TV presentation of the “One Hundred Years of Humanity” book (photos, video in Armenian)

Founded in 1920, the Armenian Red Cross Society has grown from a small organization into a strong and stable humanitarian organization. Newmag presents how the organization was founded, how it worked during various crises and overcame social and health challenges. The author of the book is Gohar Manukyan.  “Even 100 years ago the organization stood next to the Armenian nation. Initially, the book should have included 4 chapters. However, after the coronavirus pandemic and the 44-day war, other chapters were included. In fact, this means that the organization never stops working. The book pages would still be added, if it wasn’t published.”

With the help of the Red Cross, the author found and collected archival materials and photographs from individuals, archives and museums. The editor of the book Gnel Nalbandyan assures that although the book is documentary, full of facts and figures, the style of the book is not reportable and archival. “Many things are common with our reality. For instance, the distrust toward vaccination. In the 1920s and 1930s, Red Cross volunteers traveled to discover infectious diseases that people were ashamed to talk about. The epidemics were spreading, women did not confess, thinking that it was a shame to go to the doctor.”

  

The special celebrations and events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the organization were canceled. The pandemic started to spread in the spring. The humanitarian organization immediately mobilized forces in the direction of the coronavirus. The 44-day war began in the fall. Another difficult area where the Red Cross had an immense role and assistance. 

Since its foundation in 1920, the organization has been by the side of the most vulnerable people with humanitarian programs and its volunteers, alleviating human suffering and helping those in need, claims the head of Information and dissemination department of the Armenian Red Cross Nune Grigoryan. “We came up with the idea of this book on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the organization. We decided to summarize all the work that the Armenian Red Cross had done. We made a documentary film, then published the book. Both Covid-19 and the war changed our plans for celebration, but during this time two more chapters were added.”

An organization that has been spreading uninterrupted humanity in the world for 100 years. In the book "One Hundred Years of Humanity" by Newmag, the author showcases all the humanitarian work of the Red Cross a century ago and nowadays, filled with numbers, facts, photos and human stories.