When disaster strikes war-torn Syria, a group of ordinary Syrians don their trademark white helmets and rush in to save lives. A volunteer organization that helps rescue people from places of war and earthquakes, they first became famous in the Syrian civil war
Volunteers of the “White Helmets” organization Syria’s civil defense organization, better known as the “White Helmets”, consists of approximately 3,000 volunteers who “come from all walks of life”, including bakers, tailors, pharmacists, firefighters and engineers, according to the organization’s website. They are free and unarmed volunteers, they risk their lives to help “in all the areas” in Syria that they “can access”, the organization says.
The White Helmets recently drew attention for their incredible response in rebel-held areas of northwest Syria after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the region on February 6, with the epicenter just over the border in southeast Turkey. The earthquake and its powerful aftershocks toppled thousands of buildings in both countries, killing more than 12,500 people, according to Turkish and Syrian officials.
The White Helmets organized as a volunteer team during the earlier years of Syria’s ongoing civil war, which began as a peaceful revolution in the southern city of Daraa in 2011, before turning into full-scale conflict by 2012. When the Syrian regime and its allies began bombing civilian targets in opposition-held areas, the White Helmets responded by rescuing people. from the ruins and assistance in rebuilding their homes. The organization says it has saved more than 125,000 lives “on all sides of the conflict.”
Initially, the volunteers had limited experience and equipment, and often dug “with only their bare hands,” the organization says. In 2013, some volunteers traveled to neighboring Turkey for their first professional training in urban search and rescue. Additional and more advanced training over the years allowed the White Helmets to develop expertise in the use of heavy tools, and to form special teams.
In addition to search and rescue missions and neighborhood reconstruction, the White Helmets volunteers say they are now providing “a range of essential services” to more than 4 million civilians across northwest Syria. These services include firefighting, medical care, electrical grid repair, sewer maintenance, unexploded ordnance removal, clearing debris from roads, as well as educating communities and preparing them for future attacks, according to the organization’s website.
The White Helmets operate only in rebel-held areas of Syria, although the organization defines itself as non-political. The volunteers commit to the principles of “humanity, solidarity, impartiality”, as described in international humanitarian law. The organization’s motto comes from an often-quoted verse in the Koran: “To save a life is to save the whole of humanity” (quite similar to the Jewish saying “everyone who saves a soul” etc.) Their work earned them a 2016 international prize, often described as the “alternative Nobel.”
Many volunteers paid with their lives, at least 300 were killed while saving others, according to the organization’s website. “We aimed to do this work as an independent, impartial organization that did not pledge allegiance to any side in the conflict. We agreed to run this organization democratically with elected leadership. We signed a charter of principles, and the Syrian Civil Defense was created on October 24, 2014.” According to the organization’s website.
The White Helmets volunteers
Photo: White Helmets
The White Helmets volunteers
Photo: White Helmets
The White Helmets volunteers
Photo: White Helmets
The White Helmets volunteers
Photo: White Helmets
The White Helmets volunteers
Photo: White Helmets
The White Helmets volunteers
Photo: White Helmets