Female volunteers working with the Syrian civil defense received the 2017 World Hope Award in London, UK, during a Women International Day celebration on Tuesday.
Director of the Civil Defense Raed Saleh said that the rescue group includes over 200 female volunteers operating in most Syrian provinces, adding that the group is seeking to increase the number of female volunteers.
A film documenting the struggle of the Syrian civil defense, also known as the White Helmets, won an Oscar for best short documentary in February.
Saleh was not be able to leave his work to attend the awards ceremony in Los Angeles, the United States, because of the high intensity of air strikes by regime forces on the rebel-areas.
Salem Meslet, spokesman for the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC), called on the United Nations to invite the White Helmets to be honored in Geneva where the fourth round of peace negotiation was held between February 23 and March 3. He said the White Helmets deserve to be honored for their role in saving the lives of civilians.
The rescue group operating in northern Syria has saved the lives of thousands of civilians from under the rubble of bombed houses in the liberated areas since it was established in 2013. The White Helmets is a non-partisan group of volunteers who do not have any political affiliations. The group is dedicated to saving as many lives as possible. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
