The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent are the only major agencies able to work across frontlines in Syria. Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers are risking their own lives to provide a lifeline for anyone in caught up in the conflict. These volunteers are ordinary Syrians giving up their time, sometimes their jobs, for no pay, to help others.
Click on the photos of Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers and staff to read about the crisis in their words.
Volunteer "We went to a lot of effort to build a solid team, that works in full neutrality and according to our humanitarian principles. This is important if we want to continue working in the current circumstances.”
Volunteer "Friday used to be a leisure day, a day to spend with the family. Since the beginning of the events, Fridays have been dedicated to the Red Crescent. There are many problems. We feel the psychological pressure"
Head of operations "I'm married to a Red Crescent volunteer. Sometimes she is in an ambulance and I have to send her to dangerous places. It reminds me that all volunteers are as important as she is."
Volunteer "In the past our services were very simple such as transporting sick persons. Today it's about saving people's lives. We have a higher sense of responsibility. We have to do our best. This is not a game."
Volunteer doctor “I do it as a volunteer, I don't make money. I could make money, but they don't have enough money – so I'd be kind of telling them 'your life or your money'. So no, it's not fair.”
Volunteer “It's so dangerous. Sometimes we go to the places that there is a lot of shooting, a lot of problems. This is my people, this is my country. I have to help them – if I didn't help them, who would help them?”
©ICRC/IFRC
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