New York, 20th April 2017 — Raed Saleh, the Head of the Syria Civil Defence (or White Helmets) has been named to the 2017 TIME 100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He will visit New York to receive the award next week.
Reacting to the news, Saleh said:
“It’s an honour to be included in the TIME 100 list, and an important recognition of the work done by the Syria Civil Defence. Our volunteers work under the most difficult conditions in the world. They’re committed to helping all Syrians regardless of their sect or ethnicity.
“These heroes are the bedrock of our work and I’m proud of each one of them. I call on the world to stand together and do everything in its power to end the war and stop the bloodshed of the Syrian people.”
Under Saleh’s leadership, the Nobel Peace Prize- nominated White Helmets have expanded into a volunteer network of over 3,000 men and women who have saved over 85,000 lives. A Netflix documentary about the group recently received an Academy Award.
The list recognises the world’s most influential individuals. As TIME Editor-in-Chief Nancy Gibbs has said of the list in the past: “Each year our TIME 100 list lets us step back and measure the forces that move us…. One way or another they each embody a breakthrough: they broke the rules, broke the record, broke the silence, broke the boundaries to reveal what we’re capable of.”
Follow @TIME for updates about the list on Twitter and at Facebook.com/TIME and #TIME100
Notes
Members of the Syria Civil Defence will be in DC on Monday through Wednesday next week. Contact [email protected] to arrange interviews.
For more information visit: http://time.com/collection/
The Syria Campaign is an independent advocacy group campaigning for the protection of civilians. Find out more at www.TheSyriaCampaign.org