A man who spent years working in the emergency response movement in Syria says he knows all too well the horrors his fellow countrymen will be facing in the wake of the devastating earthquakes.
Amer Abazid, 34, was forced to flee Syria in 2018 because of his connection to the White Helmets.
The White Helmets is an entirely civilian-run organisation which provides vital emergency services, from rescue work to medical treatment.
Mr Abazid explained that the organisation was formed after pro-democracy protests erupted all over the country, attempting to bring an end to the authoritarian Assad regime.
The government used violence to suppress these protests, employing the police and even the military against its own citizens.
Mr Abazid explained that the White Helmets is needed because there are no other sources of help available in Syria.
“The people have to help the people,” said Mr Abazid, speaking with the help of an Arabic interpreter at Suffolk Regugee Support.
“If you have a car, you go. If you have some tools, you go.”
Members of the White Helmets have very little, if any, training, but carry out the work needed with just the equipment they have to hand.
Now, its members are working to carry out rescue missions for those trapped beneath rubble after the deadly earthquakes which began in Turkey and Syria on Monday.
Mr Abazid joined the White Helmets as a law student in 2011. He is haunted by the atrocities he saw during his service, and says he knows exactly the kind of impossible situations his former colleagues will be facing.
“There is an expression, all roads lead to Rome,” said Mr Abazid. “In Syria, we say, all roads lead to death.”
Death, he said, has become a routine part of life for Syrians. Its threat is omnipresent, from the violence of the government to exposure from the elements, for thousands of Syrians having been displaced, particularly in the northern parts of the country.
Now, its people are contending with the effects of the devastating earthquakes which occurred this week.
“This is a race against time,” said Mr Abazid. “Hope is decreasing. The more time goes on, the more people are trapped and suffering.”
He said that he is hearing from his former colleagues about the horrors they are witnessing.
He describes how one friend told him of a heavily pregnant woman, trapped beneath the rubble of her home.
“If they could lift the rubble, that would be something. But they can’t,” said Mr Abazid.
The White Helmet volunteer climbed in beside the woman, and performed a caesarean. The mother's life could not be saved, but he believes the baby is still alive.
He said he feels helpless, being so far away from his country.
“You feel like your hands are tied,” he said. “Everything we have worked to rebuild since the war began has been destroyed.
“There is no food, no milk for children. No supplies, no support. This would be a catastrophe for any country, even one which is not at war like Syria.”
Mr Abazid said that he hopes countries will rally to support Syria, the way that they have rallied around Turkey.
“It makes me feel happy to hear of countries helping Syria,” he said.
“This is human pain, we all feel it. You can adapt to pain – but you can’t adapt to this catastrophe.”
He said he hopes that people will continue to donate anything they can to those affected by the earthquake.
“This is about saying, show me that you are standing with me.”
To support the White Helmets, visit: www.whitehelmets.org
To donate via the Disasters Emergency Committee, visit: www.dec.org.uk
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