“The White Helmets” — Inspiration from the Rubble

“The White Helmets” is a 2016 film that follows the lives of men who are first responders in Syria. The film opens with the sounds of war planes, bombs, sirens and screaming. The viewer quickly sees men running on screen, dashing from collapsed building to collapsed building, digging through rubble and yelling to one another. These are the White Helmets; citizens like you and me, who risk their lives to save other people who are living in what appears to be a nightmare, and what is truly just the reality of remaining in Syria under the current regime. Their rescue missions occupy the first half of the film, before shifting to Turkey, where the men are receiving training in order to continue their heroic work.

The film uses live footage from Syria, of carriers dropping bombs into villages, destroying towns, leaving the people injured and bloodied. This footage is not for the faint-hearted, but it is necessary. It is something the world needs to see, as it has become an unfortunate part of daily reality for so many innocent civilians within Syria. This footage makes the conflict personal; it reminds those of us watching that the people are human, and they are so much more than statistics. Further, the footage gives insight on the culture of war, and how the most basic level of culture, day-to-day life, in Syria is affected by the conflict.

Something I believe the film does very well is show how intertwined hospitality and warmth are with the Arab culture. The White Helmets see each other as family. They know the people they serve by name. The men are visibly distraught when people are hurt and audibly elated when they are able to pull someone from the rubble alive. Even when the responders are in Turkey for training, you can see that they spend their nights awake, watching the news and staying in contact with loved ones still in Syria. Additionally, later in the film one of the first responders hears the news that his brother has died in the aftermath of a bombing. As another responder enters the room, he goes to the man and says, “Your brother is our brother. God bless him.” In a film this real and morbid, and in a country torn by conflict and death, this film excellently portrays the closeness and unity among the Arab people, clinging to each other for what seems like dear life.

In addition, I think the film does a respectable job of illustrating the role of religion, particularly Islam, in Arab culture. In today’s world, many outsiders have a tendency to make blanket statements about Islam, and make claims that those who practice the religion are terrorists. But in this film, the men are anything but. The men use their religion to paint a different picture; that their faith-filled nature and belief in God gives them courage and strength, integrity and power to continue their critical work.

Overall, the documentary is both gut-wrenching and inspiring, and makes a clear call to the international community that the people of Syria cannot be forgotten.