The Nobel Peace Prize 2016 has been
awarded to Columbian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to
bring his country’s 50 year old civil war to an end. It was a war that left
over 220,000 dead and over 6 million displaced. A laudable effort by no means!
So, this was the winner’s story in
brief. Has anyone even bothered to find out who lost out in the race to 2016’s
Nobel peace Prize? Who could have made it in the panels of history and yet did
not? Who were these noble souls who did such great service that got them Peace
Prize nominations?
This is the story of that loser,
who in no way can be called that, simply because what they do is death defying.
Their service to their nation and its citizens are unbelievable and selfless.
They are the WHITE HELMETS. Their
motto inexplicably would be; “When the
bombs rain down, we rush in to save”.
Their Story…
You would have few days back read
in a blog by an INLEAD faculty about the plight of Syria, a great historic
nation ravaged by civil strives and terrorism. The story begins from there. Syria
is the most dangerous place on Earth, and on an average the country is ravaged
by anywhere from 50 – 80 barrel bombs daily from ISIS or from the Russians or
from President Assad’s troupes. While the ones who bomb feel they have done
their bit in supporting their own selfish cause, the losers are inevitably the
common citizens who get trapped under debris and perish. In a country where
public services no longer function, Syrians had given up hope of seeing that rare
light at the end of the tunnel. It was in these hours of despair a bunch of
young Syrian men came together to help save people who get caught in debris.
They are fully aware that more bombs may fall on the same site, yet pulling out
people from under the rubble is what they do. They say it’s the call of Allah.
They train in Jordan and Turkey in
areas like cutting through boulders and iron bars, fighting fire, handling
babies trapped in unlikeliest of places under the debris, giving on the spot
paramedic support, and so on. They are absolutely unfathomable in their energy
to surge ahead under trying circumstances and in their passion to help the
affected. They are young, have families who are equally vulnerable, do not know
whether they will see the sunrise the next day, yet they remain undaunted. Even
one life saved is a blessing they seek. Since the war began, White Helmets have
saved close to 62,000 lives in Syria. But they have lost more than a hundred of
their own brave soldiers. A small price to pay they say in a country where
hopelessness abounds.
Finally they are recognized…
An Oscar nominated team from Hollywood decided to pay ode to them, and for once and for all shift the world’s focus away from ISIS and bombers to the White Helmets and their selfless acts of bravery and sacrifice. They have produced a documentary on White Helmets, which is currently streaming on Netflix and they had also been working really hard to get this group the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
The White Helmets may have lost the
Nobel Peace Prize, but the world is a winner in having amongst it such brave
sons of the soil.
