'There's no mercy': Kurdish Red Crescent perseveres in northern Syria

Heyva Sor a Kurdistane, the Kurdish Red Crescent, has been on the frontlines of the Syrian civil war for the past eight years, emerging as the primary provider of medical care and aid for civilians wounded during battles and for the waves of displaced people fleeing fighting in the northeast. 

“You can’t imagine how it feels to be near a wounded person who is bleeding and not be able to go anywhere because the drones and missiles are falling between you and that wounded person,” Jamila Hemê, co-founder and co-president of Heyva Sor a Kurdistane said, describing moments in Ras al-Ain/Sari Kani and Tell Tamer during Turkey's Operation Peace Spring. “The only thing you can imagine is that they want to prevent us from rescuing [people], or they simply want to kill us as well.”

Heyva Sor, the largest Kurdish humanitarian organization in northeastern Syria, is not affiliated with the International Red Cross because the Kurdish area in northeast Syria is not recognized as an independent state. That said, the two organizations sometimes cooperate on the ground as a practical matter. In recent months Heyva Sor and other medical organizations operating in Syria have faced one of their biggest challenges: rescuing their own members and volunteers after attacks.

“It’s incredible to have to drive the ambulance toward injured civilians and return to the hospital with wounded doctors,” said Dildar Abdelkarim, a volunteer and ambulance driver for Heyva Sor. “There’s no mercy, not even for the rescuers.”