The International Federation has expressed its sadness at the death of Vatche Arslanian, a much-respected International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate shot dead in Baghdad on Tuesday, and extended its “profound sympathy” to the Canadian's family, friends and colleagues.
“From those that knew him, Vatche Arslanian was a selfless man, who in his everyday work made practical yet life-saving contributions to those in need,” the Federation’s Secretary General, Didier Cherpitel, said in a letter to ICRC Director General Angelo Gnaedinger. “He was best known for his energy and optimism by his Iraqi colleagues, for whom he had great respect as fellow professionals and humanitarians. Indeed, he was an exemplary representative of our Movement.”
Arslanian’s ICRC colleagues recovered his body on Wednesday and took it to Baghdad’s Ibn Nafis hospital. He had been shot on the previous afternoon.
Seven vehicles, including two in which Arslanian and other ICRC staff members were travelling, were caught in crossfire. Arslanian died instantly. A total of 13 people are reported to have been killed in the same incident.
The ICRC vehicles were clearly marked with large red crosses visible from a distance.
“Each time we lose one of our own, the impact on us all is dramatic and widely evident. At such dark moments we are reminded of the criticality of redoubling our efforts in disseminating who we are, what we do and by what principles we act,” Cherpitel said.
The sentiment was echoed by Robert Barnes, President of the Canadian Red Cross. “It is a sad testament to war that its casualties are all too often people like Mr. Arslanian, whose sole purpose for being in harm’s way is to bring humanitarian relief to victims. We need to remember him proudly for his sacrifice.”
Arslanian, 48, from Oromocto in New Brunswick, had been working as a senior logistician with the ICRC in Iraq since July 2001.
He was one of six ICRC expatriates who decided to stay in Baghdad and work alongside their local colleagues during the worst of the fighting, a courageous decision that “made a marked difference to the lives of thousands of people,” according to Balthasar Staehelin, the ICRC's Delegate-General for the Middle East and North Africa. “We can find some solace in knowing that he helped to make that difference," he said.
The ICRC team in Baghdad are holding a day of mourning on Thursday.
In his work in Iraq, Arslanian played a key role in efforts to deliver urgently needed supplies, in particular to hospitals and water treatment plants.
Speaking in January, he described his work as “challenging and rewarding”.
“Helping to bring a smile and dignity to a fellow human being is deeply fulfilling. It is the best reward that one can have,” he said.
Arslanian, a former town councillor, became a Canadian Red Cross volunteer in 1991. His first overseas mission with the ICRC, also as a senior logistician, was in Georgia in 2000, when he was on loan from the Canadian Red Cross.
Related links:
ICRC
Iraq: humanitarian crisis
Canadian Red Cross