In peacebuilding processes, many different actors play a role. One important role in peacebuilding is played by governments, who address peace in both its positive and negative aspects. Governments can choose to go to war but at the same time have obligations to protect their citizens and promote a peaceful society. When governments fail to promote peace, communities and individuals step in to protect themselves and others. The efforts of these groups, civil society organisations, NGOs, or others, demonstrate the variety of methods and circumstances through which peace can be built.
One striking instance of such civilian action is featured in the Oscar-winning Netflix Documentary The White Helmets. The Syrian Civil War, a 13 year long multi-faceted conflict between rebel groups such as the Free Syrian Army, Bashar al-Assad’s Russia-backed government, the Islamic State, and outside actors, has claimed the lives of over 600,000 people. The war continues to impact civilians, who are targeted by missile strikes from the government. In the wakes of strikes, buildings and property are left destroyed, families separated, and homes in ruins. As the war persists, so too does the destruction of the lives of many innocent Syrians. It is in response to this destruction that the Syrian Civil Defense, more commonly known as the White Helmets, was formed. The group consists of a network of 2,900 civilians spread between 120 centres around Syria. Their mission, stated simply, is to save as many people as possible from airstrikes. White Helmet volunteers are search-and-rescue trained and work around the clock, using a range of equipment and techniques to locate missing persons, clear rubble, fight fires, and perform life-saving emergency medical treatment. Their work is dangerous, putting themselves at risk to save the lives of others. Apart from consistently arriving in physical dangerous situations, the volunteers have also been targeted militarily by Russia and ISIS.
The work of the White Helmets is neither easy nor simple. Interviews with volunteers recount numerous encounters with death. Volunteers frequently find members of their communities trapped under rubble, injured, and on the brink of death. Across Syria, 252 White Helmets have themselves perished while responding to airstrikes. Yet, in the face of bleak circumstances, they persevere. The volunteers are acutely aware of their role in a war-torn society: their sacrifice provides hope. As one volunteer stated, ‘this job is sacred’. Their presence in the aftermath of intense trauma gives communities a unique sense of safety and the knowledge that there are people out there who care about them. The White Helmets’ heroic dedication to keeping hope alive in their communities plays a central role in the mindsets of the volunteers and stands in contrast to other violent portrayals of heroism in conflict. Their awareness of the importance of hope for themselves and the people they serve is at the forefront of their work and integral to saving lives.
“Without hope, what good is life? Without hope, people die.”
White Helmet Volunteer
Image: The White Helmets tunneling on a search and rescue mission
Scenes of hope also bring to mind familial imagery for many volunteers. The White Helmets aim to provide hope for everyone, almost as if the whole community, no matter which side they are on, are a family. One volunteer recalled in an interview a situation which perfectly demonstrates this familial bond among the White Helmets and those they save. One night, after an airstrike had reduced a building to a pile of rubble and dust, the White Helmets’ rescue operation went underway to save an infant buried among the rubble. Their imaging devices identified his breathing, and the crew spent the entire night digging and removing rubble until they finally reached the child, his head emerging from a small gap between bricks. The child was carefully lifted out and met with cheers and relief from the entire community. The White Helmet describing this scene said that throughout the long and arduous night, he kept searching because he imagined what he might do if his own son, an infant of similar age, had been the one lost amid the destruction. Another volunteer echoed this sentiment, telling interviewers, ‘I consider them all to be my family’.
Where the White Helmets operate is oftentimes bleak and frightening, but the group is in a unique position to return a semblance of peace to their communities. Through their efforts, people’s lives are saved and changed for the better through the hope and strength modelled by the White Helmets. To date, they have saved over 100,000 people, holding true to their motto: ‘to save a life is to save all of humanity’.
What do you think?
- Do governments have an obligation to be peacebuilders? Who else has that obligation? Do we all?
- Do you think of the White Helmets as peacebuilders – and if so, what kinds of peace do they help to build?
- Hope implies a longing for something better, so what does hope mean for peace? Can hope only exist in the absence of peace?
- How important are families in building peace? What different forms can the idea of family take? Created communities, friends, etc…
- How are peace and heroism connected in film? Think about war movies, documentaries, or other movies that show everyday peace and the ‘heroes’ that help to make it.
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For more on the White Helmets: https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/.
And for more information on films for peace, check out the Cinema for Peace Foundation: https://www.cinemaforpeace-foundation.org/.
References
Non-Hyperlinked information taken from The White Helmets, 2019.
Von Einsiedel, Orlando. The White Helmets. Netflix, Grain Media and Violet Films. 2019.
Images from: https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/