Volunteers risk their lives to save fellow citizens, no matter who they areThe White Helmets are a group of Syrians from every walk of life—engineers, pharmacists, carpenters, bakers, tailors, painters, and students—who volunteer to save people on all sides of the conflict there. With no infrastructure anymore to help people who are hurt in the fighting, and often trapped in rubble, the rescue volunteers pledge three things: humanity, solidarity, impartiality.
Part of the International Civil Defence Organisation, the White Helmets mainly deal with the aftermath of government air attacks, but also risk sniper fire to rescue bodies of regime soldiers to give them a proper burial. They rush to the scenes of barrel bomb and missile strikes and dig for survivors using tools and their bare hands. Many have paid the ultimate price for their service—according to their web site, 81 have been killed in the line of duty. The spirit of these volunteers is reflected in this quote by a White Helmet named Abel, "When I want to save someone’s life I don’t care if he’s an enemy or a friend. What concerns me is the soul that might die."
