For the past five years, Syria has been suffering. With millions of people displaced from their homes and over 400,000 people dead, many believe that there is no hope left. When watching the news, it seems almost as if it will never end. An ongoing battle that has become a norm to us. Seeing the bombings, hearing the stories of children stuck under rubble for 16+ hours, hearing of all the innocent lives that have been lost in the past five years can cause a person to feel desolate and lost, but not for the White Helmets.
As everyone knows, every month Netflix adds a ton of new movies and television shows. This month, one of those movies was The White Helmets. It's a documentary focusing on the rescue teams of Syria.
The White Helmets are a group of men who are the first to respond to any of the attacks in Syria. They help clear the rubble, help extract bodies - both alive and dead - from the wreckage. The White Helmets are the saviors that most people in Syria need - what most people in the world need.
The documentary starts off similarly to the way the trailer does. There is a man telling his daughter to not give his mother any trouble and then he goes off to work. All the white helmets are simple people. Previous blacksmiths and construct workers, people who never had much, but have the hearts of saints. Some of them used to fight for the regime, but when they saw the damage and catastrophe that it brought, they switched sides. They would rather voluntarily save the lives of innocents, than get paid to kill them. They see the struggles every day, they are the struggle. They live in the middle of Aleppo. They live in the war zone. The see what has come of their country and their beloved towns. They see the damage and they carry the weight of that burden, but they continue to save lives and they continue to do their best to make the best of a terrible situation.
The documentary shows primarily five men. All with families and all trying their best to focus on the positive in such a negative way. When you think of war torn Syria, it is doubtful that people think of what Syria used to be or really any positive connotations to go with it. They see what the news shows. Bombs, innocent lives taken, children in so much shock that even though they are covered in their own blood and debris, they cannot cry. They cannot fathom what is going on or understand as to why it happened. These men that work with the White Helmets are so positive. It's honestly shocking. In the documentary, one of the things that stuck out me the most was how the men dealt with what they saw every day. They all lost someone, they all know the pain of losing someone they loved to a bombing in their own country. Yet, even though they feel this pain - the continue for the hope that it will get better.
One of the most incredible moments in the documentary was when they had saved a child that was buried under the rubble of a bombing for 16 hours. When they had pulled the baby free, they had found that the little baby boy was no more than a week old. One week. That child had been in the world for no longer than 168 hours and he had already experienced more than any ever should. Alone and buried - most people would think that the baby would have died, but no; he survived. More than that, he is still alive today. He is a beacon of hope for the White Helmets. They see him every now and then and when they see him, it brings hope to them for a better future. For themselves and for the future generations of Syria.
In the darkest of times, we are often lost asking ourselves if we should continue or give up. Many people say that they don't understand how the people in Syria do it. How they can stay in a place that is so unsafe, how they continue to survive through so much. What people do not understand is the strength a human has. The strength that we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and to continue to survive. When we come together and stand in solidarity amazing things happen.
Humans are strong. We are durable and can withstand amazingly tough circumstances. Once we realize our power when we are united, once we stop killing each other and start opening our arms and loving ourselves and our brothers and sisters, we will know peace. Until then, until that time comes, we have hope because we have men like the White Helmets. Who give us glimpses of what the world could be if we stopped fighting, loved one another and cared about everyone regardless of race, gender, age, ethnicity of any other social construct.
The White Helmets are the hope we need to have in the world to find that peace again. The documentary explains it better than I ever could, but it is without a doubt one of the most awe-inspiring things I have ever watched. These men are heroes and deserve to be recognized for the work that they do. They are nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and if you are as moved by their work as I am, I definitely recommend 1. watching the documentary and 2. add your name to list in support of them winning the Nobel Peace prize here.
These men are extraordinary, and they are the heroes we need in a world taken over by villains.
