'My organization is still working to save lives in Syria — even though the world looks away' via PostOpinions
Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, search the rubble of a collapsed building following an explosion in the town of Jisr al-Shughur, in the Syrian province of Idlib, on April 24. By Raed Saleh April 30 at 7:31 PM This post has been updated, 8:30 p.m.I recently arrived in Washington to accept the U.S.
Northwest Syria has long been a target of the Syrian regime, first when towns and cities joined countrywide protest movements against the regime, and later after the regime lost control over the area. We found ourselves in the crosshairs of the regime’s air force, and we witnessed the murder of many of our friends and families by the daily barrel bombs and airstrikes that the regime launched to collectively punish civilians.
Many governments have recently cut most of their funding to civil society groups in the area, citing the presence of extremist groups — even though the civilian population, which overwhelmingly opposes such groups, is in desperate need of aid and support. The White Helmets are one of the few organizations still able to operate in the northwest, where we have 2,850 volunteers carrying out lifesaving search and rescue operations.
Our work is not only in search and rescue. Hundreds of thousands of civilians live in displacement camps across northwest Syria where they are vulnerable not just to airstrikes but to extreme weather. Earlier this month, when floods swept through the camps, destroying tents and soaking people’s belongings, White Helmets volunteers came to help people and divert the floodwaters.
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