Red Cross man's tales from the front line

Pierre Ryter has a surprising way of describing his days in the world's hot spots

Pierre Ryter has spent much of the past 30 years working in some of the most dangerous places on Earth. Ryter, 56, now is living a more peaceful life in Beijing, using his experience to teach how to abide by humanitarian norms in a dangerous world.

Ryter has been head of the East Asia regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross since the end of last year, after having served the organization in hot spots such as Afghanistan, Cote d'Ivoire, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and half a dozen other countries since 1984.

His first posting was in Iraq during its war with Iran, a war that lasted nearly eight years. He was then sent to Lebanon during its civil war, which lasted until 1990, then Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, and in the past 10 years in countries not at war but influential in international affairs, such as Turkey, Iran and China.

Surprisingly, when he reminisces about life in war zones he talks of "the good old days".

"It was exciting. I was often caught up in crossfire and explosions, but I was not targeted, so I didn't really feel threatened."

Nevertheless, he did have hairy moments. In Lebanon in 1985, he says, he was ordered, at the barrel of a gun, to get into the boot of a car. He eventually managed to convince the gunman that he was a Red Cross representative, and he was allowed to go.

His outlook on such incidents may be colored by the fact that at the time he was relatively young, "but when you have a family, it's a nightmare," he says.

Ryter lived in Cote d'Ivoire from 2002 to 2005, and just two weeks after his wife and two young children arrived in the country's biggest city, Abidjan, war broke out in the area. They were evacuated to Geneva, where ICRC headquarters are located, and which is Ryter's hometown.

This is not the only drama Ryter experienced during his career. Over the past 26 years, his wife - a Thai citizen who has always traveled with him - has been evacuated four times, and his two children two times.

He describes his duties in Beijing as "diplomatic work", promoting international humanitarian law to the Chinese Red Cross, the army, universities and others.

As more Chinese companies have gone global in recent years, ICRC China has also begun organizing lectures for those planning to set up operations in war-torn areas such as South Sudan.

"In these places, the political situation can change rapidly. One day the authorities may demand that everyone wear a hat, and the next day, following a coup, the new authorities ban hats. That's a metaphor, but the important thing is that people and businesses know what to do if they are faced with such sudden changes."

Ryter, after decades of exposure to different cultures and to different conflicts, says the causes for each are as numerous as the conflicts themselves.

"Throughout Chinese history there has always been an authority, and people have accepted it. It's similar in Africa, but their authority is the tribal chief, rather than the concept of the nation that colonists have imposed on them.

"A feeling of national identity is not as strong as in other parts of the world, and when outside interests encroach, conflicts arise."

One principle of the ICRC's work is to remain neutral and not to pass judgment, Ryter says.

"We are not peace activists; we know it is impossible to stop war completely. But we want to ensure that the fewest possible civilians are hurt, and that each side is treated with humanity."

Every year the ICRC sends people to front lines to gather information that will be later collated for use by the organization.

"We use first-hand information gathered at the grassroots level. We don't use government reports, because if two sides are in conflict, they will only be putting their side of the case, so their reports will be distorted."

Notwithstanding that China is "generally very peaceful", it is not immune to war and conflict, he says, citing territorial disputes with neighbors and terrorist attacks.

The perception of war differs markedly between older and younger generations, he says. Younger people think China is immune to war, but many older Chinese live with the trauma of Japanese invasion and occupation of the 1930s and 1940s. This is often expressed in resentment toward Japanese and the country's products, he says.

"It also proves that when people go through serious violation, if there is no healing process the trauma remains."

The ICRC has launched the Exploring Humanitarian Law program in China, in which people are taught to take the humanitarian perspective and learn tolerance and understanding.

"It surprised me that Chinese people are very willing to accept humanitarian laws, perhaps because there are 'harmony' and 'middle way' teachings in traditional Chinese culture."

Ryter says he has no idea where his next posting will be, and he does not want to know. It is unpredictability that makes life exciting, he says. "We used to be like soldiers, and took orders on where to head for next."

But now the ICRC advertises posts so people can choose where they want to go and apply accordingly, something Ryter dislikes.

"For places such as Khartoum (the second-largest city in Sudan), my wife would not have agreed to go if she had had to consider safety and our children's education. But when we were there it was paradise for the children."

They were there from 1996 to 1999, he says, and his two sons had a wonderful time. In jungles near the city, locals often told them ancient stories, monkeys would visit front yards to beg for food, and the first treat when they woke every day was the chirping of birds.

The eldest son liked pythons, so Ryter bought one from a market and spent $500 on building a huge cage.

"The python ate live chickens every month, but the younger boy was afraid of birds, so once a month when it was time for the python to eat, the younger son screamed, even as the older one was in fits of laughter."

Some neighbors raised even more novel pets: two lion cubs. "They were adorable when they were cubs, but soon they grew bigger and ate huge chunks of meat every day."

Eventually, both the lions and pythons were donated to the local zoo.

wangchao@chinadaily.com.cn