Alain Jossi was born on 22 December 1948 in Vevey, Switzerland. After completing his compulsory schooling in 1964, he split his time for four years between Vevey, where he did an apprenticeship as a draftsman – earning his Swiss professional certification at the same time – and Lausanne, where he completed high school with a focus on technical subjects. After one year at Lausanne’s polytechnic university, Alain switched to the University of Lausanne. He earned certificates in maths, geophysics and physics on his way to graduating in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in science. In his free time, he enjoyed chess, reading (Russian novels in particular), hiking and occasional rock climbing.
In 1977 Alain began his career teaching maths and physics in middle schools. After two years he moved to the upper high school level, teaching in Lausanne until the summer of 1982. That was when he went to the United States with the aim of orienting his career towards computers. Unable to obtain working papers, he headed home, albeit in a roundabout way – through Asia. When he finally found his way back to Switzerland in the spring of 1983, Alain was uninterested in resuming his teaching career.
Having met an ICRC delegate while abroad, Alain applied for a position in July 1983. He was successful and, for his first assignment, was posted to the ICRC subdelegation in Saida, Lebanon, in mid-November 1983. For around six months, he was engaged mostly in assistance work – his supervisor enthusiastically noted that he was born to be a relief delegate. Alain was also highly appreciated by his colleagues, who considered him youthful and spirited and enjoyed his philosophical ruminations on peace.
In his next assignment, Alain was well-served by his love for order and organization, a trait that became apparent during his ICRC training back in October 1983. He reached Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in mid-June 1984, and his main task there was to set up the ICRC’s logistics base in Dessie, north-east of the capital. After a job well done, Alain turned his attention to checking inventories among the ICRC’s relief supplies arriving via the port city of Assab.
On 28 October 1984 Alain was driving from Dessie to Assab on an unpaved road, accompanied by an Ethiopian Red Cross Society field officer. At around 10:30am, near the town of Mile, while passing a slow-moving truck in a cloud of dust, the ICRC vehicle ran headlong into an oncoming truck. Alain was killed on the spot, while his passenger suffered relatively minor injuries. Alain was 35 years old.
Alain’s worldview had been shaken by the wars and political upheaval he learned about during his early travels. Yet he remained convinced that people could live in peace – and he devoted himself to that goal.
