Red Crosser Raul Rivera Nuñez Deploys to Philippine Relief Effort

Raul, far right, with American Red Cross colleagues Ian O'Donnell,
David Dunn, David Schindler, and Michele Devlin, all bound for
the Philippines.

Raul Rivera Nuñez, Greater New York’s regional manager of mass care and logistics, recently arrived in the Philippines for a four-week deployment with the Global Red Cross network, helping those affected by Typhoon Haiyan. We recently caught up with Raul, asking him a few questions about his work, the conditions on the ground, and the resilience of the Philippine people.

Q: Where are you staying?
A: We live in base camp in Tacloban City, over-sized tents co-located in an open field, operated by the Danish Red Cross. We have a work tent, a dining hall tent, sleeping tents, etc. We operate from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm (this includes time for breakfast, lunch and dinner).

Base Camp

Q: What kind of work are you doing?
A: When we first arrived, we jumped right onto making distribution runs. We have handed out hygiene kits, tarps, jerry cans, and food packs (rice, noodles, can of sardines). This is at the request of the Philippines Red Cross. Our target number is 2,000 families per day, and this is done in conjunction with host national society. Now we are in talks with the Philippine chapter to see how we can move into the sheltering phase of distribution (handing out more tarps, tool-kits, nails, CGI's, tents, etc...) Any decision will be made in conjunction with the Philippine Red Cross.

Q: Can you talk about your interaction with the Filipino people?
A: The Filipino people have been amazing. They are very welcoming, and always greet us with a smile. When we do distribution runs you can see the genuine expression of gratitude in their faces. When we take a moment to talk to them between runs, they tell us their how they braved the typhoon. Though their stories can be horrifying, they always keep a smile on their face, and their chins up (keep in mind that many of them lost family members, neighbors and friends).

Q:  Are you interacting with the local volunteers?
A: All the time. The Philippine Red Cross volunteers are inspiring. They mostly comprise college-aged volunteers. Since the schools are closed until January, they show up day in and day out, and they spend their whole day doing what needs to be done.

Q: Do you have messages for anyone back home?
A: I would like to send a huge Thank You to Kelly McKinney (Greater New York region chief response officer) and Dario Diaz (regional director, planning, readiness and situational awareness, Emergency Services), for going out of their way to make my deployment possible. I would also like to thank my colleagues Monica, Miguel, Erin and JJ for taking up the extra slack during my absence. For anyone I may have forgotten, and had a hand in making my deployment possible, I also want to send you a big THANK YOU. 

Helping the World’s Most Vulnerable – A Conversation with the Head of the IFRC Delegation to the UN

Time and again when a major disaster strikes somewhere around the world, images of the Global Red Cross network and its volunteers bringing relief to those in need are brought to the forefront. At the heart of each disaster response is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (known as “the IFRC” or “the Federation”).

Before Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines a few weeks ago, we sat down with Marwan Jilani, head of the IFRC delegation to the United Nations, to discuss the role of the Federation here in NYC and around the world.

Below is an excerpt from that interview which helps put into context the work of the IFRC in the Philippines as well as its ongoing support of the most vulnerable populations across the globe.

First, here is some background on the IFRC:

The IFRC is the world's largest humanitarian network, providing assistance without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

Founded in 1919, the IFRC comprises 189 member Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies (of which the American Red Cross is one), a secretariat in Geneva and more than 60 delegations strategically located to support activities around the world. There are more Societies in formation.

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Greater NY Red Cross (GNY): What is the role of the IFRC in a large disaster?

Marwan Jilani (MJ): When a large disaster occurs, such as a major earthquake or flood, the Federation intervenes to bring in aid from other Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies only upon invitation of the National Society in the country or countries where the disaster occurred.

Once this request for assistance is made, the Federation, together with the host National Society, will assess the needs on the ground. Based on this assessment, we will then issue an appeal to all National Societies for assistance.

The National Societies come forward to answer this appeal, when possible, by providing people, funds, supplies, or a combination of all three.

In the affected country [or counties], the IFRC will then coordinate the relief efforts between the different National Societies.

Click here to see how the Global Red Cross Network is working together to respond to Typhoon Haiyan

GNY: What role does the IFRC play outside of disaster response?

MJ: In the absence of a disaster, the IFRC works in what we call the development sector. This relates to issues such as health, water/sanitation and disaster preparedness. The Federation coordinates this work with National Societies, many of which are well known for their programs in these fields.

In many instances, the Federation works with a host National Society to determine the needs and best strategies. We then coordinate with the partner National Societies that are willing and able to provide support and want to help.

The solidarity within the Global Red Cross Network is not just evident when a major disaster occurs, but also in terms of long-term programs like helping combat diseases such as malaria, measles or HIV or helping to build the capacity and infrastructure to respond to future disasters.

This was the case with the American Red Cross disaster mitigation program in Bangladesh.

GNY: Can you explain the IFRC's work in NYC at the United Nations?

MJ: We have quite a privileged status at the UN—observer status. This gives us direct access to the meetings of the UN. It is essentially a direct line to the member countries and provides access to the UN systems, including the Secretary General, his office and his staff.

We speak on behalf of all of the Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies. We advocate for the issues that are important to us—for example, highlighting silent disasters. The IFRC advocates on behalf of the people who are affected by disasters, bringing the attention of the international community to those disasters that do not garner much media attention.

We also represent the National Societies in terms of our interests and our priorities related to the deliberations in the UN on policies, on standards and on the overall development agenda [i.e., health, water/sanitation and disaster preparedness]. We are very much involved in what is called the Millennium Development Goals and post-2015 Development Agenda.

Click here to read more about the work of the Global Red Cross Network at the UN.

GNY: How are American Red Cross volunteers here in NYC connected to their counterparts in other parts of the world?

MJ: Whether you are working with the American Red Cross or with the Ugandan Red Cross, for example, the volunteers and staff speak the same “humanitarian language.” They share the same principles, they share the same understanding of the tools and mechanisms involved in responding to disasters, and they share the same values.

That power of humanity unites us all, unites all our volunteers, and unites all our staff all over the world. That strong feeling comes into play because we are a global movement, the largest humanitarian network of workers in the world—13 million active volunteers, according to a study that was conducted two years ago. I like to think that there are many more volunteers than these.

What is unique about the movement is not only the number of volunteers and staff but the fact that it’s almost universal, a National Society in nearly every single country.

Visiting Our Colleagues at Magen David Adom in Israel

American Red Cross President & CEO Gail McGovern speaking at the launch of a First Aid smartphone app in Tel Aviv

By Josh Lockwood, Regional CEO, Greater New York Red Cross

Often, we become so immersed in our local activities as Red Crossers that we lose sight of the fact that we are part of an international movement to alleviate suffering in the face of tragedy and disaster. The Red Cross movement operates in more than 185 nations according to seven fundamental principles. 

At the end of September, I had the honor of making a short trip to Israel with American Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern and other American Red Cross colleagues, to visit our colleagues at Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's official emergency service and a member of the Red Cross Movement. The purpose of the trip was to share lessons learned in preparing for, and responding to, mass casualty events such as earthquakes and terrorist attacks. The two leadership groups—from the American Red Cross and from MDA—also discussed improving ways to recruit blood donors and working with government both before and during a disaster.

MDA and the American Red Cross have a longstanding history of cooperation. This meeting was a continuation of ongoing activities. These include a recent joint earthquake preparedness exercise between MDA and the Jordanian Red Crescent Society; a global Red Cross network coordination meeting in Tel Aviv in July; and a joint deployment of American Red Cross and MDA workers to Haiti to deliver lifesaving assistance following the January 2010 earthquake.

Another first: The Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC), a partnership between the American Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, is building on the success of the Red Cross First Aid app by developing a first aid app with a universal approach, which will allow national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to translate and localize content. The GDPC will assist with releasing the app. 

During my time in Israel, I was humbled by the power and breadth of our shared Movement.

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the Red Cross has seen a wave of Sandy survivors who have “paid it forward” by volunteering for the Red Cross after receiving services. These survivors include Lou Caridad in Staten Island, who drove an Emergency Response Vehicle through both Staten Island and Long Island after his home was damaged by Sandy, and Tom and Jeanne Gargiulo, along with their son Ryan, from Babylon, N.Y., who handed out Thanksgiving meals through the Red Cross after their home was destroyed. 

So it was with particular interest that I spoke with Nachman Lavi, a 30-year-old Israeli, while I was in Jerusalem. Nachman was injured in a bus station bombing in Jerusalem several years ago that sent shards of metal into this legs. Horrified by the dozens injured all around him, Nachman wanted to help those who were injured, but did not have the skills to do so. 

Forever changed by this event, Nachman began training and volunteering with MDA; he now serves as a volunteer responder with the mission’s ambulatory service in Jerusalem.  Nachman paraphrased the Talmud when he shared with us part of his motivation for helping others, “Well,” he said, “Isn’t it, ‘He who saves a life, saves the world’?”

It is difficult to imagine a more charged environment than Jerusalem in which to deliver Red Cross services. While our Red Cross principle of neutrality can seem benign, in a city that’s home to thousands of years of strife, providing life-saving assistance can be fraught with danger.

Yet MDA has adapted. By training its responders in cultural sensitivity and by engaging all members of its community in service delivery, the MDA is able to respond within minutes to an array of incidents: traffic accidents, heart attacks and occasionally, terrorist bombings.

MDA also leverages cutting-edge technology to instantaneously activate volunteers within close proximity to an incident. Every time the equivalent of a 9-1-1 call comes in, MDA notifies the five responders located nearest to the event. Further, Israel is at risk of a major earthquake, and hearing of the American Red Cross preparations for, and operations after, major disasters, has provided tremendous learning for both societies.

The Greater New York chapter was instrumental in pressing for the recognition of Magen David Adom within the Red Cross movement amidst a fraught political environment. In 2006, we sent a delegation to Tel Aviv to raise our voices to encourage the International Federation as well as our own American Red Cross to effect change. Ultimately, due in large part to the energies and influence of the American Red Cross, MDA was recognized and became a full-fledged member of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

In meeting our colleagues at MDA, we were privileged to make new friendships with a diverse and dynamic workforce.

Upholding the Rules of War in NYC

by Michael de Vulpillieres, American Red Cross Greater NY Region

Every day we are confronted with images of war—on television, online, in movies, even in videogames. With news of refugees crossing borders and ambulances under attack, the recent crisis in Syria has brought added attention to armed conflict and the consequences it can have on millions of civilians. These tragic events remind us that even war should have limits.

This is why understanding International Humanitarian Law (IHL)—guidelines that seek to protect civilians and regulate the methods of warfare—is so critical.

The Red Cross was founded on these ideals more than 150 years ago and today in New York City they are actively promoted by two Red Cross offices. The American Red Cross in Greater New York does so locally, while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the United Nations defends them on a global stage.

Rooted in Wartime Relief

Horrified by the sight of thousands of wounded soldiers lying helpless and abandoned after a huge battle in Solferino, Italy in 1859, Swiss businessman Henri Dunant felt compelled to act. In the years that followed, Dunant set forth a process that led to the creation of “voluntary relief societies that could be trained to care for the wounded in time of war.” These national societies eventually united under the Red Cross symbol.

As the Red Cross network grew, its scope evolved to encompass not only issues of conflict, but also natural disasters, health crises and other humanitarian emergencies.

Although there are several entities that make up the Red Cross (or the Red Cross Movement, as it is also called) today, one branch focuses on situations of conflict: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Their mission is to provide humanitarian assistance for people affected by conflict and promote laws that protect victims such as civilians and health workers in Syria.

Photo: Liz Borda

Assisting Families Separated by War and Promoting IHL in NYC

The American Red Cross in Greater New York mainly provides assistance following local disasters. However, as part of the Red Cross Movement, the office does at times deal with issues related to war. When it does, it works through the ICRC.

One such program is Restoring Family Links, which helps reconnect family members who are separated by war. By relying on its staff and partners around the world, the ICRC is able to serve those searching for lost loved ones. Due to this extensive network, for example, the Greater NY Red Cross is able to help New Yorkers like Christine Green—who fled her native Liberia in the mid 1990s—reconnect with family members she did not even know were alive.

“I did not hear from my family in Liberia for 14 years,” says Green. “Thanks to the Red Cross, I was able to reconnect with them.”

Another way the Greater NY Red Cross promotes the ICRC mission is by teaching high school students the basic principles of IHL. The goal of the curriculum is to inspire future humanitarians to understand when conflict intersects with the rights and protections of civilians. Lessons taught during the program also help teenagers contextualize current events they read about.

Seventeen-year-old Johanna Monge from Queens was a student who participated in the IHL curriculum. The class has helped her focus her future career path as well. Monge now aspires to pursue international relations in order to become involved in humanitarian work. She says of the IHL classes, “they really helped me understand the treacherous path that humanitarian aid workers have to go through in order to help the Syrians in need.”

Defending IHL at the UN

While the Greater New York Red Cross promotes ICRC principles locally, less than a mile to the east, the ICRC office at the United Nations does so on a global stage.
 
The ICRC has held Observer Status at the UN since 1990, which allows it to participate in UN meetings, committees and debates. This includes thematic discussions about the protection of civilians or children in armed conflict, as well as geographic crises like the conflicts in Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. There, the ICRC voices its opinion and provides input within its frame of expertise.

“We make sure that ICRC concerns are fed into the UN and shared with member states,” says Walter Fuellemann, head of delegation to the United Nations at the ICRC.

An example of ICRC advocacy is Health Care in Danger, a program launched last year with the intent to raise awareness of the issue of violence against healthcare.

Attacking healthcare workers and facilities and deliberately obstructing the efforts of the wounded to find help are still common features of conflicts throughout the world. While the Red Cross Movement is “rooted in the protection of health care in conflict zones,” as Fuelleman emphasizes, many of those who try to help are injured in the process. The goal of Health Care in Danger is to mobilize action within the international community in order make a difference for those affected on the ground.

So far, the program has seen much success. “We strive to include Health Care in Danger language into resolutions and presidential statements at the level of the Security Council,” says Fuellemann. “We have been able to do so on several occasions.”

Another major opportunity for the organization is at the UN General Assembly (GA). There, the ICRC engages states on the topics of humanitarian action, peacekeeping and humanitarian law. Fuellemann describes the ICRC’s role in the GA as unique, saying, “The GA allows the ICRC to interact in the same place and time with every state in the world, all of which are signatories to the Geneva Conventions.”

Nevertheless, the work of the ICRC at the UN is not limited to advocacy. The ICRC’s presence in nearly every conflict zone around the world allows it to provide real-time updates from the ground, which helps shape UN policy.

In Syria, the ICRC and local partners have been providing humanitarian assistance to millions of people affected by the fighting, but there are considerable challenges.

“The suffering of civilians in Syria has now reached unprecedented levels,” says Fuellemann. “There are acute shortages of food, water and medical supplies in a number of areas that have been sealed off for months and to which the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have not been given access.”

These grave concerns make the ICRC’s efforts here in New York and around the world all the more urgent.

Photo: Syrian Arab Red Crescent

Volunteer Profile: Franklin Maidman

Story and photo by Bill Fortune

There are times when the American Red Cross could be considered an international organization. That is especially true during times of emergency. The desire to help those in need is what drives the organization and individual volunteers. Volunteer Franklin Maidman exemplifies that attitude. 

Here on a student visa from Holland, Maidman, 19, is in New York City to study dance. In the evenings he works with his dance troupe; but every afternoon you will find him at Greater New York Red Cross regional headquarters on West 49th Street in Manhattan.

He found his way to the Red Cross shortly after arriving in the United States in early November. Recognizing that he had extra time on his hands and that people in New York needed help, he walked into the Red Cross office and asked to become a volunteer.

“When I walked into the building it was very busy,” he said. “It was only a couple of days after Hurricane Sandy and people were everywhere.”

Franklin completed the application process and began volunteering. He worked in bulk distribution for a while and then stepped into the local community volunteer activity for the disaster response operation. His energy, bright smile and strong work ethic have endeared him to the Greater New York workers.

Timothy Pitoniak, regional director of staffing and training, has high praise for Franklin:“He is here every day, working hard to meet the needs of the Red Cross,” Pitoniak said. 

Maidman has been a quick learner and easily tosses out Red Cross acronyms. He has learned that the business of the Red Cross can be hectic, challenging and rewarding, all at the same time.

“I have met so many new friends and the Red Cross is like a second family,” he said. “What I really like is meeting people of all ages and backgrounds. It is cool that there is no generation gap here. We all learn from each other. We are one Red Cross.”

Volunteer Spotlight: Andy Harris

Andy Harris is a cyclist, a world traveler, and one of the most dedicated workers at the Miller Field bulk distribution center. This Englishman with a cheery disposition has a fascinating story of how he established himself as an unforgettable Red Cross volunteer.

The 53-year-old backpacked, bicycled, and motor-biked across Europe and Asia, eventually making his way to Houston, Texas, via Mexico. From there he bicycled to North Carolina. After volunteering at a museum for a week, he caught a ride on a pickup truck to Pennsylvania before biking the rest of the way to New York.

Andy has dedicated his life to helping others whenever he can.

His philosophy is, “When you’re down and out, there’s nothing like giving back to make you feel better.”

So once aboard the Staten Island Ferry, he asked around about how to help in Sandy’s aftermath and was advised to join the American Red Cross. That’s just what Andy did, and he hasn’t looked back.

Andy not only volunteers at Miller Field, he sleeps in a tent there as well. He says he would hate to take up a bed that could be given to someone else. One bonus is that his commute is as short as it gets.

“I can just step out of my tent and go right to work!”

Andy’s supervisors say he is one of the hardest working volunteers at the site. Hopefully, this unforgettable volunteer, whose attitude inspires everyone around him, will be with the Red Cross for a long time to come.

Beauty Is Possible, Even in Brokenness

Pastor Burt Crabbe addresses Red Cross High School Club members

“Profoundly jarring.”

That’s how Bert Crabbe, pastor of True North Community Church in Bohemia, N.Y., described his journey to the Far East six years ago to learn about the sex trafficking of children.

Crabbe was addressing a group of 14 Red Cross High School Club members enrolled in “Exploring Humanitarian Law,” a program designed to help students understand the rules governing war and their impact on human life and dignity.

The program, which is being held at Greater New York Red Cross regional headquarters in Manhattan from July 9 through August 2, also addresses supplementary rules and guidelines regarding armed conflict, such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on Genocide and the UN Convention on the rights of the child.

“While human trafficking may most often be a result of poverty, it can also be a result of armed conflict,” said Amanda Crabbe, Greater New York Red Cross youth programs manager and Pastor Crabbe’s cousin. “Bert’s talk set the stage for our students’ knowledge of human trafficking and conveyed a personal account of what sexual slavery actually looks like. We have been referencing his talk throughout the program,” she added, “and applying his examples to instances of sexual slavery during times of conflict.”

On Crabbe’s 2006 trip to Thailand and Cambodia, he accompanied Rob Morris, president of LOVE146, a non-profit international human rights organization working to end child sex trafficking. Crabbe, who had supported the work of LOVE146 through small personal financial donations, now wanted to see the organization’s challenges and programs firsthand.

While waiting in LA for a connecting flight to Thailand, Crabbe and Morris drove through Bel Air, California, passing lavish homes and mansions, and luxury shops.

Right after landing in Bangkok, Thailand, Morris took Crabbe through the Red Light district, where trafficked children—girls and boys—end up. The contrast between Bel Air and Bangkok was a huge shock, said Crabbe.

Sex tourism, he told the students, brings an enormous amount of money into Thailand. He explained that young girls living in the countryside are procured by men who tell the parents that their daughters will earn money waitressing in the city. If that argument fails, they may simply give the parents $100 American in exchange for their daughters.

Crabbe said these stories made him sick to his stomach.

“Then we went to Boys Town,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion. “That’s where underage boys work in the sex trade.”

“A little boy tried to lead me to his pimp,” he said. “I just wanted to die. You know intellectually that there are people in the world who have it rough. But you don’t get it until you see it and smell it,” he said. “We saw children living in slums, literally walking through garbage. It was profoundly jarring; the most difficult stuff you’ve never seen.”

Crabbe went on to describe their next destination—Cambodia, a country he called “beautiful and broken.”

He showed slides of lush green countryside, followed by photos of the Tuol Sleng Museum, a former high school in Phnom Penh used as a prison and torture center between 1975 and 1979. There, more than 17,000 Cambodians were said to have been executed by the ruling party, the Khmer Rouge.

Crabbe said when he returned from the Far East, he came close to having a nervous breakdown and had nightmares for a month.

“I realized I am affluent,” he said. “I have first-world problems. If you earn $36,000 a year you are in the top five percent of the world’s wealthy; in fact, your part-time job at Starbucks puts you in the top 10% of the world’s wealthy.”

Crabbe immediately cut a large personal check to LOVE146 and asked Morris what more he could do. Morris said the organization needed $200K to build a facility in the Philippines where rescued trafficked children could get their lives back.

Crabbe approached his parishioners and raised the needed funds.

The Round Home

In 2009, the “Round Home” for rescued girls opened in the Philippines. Its distinctive construction is meant to promote togetherness, with none of the children feeling marginalized by being at the “end” of a corridor. In addition to the main Round Home, there is also a staff house, a Therapy Tree House and a Reflection Room.

“I’m most proud of the chapel we built and a tree house therapy environment,” Crabbe said. “I visited there. I saw that talking to the girls as human beings was a big deal to them. So was simply having fun; dancing.”

Crabbe advised the EHL students: “Walk the earth aware of what’s going on and your reflex will be to be an ‘upstander,’ not a bystander. Live generously and support organizations that help others.”

The students reacted positively to Crabbe’s talk.

“It was profoundly disturbing, but an informative session,” said Tanvir Shahjahan of Brooklyn Tech High School. “I'll never again feel underprivileged and be sure to spread awareness of sex trafficking to those I know and the invaluable efforts of groups such as LOVE146."

Sandra M., who attends high school in Queens, said, “Bert's presentation/story touched my heart and made me realize how fortunate I am to live comfortably, unlike children and teenagers in Cambodia and Thailand who live in poverty and try to survive day-to-day.”

Crabbe concluded his talk on an optimistic note. “I’ve learned,” he said, “that beauty is possible, even in brokenness. If more and more people step up, we’ll see a lot more beauty and a lot less brokenness.”

Red Cross Holocaust Tracing Team Helps Fill in Pieces of a Family Puzzle

Holocaust survivors Lea Rubinstein & Murray Berliner
May 7, 1947, New York.

Imagine not knowing the answers to many of the family identity questions most of us take for granted: What were my parents’ childhoods like? Who are my aunts and uncles? Do I have any cousins?

Growing up as the daughter of two Holocaust survivors who met and married in the United States, these are questions Hannah Berliner Fischthal struggled with—and she is still seeking answers.

An English professor in New York City, Berliner Fischthal wanted to write a book about her family’s history, but as she began the project, she realized that she knew little about the paternal side of her family. “I didn’t even have names,” she said.

Berliner Fischthal’s mother, Lea, was more forthcoming than her father, so she knew a bit of her story: Lea had grown up in Belgium along with her parents and brother. They had managed to escape being sent to a concentration camp by fleeing to southern France and living there as Catholics for the duration of the war.

Berliner Fischthal’s late father, Murray Berliner, had been sent to two different forced labor camps in Germany, but he was unwilling to talk about his experiences before and during the Holocaust. As far as he was concerned, he was “born” in 1946 on the day he entered America; he wouldn’t talk about the life (or family) he’d had before that day.

In 1994, Berliner Fischthal started looking for answers about her father’s holocaust experiences, as well as those of his family. “I was very cynical,” she said. “I didn’t think I was ever going to get information from Germany. When I first started writing letters almost 20 years ago, I got no information at all.”

Berliner Fischthal enlisted the help of every organization here in the United States and abroad that offered tracing services. She sent requests to Jewish Records Indexing–Poland and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. As part of the latter’s response, they recommended that she contact the Red Cross.

At first, she was told by Red Cross there wasn’t anything to be found about her family. But over time, she received nuggets of information, and those would lead her to other information.

It has taken years, but with the help of the Red Cross, Berliner Fischthal has learned more of her father’s story. He was born in Poland in 1912 and grew up with six brothers and three sisters. He was married and had a child. He, his brothers, sisters, wife and child were all rounded up and sent to different concentration camps. Berliner Fischthal’s father, three of his siblings and a niece survived; his other siblings and his wife and child did not.

Once Berliner Fischthal learned about her father’s nine brothers and sisters, she was able to make additional inquiries and find the names of their spouses and some of their children.

The family tree that had been pruned by tragedy was getting filled out. Relatives she didn’t even know existed now had names and birthdays. She was subsequently able to find out which concentration camps they’d been taken to.

Most recently, the Red Cross was able to provide Berliner Fischthal with the Polish birth certificate for her Aunt Esther.

“I’ve always had the feeling that the Red Cross was genuinely trying to help and wouldn’t give up,” Berliner Fischthal said. “Sometimes it took many months, maybe a year, before information came through on a particular person. But I didn’t feel alone in the process, or that I was asking questions that were never going to be answered.”

There are still pieces missing in Berliner Fischthal’s knowledge of her family, but thanks in large part to the Red Cross she now has a much fuller picture.

“Receiving factual information from the Red Cross became an increasingly important way of filling in some of the tremendous gaps in my knowledge about my family that was murdered in the Holocaust,” she said. “I am very grateful for the real help the Red Cross provided.”

Video: 24 Hours with the American Red Cross

24 hours per day, seven days a week, the American Red Cross is there proving comfort, support and humanitarian assistance to those that need it the most.

With your generous support, you help mobilize direct relief and comfort year round, across the country and around the world. You're also a foundation for our readiness work – helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to life's emergencies.

Red Cross helps Holocaust Survivor recover piece of family history

L to R, bottom row: Mania Kichell’s daughter, Ruth Langroth and Holocaust survivor Mania Kichell. Top row: two of Mania’s granddaughters, Simone Vogel and Stacey Langroth; and daughter Anna Zvi.

On www.nyredcross.org, we published a Holocaust tracing story on how we helped Queens resident, Anna Zvi, recover a piece of her mother's family history:

Since as long as she can remember, Hollis Hills, Queens resident and mother of two Anna Zvi has known that she was the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Although her mother, Mania Kichell, now 90 years old, rarely spoke of these traumatic years of her life, Anna still knew a bit about what she endured during WWII.

Hearing about what her mother went through was heart-breaking.

Anna knew about the brutality her mother had suffered when the Nazis lined up her family and divided them for transport to different camps in 1944. “When they were saying ‘Left’ and ‘Right,’ my mother’s mother, one of her sisters, and her sister’s child were sent to one side and she to the other side,” Anna said. “My mom later learned they were sent to a death camp. But at the time, she tried to run after themand was severely beaten.”

The rest of the story involves how the Red Cross was able to help retrieve public documents about her mother.

About three years ago, triggered by her mother’s age and further deteriorating mental condition, Anna began a search to discover as many of the lost pieces of Mania’s story as possible. She started by contacting Yad Vashem and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which sent Anna documents pertaining to Mania’s time in Auschwitz. Additionally, the Holocaust Memorial Museum recommended that Anna contact the Red Cross. She contacted the Greater New York chapter, and within two months of initiating a case, Anna began to receive the first documents from them—public records obtained by the Polish Red Cross confirming her mother’s residence in the Lodz Ghetto and liberation from Bergen-Belsen. 

Read the whole story here.

Never too late to say "Thank You"

By Aabye-Gayle Favilla

The American Red Cross receives numerous calls from people who want to say “thank you” for the services they’ve received. One such recent call came from a man who wanted express his gratitude for assistance dating back 65 years.

During World War II, Lawrence Hoffman was recovering from injuries in Bournemouth, England. As a result of repeatedly being moved from hospital to hospital, he had not received his military salary for several months. Fortunately, someone put him in touch with a representative from the Red Cross. In addition to providing Lawrence with emergency financial assistance, the Red Cross also contacted his parents to let them know where he was and how he was doing.

Lawrence, now 85, lives in Great Neck, New York. “I hadn’t thought about it for many, many years,” he said. “Then I came across some notes I made years ago, and thought I should call the Red Cross to tell them how much I appreciated what they did for me.” Lawrence didn’t just call to say “thank you,” he also wanted to make a donation to the Red Cross in honor of the assistance he received more than six decades ago.

Through the American Red Cross’s Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) program, the services Lawrence received during World War II are still being made available to members of the United States military. Through SAF, the Red Cross provides military personnel and their families with emergency communication resources, financial assistance and community-based support.

Learn more about SAF.

Pakistan Floods Deployment - First Day in Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan

It is the fist day in country, but actually the second day of the deployment really.

The first day of the mission actually started last week already, the moment we were told that an American ERU was going to join the relief operation and that we were on the list. From that moment on, we started to get briefed and educate and prepare ourselves on the disaster, on the country and its particularities. Those days are dedicated on getting our lives ready, personal and professional, including shots, vaccinations, following updates more closely, etc...It is also comforting to know that former friends and colleagues for previous deployments are waiting for us on the ground. Although I have never been in Pakistan yet, it is not terra incognita..

Yet, last Friday was spent in Washington at Headquarters for briefings, operational, security, logistics, equipment, gear, etc. Departure from Dulles Airport Friday night at 11:00pm and got us to Islamabad Snuday morning at 3:30 in the morning.

First hours to get ourselves situated and after a few hours of sleep, security and operational briefing with Federation operational leadership. As team leader, I am sensing the importance of representing the American Red Cross and of its role and expectations within the Movement.

The learning curve might steep already, but will likely become steeper in the next few days (meeting with Pakistan Red Crescent leadership tomorrow).

For more information about the Pakistan National Red Crescent Society, follow this link: http://www.prcs.org.pk/history.html

A Tribute Video to Red Cross Volunteers

Demi Lovato delivers letters written by local kids to Chile

"These translators are giving elements of their history, heritage, family, intellect, and wisdom.”

Robert Kennedy famously said, “Some men look at things the way they are and ask, “Why?” I dream of things that are not and ask, “Why not?” The thirteen volunteers of the American Red Cross in Greater New York’s Health & Safety Services Translation Team being honored with the 2010 Innovation Award looked at “things that are not,” asked, “Why not?” then made things happen—things that have had both a local and a global impact.

The team came into being in 2008, when Tiffany & Co., the New York jewelry firm, decided to implement the NY Red Cross’s Pandemic Preparedness program at all of its overseas facilities. Team members Jenny Chun, Clarissa Espinosa, Mario Fontenla, Shuhung Hong, Marsa Kindl-Omuse, Monica Mei, Elizabeth Musso, Diep Ngyuen, Carlos Rodríguez, Nancy Soto, Corina Stonebanks, Norika Takatsuka and Lily Too immediately set about translating the NY Chapter’s pandemic preparedness Instructor’s Manual and PowerPoint slide presentation into nine languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese. At about 100 pages for each course, that added up to many hours of work, which was completed in 2009.

After the translated materials arrived in the different countries, Web X conference courses for instructors using the translated manuals were held from the Chapter’s headquarters in Manhattan. Members of the translation team sat in to help out with any language problems, often doing so at night to account for time differences. These New York Red Cross classes have now been taught in China, Central and South America, Europe, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. And the team continues to translate material. Most recently, the “Be Red Cross Ready” preparedness program has been translated into Japanese.

The translation was an “extracurricular Red Cross activity,” said Health & Human Safety Account Executive Matt Conley, who oversaw the project. “Some of the volunteers did the work at home and had other family members vet it.

“These translators are giving elements of their history, heritage, family, intellect, and wisdom,” he continued. “They are creating something that will aid people in their homeland or the land of their ancestors.”

By greatly increasing the number of people who are touched by the Red Cross because they can teach and learn in their own language, the translation team truly has not only made the Greater New York Chapter more relevant to the community that we serve, it has spread the word about the importance of preparedness around the country—and the globe.

Recipients of the Innovation Award

Shuhung Hong from Queens, NY

Lily Too from Queens, NY
Corina Stonebanks from Manhattan, NY
Marsa Kindl-Omuse from Brooklyn, NY
Monica Mei from Bronx, NY
Noriko Takatsuka from Woodside, NY
Jenny Chun from Manhattan, NY
Diep Nguyen from Brooklyn, NY
Mario Fontenla from Flushing, NY
Carlos Rodriguez from Fairfield County, CT
Clarissa Espinosa from Flushing, NY
Nancy Soto from Brooklyn, NY
Elizabeth Musso from Paramus, NJ

“We are blessed to have a volunteer with Hun-Jue’s compassion, flexibility and mission to serve.”

The recipient of the 2010 First Year Award is Hun-Jue Luu, honored as an exceptional volunteer who has served for less than one year. A practicing psychologist who wrote his dissertation on trauma caused by airplane crashes, Hun-Ju has made an outstanding contribution as a disaster mental-health volunteer.

He is also a translator and mediator. Hun-Ju completed the NY Red Cross’s newly offered one-day Disaster Mental Health Institute training in February 2009. Not long after, he was tapped by NY Red Cross Director of Mental Health & Service Programs Diane Ryan to go to JFK airport with a small team of Red Cross volunteers to meet Mandarin-speaking families arriving from China. The families flew to the US to identify loved ones who had been killed when a gunman opened fire at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York in April 2009.

The arriving families were exhausted, stunned and grieving. Hun-Jue greeted them in Mandarin, offered condolences from the Red Cross and provided support and crisis intervention. He explained how they were to be taken to Binghamton and prepared them for what to expect upon arrival there. He took special charge of the brother of a woman who had been killed, comforting him, shielding him from the media and getting him safely on the way to Binghamton together with relatives from Long Island. “Building trust is the first giant step in establishing a relationship with clients, and understanding both the culture and the language is essential to making this happen,” said Hun-Jue. “Grieving families, especially Chinese ones, don’t want to talk to strangers. But once they understand what the Red Cross is trying to do for them, they are very grateful.”

Just eight weeks later, at the beginning of June, Air France Flight 447 crashed off the coast of Brazil en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The airline called the Red Cross to ask for assistance in notifying a Mandarin-speaking family whose only son had been on the flight. The victim’s parents had lived in New York City for 18 years and were getting ready to move permanently to Brazil to join their son, who had opened a business there. Hun-Jue provided essential translation services for the Air France personnel and offered culturally sensitive guidance and support to the family as they dealt with Air France liaisons and the Office of the Medical Examiner. For many months he remained available to the family, who came to trust him and did not wish a referral for ongoing counseling. Hun-Jue was able, over time, to help this family accept the fact of their loss and begin to make decisions about their future.

“Throughout all of this, Hun-Jue demonstrated an amazing ability to meet the clinical needs of this distraught family, the needs of the staff of Air France, and to work within the parameters of the mission of the American Red Cross—this after knowing us for just a few months,” said Diane Ryan. “It was an honor to work with Hun-Jue on the Binghamton disaster and the Air France aviation incident. The NY Red Cross is blessed to have a volunteer with his compassion, flexibility and mission to serve.”

While Hun-Jue recognizes that he possesses a particular set of skills he can call on when the trauma of a disaster is compounded by an inability to communicate in English, he says, “Mental-health skills are not always the most important thing. No matter who you are, if your heart is in the right place, people will appreciate what you’re doing.”

Hun-Jue Luu from Kew Gardens is the recipient of the 2010 First Year Award

“Red Cross staff and volunteers always shown great goodness in their daily lives.”

Military wives lead famously peripatetic lives—moving from base to base as their husbands’ assignments change. Joan Finnegan is a perfect example, having set up house in many places since she married her husband, Patrick. And it is the qualities for which she is being recognized—extraordinary kindness, optimism and cheerfulness—that surely moved with her from Massachusetts to Washington, Virginia (several times), Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida, Germany (twice) and then here to West Point. Joan is the recipient of the Harriet Demarest Congeniality Award which recognizes a Red Cross volunteer who has served the West Point community with exactly those sterling personality traits.

Joan, who hails from Long Island, has been volunteering with the Red Cross since her high school days when she worked as a candy striper at Nassau Hospital in Mineola. And while studying nursing in Syracuse she worked as a Red Cross blood-drive volunteer.

She married Patrick Finnegan upon his graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1971, and the couple moved to Massachusetts where Patrick attended Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Moves to bases in Washington State and Virginia followed. From an assignment in Warrenton, Virginia they traveled to Charlottesville where Patrick obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia. It was here that Joan reconnected with the Red Cross, developing and teaching childbirth classes at the UVA Hospital where she also worked as a part-time labor and delivery nurse.

Next it was off to Germany where Joan continued to teach childbirth classes as a Red Cross volunteer. Three years later the family was back in Charlottesville where Joan resumed teaching childbirth classes and worked full-time as a nurse. Then it was off to Fort Bragg, North Carolina and, after that, back to Germany where Joan worked as a quality-assurance volunteer in the US Army Health Clinic in Stuttgart under the auspices of the Red Cross. In 1998, upon Patrick’s appointment as head of the Academy’s Department of Law, the couple settled at West Point, where Joan has worked since her arrival as a Blood Drive volunteer, including six years as Blood Drive Captain. In 2004, she was awarded the NY Red Cross Jean MacArthur Volunteer of the Year Award.

Additionally, since her arrival at West Point, Joan has served as a Red Cross volunteer at the Keller Army Hospital’s front desk. Where better to put her famous congeniality on display?

"Whenever we moved as an Army family, after the boxes were unpacked and the children were in school, the first place I'd go was to the local Red Cross office,” said Joan. “That's because I discovered early on that the friendliest and nicest people in the neighborhood (or on post) were Red Cross volunteers. Over many years, Red Cross staff and volunteers always shown great goodness in their daily lives, challenging me to be a better person."

Joan C. Finnegan from West Point, NY is the recipient of the 2010 Harriet Demarest Congeniality Award

"I believe in the Red Cross; everything we do is driven by the heart.”

Joyce Morse began her Red Cross volunteer career in 1996 when she and her husband, Matt, Chief Warrant Officer W04, and Associate USMA Band Master, were stationed at Camp Zama in Japan. Starting as a General Support volunteer, Joyce became involved in emergency communications, then trained to become a CPR, First Aid, and Babysitter’s Training Instructor. Ultimately she served as the Red Cross Station Chairperson, overseeing all the other volunteer positions.



She continued her Red Cross service while Matt was stationed at Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia; Fort Stewart, GA; Wiesbaden, Germany; and Fort Jackson, NC, volunteering at all these locations as Blood Services Chairperson; teaching CPR and First Aid; and/or working in Red Cross Emergency Communications. Additionally, she participated in a study for the reorganization of the Emergency Communications Center at the Central South Carolina–Columbia Chapter of the American Red Cross.

In recognition of her service Joyce received the Red Cross Exceptional Volunteer Award while stationed in both Japan and Germany, and the Clara Barton Meritorious Leadership Award from the Central South Carolina–Columbia Chapter of the American Red Cross.

In 2007, Joyce and her family, which now included children, Anthony and Jessica, moved to West Point. There she serves as a member of the NY Red Cross West Point Leadership committee; helps to coordinate volunteer staffing at all the West Point blood drives, at which she also works and oversees volunteers; teaches Red Cross Volunteer Orientation and Health and Safety Classes; and provides general administrative support.

A Johnsonburg, PA, native, Joyce received a BS Degree in medical technology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her non-Red Cross volunteer service includes serving as Family Support Group Leader for her husband’s units while stationed in Virginia, Georgia, Germany and South Carolina.

At West Point, Joyce gives her time to her children’s schools, volunteering in the classroom and the school nurse’s office, and helping to run book fairs. She also volunteers at the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, where she is a Eucharistic Minister; helps with the Little Flowers Girls Club and with the altar servers; and helps with her son’s baseball team.

Joyce says, “Volunteering for past 14 years has been a wonderful experience. I’ve worked all over the world, and the people are great. That’s one reason I’ve stayed as long as I have. I believe in the Red Cross; everything we do is driven by the heart.”

Joyce Morse from West Point, NY is the recipient of the 2010 Jean MacArthur Volunteer of the Year Award

“This was very meaningful and I felt I could bring something to it.”

Françoise Max came to the NY Red Cross in 2001 as a Holocaust Tracing Services client. Appreciative of the help she received, in 2007 she began volunteering in International Services at the NY Chapter to help those who have experienced similar losses and/or disconnects.

Between September 1939 and the summer of 1943 Françoise Max, an only child, and her parents, French Jews who made their home in Paris, escaped the Nazis by living first in Cannes, France, and in 1943, by hiding out in the tiny French hamlet of Callian. Françoise and her parents returned to Paris in 1945 to take up their lives again, but the rest of her family—her parents’ siblings, her paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother—were not so lucky. Most of them had been living in Krakow, Poland, or in Podgorze, a suburb of Krakow, when Françoise and her parents lost track of them during the war.

The fate of many of her relatives was still a mystery when, in 1952, Françoise, who was then 20 years old, and her parents immigrated to New York City and settled in Manhattan. Françoise soon married and moved to Forest Hills, Queens, and later Great Neck, Long Island, and gave birth to two daughters. When her marriage broke up in 1974, Françoise relocated to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where she still resides. She held jobs in the toy industry, and then at the cosmetics company, L’Oreal, where she started as a secretary and rose to become Director of Public Relations.

Sometime in 2001, Françoise learned about Red Cross International Tracing Services and came to Greater NY Chapter headquarters in Manhattan, seeking to learn the fate of four of her father’s five sisters and their families, as well as of her maternal grandmother and uncle. Françoise had little information about her family to share with the NY Red Cross Tracing Services caseworkers. She knew that before the war, three of her father’s five sisters had been living in Poland, and one in Paris. She also knew that the fifth sister and her daughter, both of whom survived the war, had been deported to Russia, along with the sister’s husband, who was later killed in 1940 in the Katyn Forest massacre, a mass murder of Polish nationals carried out by the Soviet secret police. Sadly, she was also aware that her father’s only brother had been shot in the streets of Krakow, Poland.

In order to move the tracing process forward, Françoise decided to give “supposed” birthdates for family members, based on what she could remember. Tracing is painstaking work, and many years can pass before a case yields information. Almost four years after submitting her paperwork, Françoise received news from American Red Cross Tracing Services that was “very meaningful” to her. A German questionnaire from 1940, used to determine who should be sent to concentration camps, had been found for her maternal grandmother, Hendla Neugasser, and a paternal aunt, Rive. A copy of the questionnaire, which was in the handwriting of her Grandmother Neugasser and Aunt Rive, was mailed to Françoise, and gave her dates of birth for the two women, as well as for Rive’s daughter, Tosha, and for her mother’s brother, Izak. Françoise sent this new information to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., hoping their researchers would be able to discover even more.

By the beginning of 2007, however, she had not heard anything from the museum. It was then that she came to the Chapter to meet with the International Services staff about another paternal aunt, Hela Samuel, who had been living in Paris. Judy Stieglitz, the NY Red Cross tracing services volunteer working on Françoise’s case, believed that Françoise would be an ideal fit as a caseworker and suggested that she come aboard. Françoise readily agreed. “I was looking for volunteer work,” she said. “This was very meaningful and I felt I could bring something to it.” In 2009, she received the Greater NY Chapter’s International Humanitarian Service award, given to a volunteer “whose international work exemplifies or inspires the humanitarian values of human dignity, respect, compassion and the protection and assistance implied in the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.”

After almost a decade of searching for answers, in January, 2010, out of the blue, Françoise received an e-mail from the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Attached was a 1940 photo of a girl of about age 18, in Poland’s Krakow ghetto. Françoise recognized the girl as her cousin Tosha. Although gratified that the photo had been found, Françoise wished they had also found a record of Tosha’s death, or any further information.

However, Françoise derived some comfort from the photo., and was gratified to know that as a volunteer with NY Red Cross International Tracing Services she is able to bring the same feeling of closure to others around the world—including Australia, Indonesia, the Congo, and other countries—by helping them to learn the fate of or to reconnect with loved ones separated or lost by war or natural disaster. “I am glad to be associated with the Red Cross,” she said.

Françoise Max from the Upper East Side of Manhattan