As the death toll continues to rise from the earthquake in Syria and Turkey this week that has so far claimed more than 20,000 lives, aid workers are racing against the clock — and the bitter cold — to pull bodies from the rubble.
While international organizations work to bring supplies and manpower to the disaster-stricken regions, local aid groups are steering much of the effort on the ground. In war-torn Syria, the earthquake has put a massive strain on localities already dealing with the effects of conflict.
The White Helmets, a humanitarian collective and civil aid organization has deployed thousands of volunteers to search for life after the violent earthquake and its tremors. This is their story.
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Who are the White Helmets?
Syria Civil Defense, known popularly as the White Helmets for the protective gear they don during disasters, rushed into action following the earthquake.
A humanitarian group which drafts ordinary citizens to help in times of crisis, the White Helmets operate in rebel-occupied Northwestern Syria. Over the past 10 years, Syria has endured a brutally fought civil war, forcing refugees over the borders of nearby nations and claiming countless lives.
Despite a series of ceasefires, Syria remains a country very much divided, with rebels controlling parts of the nation, and the Syrian regime, headed by President Bashar Assad, controlling others.
The White Helmets have provided humanitarian aid in rebel-occupied territory since 2014. Aimed at filling the gap where public services used to be, their website describes members as former bakers, tailors, engineers, pharmacists, painters, carpenters, and students.
What do the White Helmets do?
While their work is most often spotlighted in times of tragedy, throughout the year the White Helmets work to fix electrical grids, maintain sewage systems, clear rubble from roads, remove unexploded weapons, and educate communities about disaster preparedness.
The White Helmets state their values include a commitment to save people on either side of the conflict. Their professed neutrality is seen by the Syrian regime and its allies in Russia and Iran as disingenuous, however. They cast group members as instruments of rebel propaganda and criticized a move in 2018 by the U.S. and Israel to evacuate White Helmet members as Assad’s forces advanced.
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The White Helmets rescue efforts
The White Helmets report that they have mobilized 3,000 volunteers to help sift through the rubble and search for survivors and have requested donations to support their on the ground efforts.
The donations, the website says, will be used to purchase more equipment for rescue workers and source fuel so survivors can be transported to medical facilities.
While they are experienced in responding to disaster, this week’s earthquake presents what the White Helmets call a “herculean task.” A number of hospitals were destroyed by the earthquake and in an area where health infrastructure was already buckling under the pressure of the war, getting survivors proper medical care is proving challenging.
Footage posted to social media shows volunteer workers digging through broken concrete to find trapped children, and bent with their ears to the rubble, hoping to hear a human voice.
“After 50 hours of work, we pulled out a man and little girl alive,” said Abada Zikri, a member of the White Helmets in Harem, a town with about 20,000 people in Syria’s Idlib province.
How to donate to the White Helmets
The White Helmets have put out a call for donations amid their continued rescue efforts.
“Please stand with the people of Syria and the first responders and give what you can now to help the people impacted by this disaster,” their website reads.
You can donate directly on their website, or on a separate GoFundMe started by the head of the organization Raed Al Saleh.
Live updates:Earthquake death toll over 19,300; Turkey evacuates thousands; UN aid reaches Syria
USA TODAY
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