. .

–With what protection do volunteers count?

Tip: In each country, we need strong laws that protect the work of our volunteers in difficult times, times of pain and crisis. Here in Argentina, we are quite late, the law that protects our volunteers is unfortunately one of the oldest in the world, dating from 1893. A few days ago, 1000 days after the presentation of the project of putting to the law and today, he sleeps in the Senate. We therefore ask our legislators to protect the humanitarian activity, to protect our volunteers for the difficult times of our peoples. I think it's fundamental, get ready for the tough times.

–What is happening in the rest of the region with the protection of volunteers? Are there laws that are consistent or lacking a lot?

Rocca: No, this continent has grown a lot to have more or less a good legislature. Unfortunately, here in Argentina, we are faced with problems that, in my opinion, are not a lack of political will, I think more or less, with all due respect in the country, that Argentine politicians are very similar to Italian politicians and they do not think so. And then we all know that, unfortunately, a disaster can happen around the world and that everyone thanks the Red Cross. No, we need prior respect because the volunteers do not want to be recognized, they want the humanitarian work to be recognized. And I hope that these days this important conference will indicate to the Argentine policy that it is time to pbad a law, because at that time we are calm and quiet, but we We need a law to protect in these very difficult times.

–If we are talking about Argentina, what does it mean for the Red Cross to work on the identification of Malvinian soldiers?

Tip: Yes, it was a task of the International Committee. Being part of a movement that ended a pain of more than three decades was a very exciting task for us. We heard such simple but very profound sentences from some mothers who told us, "How is my son a N.N. if I sent him a name?" So this task for the International Committee, following what was also the Geneva Conventions, is fascinating for us and we see it everywhere in the country where we are going, that the relatives come to thank us. So that really excites us. I think this has been an absolutely relevant task for our movement.