Jersey’s transformation from a wartime aid recipient to a respected international donor has been praised by a senior British Red Cross official who visited the island this week to mark Liberation Day.
David Peppiatt, Special Representative for International Operations at the British Red Cross, spoke at the Liberation Day ceremony yesterday.
During his time on the island, he also took part in a panel discussion featuring the Director of Jersey Overseas Aid and the Swiss Deputy Ambassador.
Here, Mr Peppiatt reflected on Jersey’s humanitarian legacy and discussed the importance of the SS Vega – a Red Cross vessel that brought food, medical supplies, and other relief during the final stages of the Occupation.
This moment, he said, marked the beginning of a relationship between Jersey and the Red Cross that has lasted eight decades.
Mr Peppiatt told Express: “I think it’s really powerful to reflect on the fact that in 1945, Jersey was receiving aid.
“And just a year later, the island raised £125,000 for the British Red Cross to show their gratitude for the aid they had received.
“This would have been millions of pounds in today’s money and came at a time when people were not wealthy.”
He went on to describe Jersey’s role in global aid as “agile,” “generous,” and increasingly vital at a time of growing international need coupled with shrinking funding.
“There is a real risk that we live in a world where people may become increasingly indifferent to the suffering of other people in other places,” the aid worker said.
“We live in a really messy world where there are huge amounts of human suffering.
“At the heart of the mission of the Red Cross is to provide to alleviate suffering in times of real crisis, and that is driven by humanity and impartiality, and those values of compassion and kindness.”
Mr Peppiatt added: “I find that really inspiring in terms of Jersey’s commitment, and I just hope that that is an example to other places and other people, because I think we’re there is a real risk that we’re at a time where nations are becoming very protectionist.”
You can read a fuller interview with Mr Peppiatt in Saturday’s JEP…