Raed al-Saleh

Raed al-Saleh is the head of the Syrian Civil Defense also known as the The White Helmets. Raed leads over 2,000 unarmed and neutral volunteers who rush in to act as paramedics, firefighters, and search-and-rescue workers during the barrel bombings that regularly decimate cities throughout Syria.

By risking their own lives, the volunteers have managed to save as many as 40,000 people. Al-Saleh has stated that the group’s motto is “to save one life is to save all humanity.” Raed was the recipient of InterAction’s 2016 Humanitarian Award and there have been calls for The White Helmets to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.