Golden State Today

In 2011, Syria experienced mass protests against the Assad family's long-standing authoritarian rule. These protests were part of the broader Arab Spring movement and were met with severe government repression. The situation quickly escalated into a civil war, resulting in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and displacing over 13 million people.

Amidst the chaos, volunteer groups emerged to provide emergency aid across Syria. By 2014, these volunteers established the Syria Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets. This humanitarian organization has grown to nearly 3,000 members and has saved over 128,000 lives through its critical services like medical care and search-and-rescue operations. They also document military attacks and collaborate with NGOs to seek justice for Syrians.

The Berkeley Talks episode 210 featured Raed al-Saleh, director of the White Helmets, and Farouq Habib, a founding member and deputy general manager for external affairs. They participated in a panel discussion at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center on September 19, 2024.

“For us, as Syrian people, the most strategic and important work is on justice and accountability, our human rights work,” said al-Saleh during the event.

The White Helmets have played a crucial role in exposing human rights violations throughout the conflict. In 2015, they used GoPro cameras to capture footage of a double-tap strike—two consecutive strikes often targeting civilians or first responders—highlighting their potential use in documenting war crimes.

“We realized that the footage … is not only important for media awareness and quality assurance, but it’s even more important to document the atrocities and the violations of international human rights law and how to use that in the future to pursue accountability.”

When asked about their vision for Syria's future, al-Saleh expressed hope for “a peaceful Syria, where people can live with dignity and respect to human rights and support human rights everywhere.”

The panel also included Andrea Richardson from Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center and Rohini Haar, an emergency physician and lecturer at Berkeley Law. Andrea Richardson moderated the discussion.