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== Controversies ==
== Controversies ==

According to investigative journalists and analysts, SCD became a target of a systematic [[information warfare]] campaign by the Russian government, the Syrian government, and their supporters, who have accused the organisation of taking sides in the Syrian Civil War, carrying arms and supporting "terrorist" groups.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20160916-syria-white-helmets-netflix-nobel-peace-prize|title=High praise for Syria's 'White Helmets' – but who are they? |date=2016-09-16|publisher=France 24|language=en-US|access-date=2016-10-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/04/white-helmets-conspiracy-theory/|title=How the White Helmets, Syria's Volunteer First Responders, Became a Conspiracy Theory - WIRED|website=www.wired.com}}</ref><ref name=conversation>{{Cite news|url=http://theconversation.com/who-are-syrias-white-helmets-and-why-are-they-so-controversial-66580|title=Who are Syria's White Helmets, and why are they so controversial?|last=Lucas|first=Scott|newspaper=The Conversation|language=en|access-date=2017-01-24}}</ref><ref name=pulse>{{Cite web|url=https://pulsemedia.org/2016/12/19/russia-and-the-syrian-regime-are-documenting-their-own-crimes/|title=Russia and the Syrian Regime are Documenting Their Own Crimes|last=patrickhilsman|first=Author|date=2016-12-19|website=P U L S E|access-date=2017-01-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/print/decf4548-bf61-4c5a-b638-967f4239eec7/5cead3d2-d555-4bc2-8828-f39227add1ae|title=Print - Assad's allies in the West|website=www.alaraby.co.uk|language=ar|access-date=2017-01-24}}</ref><ref>http://www.publications.atlanticcouncil.org/breakingaleppo/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BreakingAleppo.pdf</ref><ref name="Last Men in Aleppo"/> Claims by contributors to the English language Russian [[RT (TV network)|RT]] television network and [[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik]] news agency have also come under critical scrutiny.<ref name="Solon"/> According to the fact-checking organisation [[Snopes.com]] these accusations against the White Helmets are unfounded.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.snopes.com/syrian-rescue-organization-the-white-helmets-are-terrorists/|title=FACT CHECK: Syrian Rescue Organization 'The White Helmets' Are Terrorists|last=Palma|first=Bethania|newspaper=snopes|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-24}}</ref> Likewise, multiple journalists have raised serious questions as to the credibility and government ties of individuals making accusations against SCD.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-eva-bartletts-claims-about-syrian-children|title=FactCheck: Eva Bartlett's claims about Syrian children|last=Worrall|first=Patrick|newspaper=Channel 4 News|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-01-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/articles/2016/11/30/theres-no-thing-good-fake-publicity-stunts-go-wrong/|title=There's No Such Thing as a Good Fake - When Publicity Stunts Go Wrong - bellingcat|date=2016-11-30|newspaper=bellingcat|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-24}}</ref>


In November 2016, the Revolutionaries of Syria Media Office, a Syrian media organisation, published a video showing two White Helmet volunteers performing a staged rescue operation in the style of the [[Mannequin Challenge]] meme. The organisation apologised for their volunteers' error of judgement and said it had not shared the recording on their official channels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38066791|title=White Helmets backlash after Mannequin Challenge video|date=24 November 2016|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria's White Helmets apologize for Mannequin Challenge video|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/24/middleeast/mannequin-challenge-white-helmets-syria/index.html|agency=CNN|date=24 November 2016}}</ref>
In November 2016, the Revolutionaries of Syria Media Office, a Syrian media organisation, published a video showing two White Helmet volunteers performing a staged rescue operation in the style of the [[Mannequin Challenge]] meme. The organisation apologised for their volunteers' error of judgement and said it had not shared the recording on their official channels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38066791|title=White Helmets backlash after Mannequin Challenge video|date=24 November 2016|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria's White Helmets apologize for Mannequin Challenge video|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/24/middleeast/mannequin-challenge-white-helmets-syria/index.html|agency=CNN|date=24 November 2016}}</ref>

Revision as of 02:26, 21 February 2018

Not to be confused with White Helmets Commission or Syrian Civil Defence Forces.
White Helmets
الدفاع المدني السوري
AbbreviationSCD
Formation2014; 10 years ago (2014)
TypeNonprofit
PurposeCivil defense
Region served
Syrian opposition-controlled areas
Official languages
Syrian Arabic
Head
Raed Saleh
Budget$70 million
Volunteers3,000 (with monthly stipend)
Websitesyriacivildefense.org

The White Helmets (Template:Lang-ar al-Ḫawdh al-bayḍāʾ / al-Qubaʿāt al-Bayḍāʾ), officially known as Syria Civil Defence (SCD; Template:Lang-ar ad-Difāʿ al-Madanī as-Sūrī), is a volunteer organisation that operates in parts of rebel-controlled Syria and in Turkey. The majority of their activity in Syria consists of urban search and rescue in response to bombing, medical evacuation, evacuation of civilians from danger areas, and essential service delivery. 159 White Helmets have been killed since the organisation's inception.

The organisation has been the target of an alleged disinformation campaign by supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia-sponsored media organisations such as Russia Today (RT), with claims of close ties with terrorist activities.[1][2][3][4]

History

The rescue teams that later became Syria Civil Defence emerged during the late 2012 escalation of the Syrian Civil War, as areas no longer under government control came under sustained attack by government forces. In response, in the absence of formal governmental structures, small groups of civilian volunteers from affected communities, particularly in Aleppo and Idlib, assembled to assist civilians injured in bombardment or trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.[5][6] Training, funding and support was provided from international partners, including donations from governments in Western Europe, the US and Japan; the Turkish AKUT Search and Rescue Association; and a variety of NGOs, private individuals, public fundraising campaigns, and charities.[7][8] Primary support and training was provided by Mayday Rescue Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation established by former British Army officer James Le Mesurier, and became a key factor in the development of the organisation.[9][10]

Local and provincial councils joined with Mayday Rescue Foundation and AKUT Search and Rescue Association to create the first training programmes in early 2013. ARK, an international contracting firm based in Istanbul, would facilitate entry of volunteers to Turkey, where they would be trained by AKUT.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Early training courses included trauma care, command and control and crisis management.[18] Over the next two years, the number of independent civil defence teams grew to several dozen as graduates of the early trainings such as Raed Saleh established new centers; the national organisation of SCD was founded on 25 October 2014 at a conference of independent teams.[19]

SCD has grown to be an organisation of over 3,000 volunteers operating from 111 local civil defence centres across 8 provincial directorates (Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Hama, Homs, Damascus, Damascus Countryside, and Daraa). In October 2014, these self-organised teams came together and voted to form one national organisation: Syria Civil Defence. As of January 2017, the SCD claims to have rescued over 80,000 people since they began to keep count in 2014.[7] According to The Economist, approximately one in six SCD have been killed or badly wounded, "many by “double tap” Russian and Syrian airstrikes on the same site as they search for bodies."[7] Seven members were killed in August 2017 in an apparent assassination at their operations centre in Sarmin in Idlib Province.[20]

On 14 December 2016, as the Syrian Armed Forces were recapturing eastern Aleppo, SCD head Raed Saleh requested safe passage of SCD operatives to rebel controlled countryside around Aleppo.[21] Syria Civil Defence joined the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Independent Doctors Association and the Violations Documentation Center to accuse Russian forces of war crimes in eastern Aleppo, jointly submitting a report to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.[22]

Operations

SCD clearing rubble following an attack in Maarat al-Nu'man in November 2014, using a USAID supplied bucket loader

SCD's stated mission is "to save the greatest number of lives in the shortest possible time and to minimize further injury to people and damage to property."[23] Their work covers the 15 civil defence tasks as laid out in international humanitarian law (IHL);[24] the bulk of their activity in Syria consists of urban search and rescue in response to bombing, medical evacuation, evacuation of civilians from danger areas, and essential service delivery.[25]

The most prominent role of SCD was rescuing civilians from airstrikes with barrel bombs, improvised explosive devices dropped by SAAF helicopters. Following a request from Bashar al-Assad for support, Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War on 30 September 2015.[26] Much of the work of SCD has been responding to aerial bombardments by the Russian Air Force attack aircraft.

As well as providing rescue services, SCD undertakes repair works such as securing damaged buildings and reconnecting electrical and water services, clearing roads, teaching children about unexploded ordnance hazards, as well as firefighting and winter storm relief.[27][28][29] Sometimes described as the most dangerous job in the world,[30][8] SCD operations involve risk from a wide variety of war-zone threats. By late 2016, 159 White Helmets had been killed since the organisation's inception.[28]

SCD is not affiliated with the International Civil Defence Organisation, nor is it connected to the Syria Civil Defence forces which have been a member of the ICDO since 1972. However, as the Syrian government's civil defence organisation does not operate in rebel-held areas, and bombardment of civilian populations in Syria is overwhelmingly perpetrated against opposition-held areas by Syrian government forces, SCD is engaged in the civil defence tasks.[31][32][33]

As of 2015, SCD had an annual budget of $30 million provided by a mix of state donors and public fundraising. Volunteers who work full-time receive a $150 monthly stipend.[34]

It has a co-ordination office on the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep[35] and a training centre in Turkey.[36]

There are about 100 female White Helmets.[37][38]

Partnerships and funding

SCD is officially an impartial humanitarian NGO, with no affiliation to any political or military actor and a commitment to render services to anyone in need.[23] Like all NGOs operating in opposition-controlled areas, SCD negotiates humanitarian access with organisations such as local councils, provincial councils, and armed groups, with relationships varying widely from governorate to governorate.[5]

SCD work in close partnership with the Netherlands-based NGO Mayday Rescue Foundation. Mayday Rescue's Program Manager for Syria is Farouq Habib,[39][40] who has also been described as the White Helmets' Head of International Relations.[41] In May 2015 the head of SCD, Raed Saleh, and the head of Mayday Rescue Foundation, James Le Mesurier, met with some United Nations Security Council and European Union diplomats to argue for the enforcement of a no-fly zone over parts of Syria.[42] The case for a no-fly zone was also made at a United Nations General Assembly side meeting in September 2015.[43]

The White Helmets receives charitable funding from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other western governments.[44] Initially the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office was the largest single source of funding through Mayday Rescue Foundation.[45] As of 2016, SCD state they are also partly funded through Chemonics, a U.S. based private international development company.[46] Funders now include the Canadian government Peace and Stabilization Operations Program,[40] the Danish government,[47][48] the German government,[49] the Japan International Cooperation Agency,[12][50] the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[51][52] the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[53] the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)[27] and the United Kingdom Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).[54] USAID have contributed at least $23 million from 2013 to March 2016.[55][56] The British government had provided £15 million of funding between 2012 and November 2015,[57] increased to £32 million by October 2016.[58] The SCD has also received individual donations online to their Hero Fund, which provides treatment for wounded volunteers and supports their families.[59]

Publicity and recognition

SCD is widely cited, quoted, or depicted in regional and international media coverage of the conflict in Syria.[60] Raed Al Saleh, the Director of SCD, has been an outspoken advocate against bombardment of civilians, addressing the United Nations Security Council and other international bodies on a number of occasions.[61][62]

A UK government £5.3 million media activists programme included training Syrian independent journalists and activists, including for reporting of "White Helmets" activities across Twitter and Facebook.[57]

SCD have been the subject of two film. The streaming service Netflix released a documentary film entitled The White Helmets on September 16, 2016 by British director Orlando von Einsiedel and producer Joanna Natasegara.[63] The film won the Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 89th Academy Awards.[64] SCD head Raed Saleh was unable to go to the Oscars ceremony due to escalation of the conflict, despite having a valid visa. Khaled Khateeb, cinematographer of the film, was unable to attend due to a visa problem.[65] Associated Press reported that the United States Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump decided to block Khaled Khateeb at the 11th hour.[66] Released in 2017, Last Men in Aleppo was directed by Syrian director Feras Fayyad in collaboration with Danish film-maker Steven Johannessen and the Aleppo Media Centre; it was the Winner of the Grand Jury Documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017.[67]

SCD was nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize[68] and was a recipient of the 2016 Right Livelihood Award, the "Alternative Nobel Prize".[69]

In 2017, it was awarded the McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award by Refugees International[38][70] and its women volunteers were awarded the Theirworld Hope award by Sarah Jane Brown's children's charity Theirworld.[71] Female SCD volunteer Manal Abazeed, who accepted these awards, was listed by Fortune Magazine among the "World's Most Powerful Women" of 2017[38]

In 2017 Politico listed Khaled Omar Harrah, a notable member in Aleppo, known as the 'child rescuer', as one of the 28 people "shaping, shaking and stirring Europe".[72][73] He was killed in Aleppo in an airstrike in August 2016.[74] Harrah is the main character in Last Men in Aleppo, which was dedicated to him after his death.[75]

Another notable member is Mohammed Abu Kifah, a civil defence team member who rescued another child from beneath the rubble in Idlib.[76][20] Following his death in an apparent assassination on 12 August 2017, aged 25 years old, Kifah's life was celebrated on BBC Radio 4's Last Word.[77]

Controversies

In November 2016, the Revolutionaries of Syria Media Office, a Syrian media organisation, published a video showing two White Helmet volunteers performing a staged rescue operation in the style of the Mannequin Challenge meme. The organisation apologised for their volunteers' error of judgement and said it had not shared the recording on their official channels.[78][79]

In June 2017, a member of the White Helmets was suspended indefinitely after he was discovered to have assisted armed militants in the burial of mutilated corpses of soldiers belonging to pro-government forces.[80]

References

  1. ^ "FACT CHECK: Syrian Rescue Organization 'The White Helmets' Are Terrorists". Snopes. 15 December 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference conversation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference pulse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Solon, Olivia (18 December 2017). "How Syria's White Helmets became victims of an online propaganda machine". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b Aikins, Matthieu. "Whoever Saves a Life — Matter". Medium. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  6. ^ "Volunteers to Save Lives | SCD". syriacivildefense.org. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  7. ^ a b c "The rise of Syria's White Helmets". The Economist. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  8. ^ a b Bryan Schatz (10 December 2014). "The Most Dangerous Job in the World: Syria's Elite Rescue Force". Men's Journal. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  9. ^ Le Mesurier, James. "Our Work". Mayday Rescue. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  10. ^ Jan, Maria (21 August 2015). "Q&A: Syria's White Helmets". Al Jazeera Media Network. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
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  13. ^ "James Le Mesurier". Mayday Rescue. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
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  15. ^ Maria Jan, "Q&A: Syria's White Helmets" Al Jazeera, August 21, 2015
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  22. ^ Michelle Nichols (15 December 2016). "Syria's White Helmets accuse Russia of Aleppo war crimes: letter". Reuters. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
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  47. ^ "The Government launches a new stabilisation support package to Iraq and Syria". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  48. ^ "Denmark donates DKK 20 million to Syria's 'White Helmets'". reliefweb. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  49. ^ "RFQ-160816 Search and Rescue Equipment" (zip/Word). Mayday Rescue. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
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  51. ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Buitenlandse. "Dutch support for Syrian rescue workers". www.government.nl. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
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  53. ^ Sam Sachdeva (26 October 2016). "NZ Fire Service to train Syria's 'White Helmets' civil defence volunteers". stuff. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  54. ^ "2010 to 2015 government policy: peace and stability in the Middle East and North Africa - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  55. ^ Mark C. Toner (27 April 2016). "Daily Press Briefing - April 27, 2016". United States Department of State. Retrieved 22 September 2016. we provide, through USAID, about $23 million in assistance to them
  56. ^ Salhani, Justin (20 April 2016). "U.S. Denies Entry To Syrian Aid Worker Who Came To Receive Humanitarian Award". ThinkProgress.
  57. ^ a b "Providing non-humanitarian assistance in Syria". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  58. ^ "Conflict, Stability and Security Fund". House of Lords Hansard. UK Parliament. 2 November 2016. Column 720. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
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  60. ^ "Google". www.google.com.tr. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
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  63. ^ "Netflix to Unveil Four Original Documentaries at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival". Netflix Media Center. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  64. ^ "2017 Winners and Nominees". Oscars. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  65. ^ Messer, Lesley. "'White Helmets' filmmakers discuss Raed Saleh and Khaled Khateeb's absences". ABCNews. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  66. ^ Klapper, Bradley. "Syrian who worked on nominated film can't attend Oscar". Associated Press. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  67. ^ Charlie Phillips Unflinching film-making … Last Men in Aleppo, Guardian Tuesday 24 January 2017
  68. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize: Who will win this year?". BBC News. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  69. ^ "Here's The Story Of 'White Helmets' Who Are Saving Innocent Civilians In War-Torn Syria". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
  70. ^ Ari Shapiro [https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/525764713/female-syrian-white-helmets-honoree-had-no-hesitation-to-join Female Syrian White Helmets Honoree Had No Hesitation To Join, NPR, April 26, 2017
  71. ^ Female White Helmets from Syria and Afghan footballer receive Theirworld awards, Theirworld, 7 March 2017
  72. ^ "Khaled Omar Harrah: The First Responder". Politico.
  73. ^ "Magazin wählt Petry und Erdogan zu den 'Denkern und Machern 2017'". Rheinische Post (in German). 7 December 2016.
  74. ^ Tahhan, Zena (August 19, 2016). "White Helmet: We called Khaled the 'child rescuer'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  75. ^ Matthew Carey ‘Last Men in Aleppo’ Director Firas Fayyad: Russian Disinformation Campaign Distorts Image Of Syrian White Helmets, Deadline, November 13, 2017 12:26pm
  76. ^ "Civil defense volunteer bursts into tears after rescuing a baby girl in Idlib". Orient News. September 30, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  77. ^ Presenter: Kate Silverton; Interviewed Guest: Moaz Al Shami (25 August 2017). "Abu Kifah, Sir Bruce Forsyth, Brian Aldiss, Blanche Blackwell, Jerry Lewis". Last Word. 1:10 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  78. ^ "White Helmets backlash after Mannequin Challenge video". 24 November 2016.
  79. ^ "Syria's White Helmets apologize for Mannequin Challenge video". CNN. 24 November 2016.
  80. ^ "Renown White Helmets fire member for dumping dead soldiers in Syria". 22 June 2017.
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