The saying ’Shoot the Red Cross’ means to attack the best and most vulnerable people in the world. But is this the case? The Red Cross is not at all a humanitarian organization. It is, on the contrary, a paramilitary institution which has been backing the State wars for one hundred years. The Red Cross is supposed to appease the terriblre suffering brought about by military operations without ever denouncing the latter. This is the other face of militarism, the one which gives credibility to all the lies used to justify bombardment and massacres. In a context of war, the Red Cross must discourage any attempt of rebellion against the occupation troops. Moreover, this ’charitble’ organization must take over the question of the survivors, the homeless, the refugees...under the control of army and police.
In Italy the Red Cross is responsible for the management of a number of CPT (’temporary stay centres’), the detention camps for immigrants. These are actually concentration camps for people guilty of being poor and without the right papers. CPT are not simply prisons, they are true concentration camps where foreigners are locked up waiting to be deported. When the inmates attempts a protest breaking the passivity of captivity, the Red Cross deliver them to police’s beating and abuses. The hypocrisy of humanitarianism turns into the brutality of repression.
The Red Cross, careless about the destiny of the immigrants deported to their countries of origin, keeps on its work of collaboration –in the name of ’humanity, neutrality, impartiality, independence, voluntary work, unity and universality’, as stated in its constitution.
After all, if war is a ’humanitarian operation’ and concentration camps are ’welcome centres’, why should not the Red Cross be a ’charitable organization’. From the Iraqi resistence to the struggle against the CPT, however, this veil of hypocrisy is being ripped open. The murderers’s uniform is more and more visible under the white coat...
A few enemies of all borders