The funeral of Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer first-aid worker Mohammad al Khadraa, killed in Douma while working in a clearly marked SARC vehicle in April.
Photo: ©Ibrahim Malla, SARC

Courage under fire

With the world’s eyes turned towards the armed conflict unfolding in Syria, much of the humanitarian response has fallen on the shoulders the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC). Showing incredible bravery, SARC volunteers and staff have been on the front line, recovering the wounded, performing on-the-spot first aid, handing out food and medicines to people in desperate need. The only humanitarian group with access to most of the country, the National Society has been a vital partner to the ICRC, the IFRC and other humanitarian actors. But the SARC has paid a heavy price. Since fighting broke out, five of its first-aid volunteers and staff (including a secretary general) and two board members have been killed. These photographs pay tribute to a National Society struggling to fulfil its mission in the cauldron that is present-day Syria.

SARC medics and residents help a woman at the site of an explosion in Damascus in May.
Photo: ©REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri, courtesy www.alertnet.org

Volunteers distributing food and other supplies in the besieged city of Homs. Photo: ©Ibrahim Malla, SARC