Little has been spoken about them. Little have their stories been told. And yet, they were the first responders that ran heads-on to risk their lives to save people from the blast, from under the rubbles, from crumbling houses and buildings… And they still do as the catastrophe hasn’t ended.
They are the civil defense volunteers…
As all the world generous donations have been directed to the local NGOs helping on the ground, these units of selfless heroes have been forgotten.
And yet they need all the help possible, from the people and the world, to continue in their mission. And here is why:
Warning: Graphic images might show up ahead.
Running in the direction of danger, they were first on the scene and closest to the deadly explosion.
Many lost their lives in the line of duty; they are victims, not martyrs.
We wept as their loved ones laid them to rest.
Heartbreaking… Caroline Hitti lost her husband, her brother, and her cousin, in one horrible blasting moment, all members of the civil defense… The August 4th heroes of Lebanon…
Regardless of their tremendous loss, they kept working hard to extinguish fires and rescue victims.
Big or small, these selfless heroes are helping them all.
Even a teammate of theirs got stuck 15 hours under the rubbles when he was carrying his humanitarian work to save lives as a volunteer.
And they never disregard rescuing the furry friends of the Lebanese from under the destruction:
They refused to participate in watering protesters after the blast even when asked to by security forces.
In June, these volunteers, which work is crucial to the Lebanese public safety, had to even protest for their rights.
They went on a hunger strike for the minister to heed their urgent demands … to no avail.
Exhausted & unsupported by the government, they need our help now more than ever.
These heroic volunteers are from the people for the people and have been equally suffering. We cannot disregard their urgent need for support.
As stated in the above post, their means to help is barely there yet they are still on the grounds doing the impossible to help.
The961 has been informed by some volunteers who wish to remain anonymous that they are neither receiving support from foreign friendly-countries, like other NGOs, nor is the government providing them with the supplies they need to do their job, which is basically, first and foremost, saving lives.
For more, read: Lebanese Civil Defense Volunteers Are Lacking Basic Equipment.
To support the civil defense volunteers, local and international donors are kindly asked to directly donate to their stations.