ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The White Helmets, the Syria Civil Defence volunteers saving lives on the frontlines, have come into the world spotlight following the murder of British MP Jo Cox who repeatedly pushed the UK government to demand an end to targeting civilians in the Syrian civil war. The White Helmets are one of the beneficiaries of a fundraising campaign launched in Cox’s honor.
Numbering nearly 3,000, the White Helmets work in rebel-held areas of Syria where there are no services like ambulances, fire trucks, or crews to dig through the rubble after an airstrike, pulling out survivors and victims.
“We are neutral, impartial and humanitarian. We do not pledge allegiance to any political party or group. We serve all the people of Syria – we are from the people and for the people,” they declare on their website.
Cox’s family and friends started a fundraising campaign in her honor, naming three beneficiaries, all causes she championed.
The campaign quotes her husband, Brendan Cox. “Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.”
Jo Cox was killed on June 16. The accused, Thomas Mair, appeared in court on Thursday and will go on trial in November. The case will be dealt with as a terrorist trial.
The campaign has raised over £1.3 million ($1.9 million) since launching six days ago.
The head of the White Helmets, Raed al-Saleh, travelled to the UK to join in tributes to Cox. He laid roses and a white helmet at a tribute in London’s Trafalgar Square on Wednesday.
“In Syria there is a saying that says, ‘A friend is the friend who is there during hard times.’ And for the White Helmets, Jo Cox was one of the friends who truly stood with us,” Saleh said in an online video tribute.
Noting the grief his organization has faced each time they lost a volunteer, Saleh had words of encouragement for Cox’s family. “[D]on’t allow those who killed her to think they’ve won, that they’ve triumphed over Jo Cox’s cause. I hope they remain strong, and carry on her messages and humanitarian legacy. We see the White Helmet as a symbol of peace in Syria. And we are giving a White Helmet to Jo Cox, a true champion of world peace.”
The White Helmets have been accused of being connected with Jabhat al-Nusra, al Qaeda’s Syrian branch. The accusations appear to have arisen after the White Helmets collected the body of a person who had been executed in May 2015. Footage of the incident was published on YouTube.
The White Helmets vehemently denied that they are associated with any group and issued a statement detailing that they were the only organization in the area of the execution that could collect a body and arrange burial. They maintain that they acted under international humanitarian law in burying the deceased and they condemn the killings of civilians, “no matter who the perpetrator.”
One hundred and twenty White Helmet volunteers have lost their lives in the past three years. Many more have been injured but remain dedicated to their cause. Mustafa, a White Helmet who lost his hand, said, “Don’t think if you take my hand I will stop rescuing. I have another one.”
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