Red Crescent’s 155 Years of Adventure

It is possible to summarize the 155-year journey of Kızılay with these few sentences. However, how closely he knows one of the most valuable and vital institutions of our country; The better we understand and remember its main purpose, so many lives will be saved.

For this reason, going on a short journey and giving life to millions of people. The story of Kızılay from past to present we’ll take a look.

As the calendars showed June 11, 1868, the “Ottoman Aid Society for Wounded and Sick Soldiers” was founded by three physicians and a high-ranking soldier;

The Red Crescent was first established in Geneva in 1863 by Henry Dunant andInternational Committee for Assistance to the Wounded‘, which started with the name International Committee of the Red Cross part of the organization named after him. This committee is a formation that gathers around seven basic principles and continues to exist all over the world today.

The seven basic principles are:

• Humanity
• non-discrimination
• Impartiality
• Independence
• Charitable nature
• Unity
• Universality

in 1864 12 states signed the Geneva Convention to the committee of which he became a part The Ottoman Empire joined in 1865.. The States that have signed the Convention are obliged to provide medical assistance to soldiers injured or sick during a possible war in their own country, regardless of party. He agreed to form associations. In this direction, the Ottoman Aid Society for Wounded and Sick Soldiers was established in 1868 in the Ottoman Empire.

The Red Crescent, which set out to help soldiers injured or sick on the battlefield without discrimination, In 1877, the Ottoman Red Crescent Society‘renamed and took an active part in the 93 War between the Ottoman Empire and Russia in 1877-78.

Ottoman Red Crescent Society did not want to use a ‘red cross’ as an emblem. During the 93 War, the Red Crescent emblem was used for the first time;

Stating that they did not want to use the red cross symbol on ambulances and aid materials during the war, the Ottoman Empire informed Switzerland. that they will use the red moon symbol reported.

This change, which was accepted temporarily during the war, was accepted as permanent in 1907. The official recognition of the red crescent symbol in 1929 took place.

The proclamation of the Constitutional Monarchy expanded the field of activity of the Red Crescent Society;

The proclamation of the Constitutional Monarchy in the Ottoman Empire enlarged the field of work and the support received by the Red Crescent Society. In this process, the Red Crescent Society, to support the public in events such as fire and famine. had begun. Over time, these steps enabled the Red Crescent to take part in all natural disasters and disasters.

II. After the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy, women were also included in the process. First, the wives of high-level state officials became members of the Red Crescent Society, then steps were taken such as providing nursing courses so that women could help behind the fronts and to the civilian population. In this process Red Crescent Society Women’s Delegation Center was established.

World War I witnessed critical developments for the Red Crescent and Red Cross associations;

When the World War broke out, this situation caused both the change and expansion of the mandate of the International Commission of the Red Cross. Now this voluntary committee and its international associations are concerned with the plight of wounded and sick soldiers, as well as prisoners of war. with civilians affected by the war became interested.

In addition, the events during the First World War showed the importance of the Red Crescent and Red Cross associations working together and being able to coordinate. For this reason, in 1919 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was established.

While the influence of the Ottoman Red Crescent Society was growing during the National Struggle, there were also those who wanted to close the society and end its activities;

During the years of the National Struggle, the Red Crescent Society was all over the country. provided support to war-affected soldiers and civilians. However The Istanbul Government and the Allied Powers tried to close the society that was active in the war.. In this process, raids were carried out on the centers of the society and the places they served, and their activities were tried to be prevented.

After the assembly was established in Ankara on April 23, 1920, the society began to manage all its processes from Ankara. In the ongoing process, the Red Crescent Society both Istanbul-Ankara separation and division of resources, and experienced great difficulties due to the occupation of most of Anatolia.

The number of delegations to deal with the difficulties also increased during this period. Delegations of doctors, civil servants and caregivers, They opened restaurants and dispensaries. They supported hospitals. ring so that it can return to production as soon as possible. plow, plow, pick, shovel, corn with seed wheat and also, they distributed tents.

After the proclamation of the Republic, the Ottoman Red Crescent Society turned into the Turkish Red Crescent Society.

The society, which was appreciated for its work during the National Struggle period, continued to receive support after the proclamation of the republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, emphasizing the importance of being a member of the society gave speeches; He invited all members of the army to become members of the society.

The support of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to the society, whose number of members was increasing rapidly, also encouraged the society, and the society sought support from the Ministry of National Education, seeking new methods to increase the number of members and increase support. Thus, over the years, the society spread all over the country, It has gained thousands of members.

One of Atatürk’s important contributions to the Turkish Red Crescent Society was the steps he took to promote gender equality;

With the encouragement of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, to promote gender equality An important step has been taken. The Red Crescent Society Women’s Organization was abolished and it was decided to transfer its cash and assets to the men’s branches.

Women will not be part of a separate organization; Three women will be elected to the provincial custody committees and Men and women would have a say in the process together.. In this respect, the Red Crescent Society assumed a social responsibility and took pioneering steps in promoting gender equality in the Republic of Turkey.

The Red Crescent became a prominent institution in the efforts to simplify the Turkish language;

Accordingly, the name of the society was changed to the Turkish Red Crescent Society on April 28, 1935. Then, on September 22, 1947, it was updated again as the Turkish Red Crescent Society.

Since its establishment, the Red Crescent has continuously developed its fields of activity and supported people in need all over the world;

Working on a voluntary basis and in the status of an association, Kızılay started to operate in many areas such as disaster management, blood services, international aid, first aid and health services. Both in Turkey and all over the world with disasters such as hunger, poverty, war He continued to support everyone struggling.

Having served as an association for 150 years, Kızılay was split into 11 different companies with Kızılay Investment Holding in 2019;

These companies;

• Red Crescent Beverage
• Red Crescent Impact Investment
• Red Crescent Biomedical
• Red Crescent Technology
• Kizilay Portfolio
• Kizilay Healthcare
• Red Crescent Tent and Textile
• Red Crescent Culture and Art
• Red Crescent System Structure
• Red Crescent Maintenance
• Red Crescent Logistics

In the incorporation processthose who criticize it and ask questions about why the institution was corporatized The common answer is “Being in a vicious circle in terms of development and not having the opportunity to add value” shown as…

Red Crescent President Kerem Kınık made a statement regarding the criticism.The Red Crescent has carried out economic activities since the day it was founded and ensured its financial sustainability with the revenues it obtained. Until 2018, this was the economic establishment of our association within the framework of the Turkish Associations Law. In other words, it was maintained in a structure that was not subject to the Turkish Commercial Code, but was subject to the law of associations. Then, our companies and streams made investments, grew, opened factories, established new locations. This is no longer auditable with association economic enterprises, which are framed in the legislation, such as small associations operating small local clubs. We applied to our state, We said that we want to enter the CMB audit.We want to act in accordance with the Turkish Commercial Code, we want to transform them into capital companies, we want to make the structure more transparent, more professional and more manageable.” while these statements were not enough to stop the criticisms…

In this process, senior management staff and CEOs were appointed to each of the companies. The high salaries and ‘retirement benefits’ of management staff have often been controversial. Finally, what happened after the earthquake disaster we experienced on 6 February caused Kızılay to become the focus of criticism.

When it was established, its purpose of existence was “non-profit, assistance and services and a public interest voluntary social service organization“The institution has now been transformed into an institution that sells tents to associations in the worst earthquake disaster in the history of the country…

As the discussions continued, some former executives who parted ways with Kızılay made various statements;

In a news broadcast by the BBC, the answers from former Red Crescent executives are quite remarkable. The first of the prominent items is that the processes that could be managed with a much smaller management team became manageable by dividing them into dozens of directors, managers and CEOs with the incorporation of Kızılay. In this situation, Kızılay It means giving the resources that should be allocated to the needy as a salary…

Also, according to the responses, it is much more difficult to monitor the Red Crescent’s money management in a transparent manner due to this new complex network of companies. Red Crescent was subject to strict control by both the Ministry of Interior and the Associations Desk before incorporation.However, it is said that with the incorporation, the holding part of Kızılay and the companies are out of these audits.

Again, before the Red Crescent was incorporated, all immovable properties were considered state property and could never be sold; however More than half of these immovables were sold after incorporation. is also claimed.

Ruben Cano Revillas, Head of the Turkish Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) It is common practice to establish companies for the continuity of humanitarian aid. says…

Again…

After all the discussions Kızılay suffered a serious loss of image and faced backlash. Although the reactions and criticisms touch on critical points, this situation thousands of people waiting for blood in hospitalsIt also affects those in need and our people who will be harmed in another possible national disaster.

Therefore, while asking questionsespecially in recent to Kızılay, which is at risk of running out of blood stocks. It is also very important that we donate blood… If you want to donate blood to the Red Crescent, you can take a look at our content below to examine the necessary conditions.

Sources: Turkish Red Crescent, Atatürk Encyclopedia, From the Red Crescent to the Red Crescent, Red Crescent History Document and Archive Management Directorate