People of the last hope

The long -suffering Syrian Aleppo received a chance: after two months of intensive bombing, civilians have the opportunity for an unhindered exit from the eastern part of the city for eight humanitarian corridors. According to the Russian military, in recent days, 500 thousand leaflets with explanations of the evacuation procedure were dropped on the city. But there are those who will remain here, in the kingdom of ruins, soundless pain and dumb rage, in any situation, are volunteers from the Syrian organization “White Helmets”. They will continue to look for those who cannot or can never leave. Russian state propaganda does not get tired of suspecting them of a certain “secret mission” in favor of the West and enemies of President Assad. In fact, they simply save human lives

Once, President Bashar Assad was asked whether he supports the initiative with the nomination to the Nobel Prize of the World-2016 non-governmental organization “White Helmets”*. The answer was short: "What did they achieve in Syria?"

This answer did not surprise me - what else to expect from a person who mercilessly bombed his own population over the past five years. But I would still like to tell President Assad, which “white helmets” and activists-volunteers from other rescue groups have achieved in Syria.

They appear first

“White helmets”, or as they are also called more officially, “Syria forces forces” appeared in 2013, when it became clear that the Civil War in Syria was a long time. Three years later, there were already 3 thousand people in organic. To this day, 141 employee of the White Helmets died.

The number of those rescued by them exceeds 60 thousand. Think about it: three thousand were saved by 60. Inspectors, rescuers, ambulance drivers, paramedics and volunteers - all of them appear the first to appear after artillery shelling and bombing ruins and are the latter, they are sure that they will not be able to save anyone else. They are united by an understanding of their mission: they must save all men, women and children who find themselves under the rubble, evacuate the wounded and, if possible, take the bodies of the dead if possible. And the dedication of these people nevertheless deserves the words of approval, not cold contempt, Mr. President.

“It took them three hours to get my daughter out of the rubble. I will never forget their faces, and I will be in debt in front of them all my life "

Against the backdrop of a massacre in Syria, the courage of “white helmets” gives us all a glimpse of hope. But it also makes it possible to understand how dark everyday life is in Syria, what destructive consequences for the civilian population are indistinguishable use by government forces, how serious war crimes are committed in Aleppo and everywhere in the country.

Rescuers work even in the conditions of siege, they lack the main medicines, fuel, equipment. One resident of Aleppo told me how civil self -defense volunteers raked the rubble with their bare hands to save his three -year -old daughter: “The bomb destroyed my house in two seconds, killing my brother. My daughter remained under the rubble. It took three hours to get it out to pull it out. I will never forget their faces, and I will be in debt in front of them all my life, ”he says.

In the performance of their duty, dozens of rescuers, doctors and nurses died. Many - as a result of “double raids”, when a helicopter or military aircraft returns to its first goal and inflicts a second blow to it, under which rescuers arrived and arriving at the place of bombing.

Victims of "double raids"

Hospions, medical offices, escort with humanitarian aid, apparently, are sometimes attacked by government troops purposefully. Amnesty International has found evidence of this in the province of Aleppo. The local doctor told us: “Hospitals should be the safest place in the war zone. They are under the protection of the law. But in Aleppo, the inhabitants of those houses that are closest to hospitals are afraid, as if not to become a target for raids at the same time with hospitals. ”

After the agreement on the ceasefire, not less than five civil self -defense centers in Aleppo, were attacked by the Russian Air Force or Aviation of Russia, ally of the Assad regime, was violated in mid -September. One of the volunteers told me that at least three ambulance vehicles and emergency rescue cars burned out on September 23 as a result of the raid of Syrian aviation. Fortunately, the volunteers worked on blockages in the neighboring area and did not suffer.

Intentional attacks on civilians, hospitals and employees of rescue detachments are egregious military crimes, but their number increases. In Aleppo, for example, as violence escalation, such deadly weapons as incendiary and bunker bombs, cassette ammunition were increasingly used. Only in the period from September 19 to September 30, a group of civil self -defense in this city shot 682 air raids committed by Syrian or Russian Air Force.

Many of the volunteers of the “white helmets” in a past life were completely civilian people: teachers, engineers, farmers. Today they expose their life in danger to save others. Bold and tireless work under fire is a symbol of human resistance, which should inspire us, showing that even in the dark times humanity wins.

* The Nobel Prize of the World 2016 received as a result, Columbia President Juan Manuel Santos.