Syrian rescuers make escape
White Helmets, kin brought out at night
BEIRUT: The call came on Saturday night. In the raging war zone that is southwestern Syria, with enemy forces on the march, the 98 White Helmets volunteers brought their spouses, children and a personal bag each. A total of 421 people massed at two collection points where they were to make their crossing to safety.
By the time they crossed, they were 422. One woman went into labour, requiring an emergency C-section. Her son, Nairouz, came into the world in an open field under the darkness of night just short of the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
It was just one moment of drama in a complicated international rescue operation to extract the Syrian volunteer rescuers who work in opposition areas through their country’s bitter enemy Israel by bus to a temporary haven in Jordan.
It was a nail-biting trip to a crossing over one of the most tightly sealed frontiers in the world. Up until the last minute, those on the ground were uncertain the operation would go through.
Another nearly 400 people were meant to be pulled out as well. Most didn’t make it in time to the assembly points, unable to go through roads that were closing fast by the advancing Syrian forces on one side and the expanding Islamic State militants on the other.
In all, it took about six hours to complete the evacuation, according to a person close to the operation who agreed to discuss the details on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“It was a ‘Hail Mary’ operation,” said the person familiar with the evacuation. “The only place of safety was through their evacuation” to Jordan.
The operation was conceived by Britain, Germany and Canada and supported by Israel, Jordan, the United States, and the UN. It took an unprecedented level of agreement and coordination — something international players have rarely demonstrated during eight years of war in Syria that have pitted world powers against one another.
The rescue of the besieged White Helmets was not without controversy.
It raised questions about the fate of 3,000 other White Helmets still operating in opposition-held northern Syria, living with other 1 million other displaced civilians in areas where the government is expected to target next.
The Syrian government denounced the evacuation as a “criminal process” that “smuggled terrorists” whom it blamed for undermining the country’s security for years.
The White Helmets is an organisation of volunteers that since 2013 has taken on the task of rescuing the survivors and salvaging the dead in conflict-ravaged held areas.