1) On the 6th anniversary of the founding, our White Helmet volunteer Duraid shares with us his story, and what motivated him to volunteer in the Syrian Civil Defense in #Idlib, and the most difficult moments he went through during the past years:

2) Most of the time it is almost impossible to control yourself & carry on with a camera in your hand. You have to document enormous tragedies with pieces of human bodies & people grasping their last breathes before you, it takes so much courage to hold on without collapsing.

3) I am Duraid, 31 years old from #JisrAlShoughor. I was a student in my third year in Arabic Literature until 2013. I felt compelled to provide for my own people and the victims of the deliberate attacks. I joined the #WhiteHelmets in 2014, responding to the aerial bombardment.

4) As civilians here, you can't go about your life as if everything is normal. Nightmares and tragic pictures occupy your sleepless nights. The Syrian regime forced us to live with the new reality and the volunteers had to adapt to serve in these harsh conditions.

5) I joined the media office in 2015. We have documented massacres and airstrikes, one of which targeted my own house in 2017 and killed friends and family members.

6) Every #WhiteHelmets response or service you see was documented by the media team who lost many of its members while on duty. I think you all remember Anas who was my best friend.

7) Anas, and many others like him, gave their lives to save others. I am proud of this organization that proves its strength and deep roots in Syrian society.

8) On our sixth anniversary, I wish we always succeed in doing our job, and that the future will give us the opportunity to bring hope and rebuild the country instead of digging out bodies under the rubble.