This is an update from Khaled Khatib from the White Helmets’ team in Aleppo.
I never thought I’d return to Aleppo.
When I was forcibly displaced in 2015, it felt like I was losing everything: my home, my city, and the place where I grew up and became the person I am today. Like my teammates in the White Helmets, I had devoted myself to saving lives, documenting atrocities, and showing the world the truth about Syria. We risked everything, believing that if the world saw our pain, it would act.
You might have seen part of that story in the Oscar-winning documentary The White Helmets, which I helped film. I hoped it would be a turning point, that it would compel action to protect civilians and stop the horrors we were living through. But no action came, and instead of protection, we were bombed and displaced.
The years that followed were some of the hardest of my life. The grief was overwhelming. But my teammates from across Syria helped me find strength again. Together, we continued our work in northwest Syria, responding to emergencies and supporting communities. We leaned on each other and built a strong organization that has saved over 128,000 lives from the rubble of airstrikes.
Now, after all these years, Syria is free of Assad, and I’m back home.
The city has changed. It’s strange to hear the quiet, with no sounds of bombs and planes overhead. People are trying to rebuild their lives, but the scars of war are everywhere. Entire neighborhoods remain in ruins, infrastructure is shattered, and essential services like water and electricity are barely functioning.
The White Helmets have returned too. We’re here in Aleppo, working tirelessly to clear rubble, remove unexploded ordnance, and respond to emergencies.
For me, this return is deeply personal. Aleppo is where I joined the White Helmets as an 18-year-old, where I grew into the person I am today, and where I learned that our humanity transcends everything else. I’ve carried with me the importance of saving lives without discrimination and the power of storytelling to preserve the truth, and these lessons are what kept me going.
But the challenges we face are immense. Scaling up operations is critical to clear rubble, reopen roads, and ensure the safe return of displaced families. Not just in Aleppo, but also in places like Homs and Ghouta, where years of destruction have left communities struggling to recover.
This work depends on people like you.
Your support will help us expand our teams, secure lifesaving equipment, and rebuild the infrastructure that families need to return home safely. Together, we can restore Aleppo and all of Syria, paving the way for hope and recovery.
Thank you for standing with us through it all. With your support, we can rebuild not just cities but hope for a better future. Syria’s recovery is only just beginning.
With gratitude,
Khaled Khatib
The White Helmets, officially known as the Syria Civil Defence, is a Syrian-led grassroots humanitarian organization working to save lives and uplift communities in areas most affected by conflict and disaster in Syria. We are registered in Türkiye as Beyaz Baretliler Derneği, the Netherlands as Stichting White Helmets Foundation, Canada as les Casques Blancs, and the United States as The White Helmets, Inc.
The White Helmets, Inc., is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations in the United States are tax-deductible. Our EIN is: 93-4720959. 40 West 37th St., Suite 1000, New York, NY 10018
Source: Emailed appeal from the White Helmets, 24 December 2024
