A volunteer group in Syria that has rescued thousands of people from bombed buildings are among the winners of this year's Right Livelihood Award, sometimes known as the "Alternative Nobel". The Syria Civil Defence group – better known as the White Helmets – share the award with Russian refugees' rights campaigner Svetlana Gannushkina, Turkish independent newspaper Cumhuriyet and Egyptian women's rights activist Mozn Hassan.
Members of the Syria Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, rescue children after what activists said was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo on 2 June 2014Sultan Kitaz/Reuters
Created in 1980, the annual award honours efforts that prize founder, Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, felt were being ignored by the Nobel Prizes. The White Helmets, a group of volunteer first responders, were cited for "for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war."
"They come in after the bombs have fallen and free people from the ruins, from the rubble of the houses that have been bombed," said Ole von Uexkull, the founder's nephew and executive director of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation. "Many in Syria believe that hopefully, when there's a peace accord, the White Helmets will be the ones who help to rebuild the country from the ruins."
In this gallery, IBTimes UK pays tribute to the brave members of the White Helmets.
Residents and White Helmets look for survivors at a site damaged by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Assad in the Al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo on 17 September 2015Abdalrhman Ismail/ReutersCivil Defence members with blood on their shirts look at a site after double air strikes on the rebel-held Bab al-Nairab neighbourhood of Aleppo on 27 August 2016Abdalrhman Ismail/ReutersThe White Helmets carry a young boy after they dug him out from under the rubble of buildings destroyed following reported air strikes on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Mashhad in Aleppo, on 25 July 2016Thaer Mohammed/AFPA Civil Defence member carries an injured girl after an air strike on the rebel-controlled city of Idlib on 15 June 2016Abdalrhman Ismail/ReutersCivil Defence members and rescue workers push a car at a site hit by air strikes in Idlib on 12 June 2016Ammar Abdullah/ReutersSyrian Civil Defence members, known as the White Helmets, search for survivors amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following reported Russian air strikes on the city of Idlib on 6 June 2016Omar haj Kadour/AFPCivil Defence members use ladders to evacuate civilians from a building after air strikes in Idlib on 5 June 2016Ammar Abdullah/ReutersMalek Barghout mourns the death of his father, a White Helmet, who was killed on 4 June 2016 following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Sakhour in AleppoThaer Mohammed/AFPA member of the White Helmets carries an injured girl at a site hit by air strikes in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province on 2 June 2016Khalil Ashawi/ReutersSyrian Civil Defence members evacuate a toddler from the rubble of buildings destroyed following Russian air strikes on the city of Idlib on 31 May 2016Omar haj Kadour/AFPSyrian Civil Defence volunteers help a boy out of the rubble following a reported attack by Syrian government forces in the Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo on 30 May 2016Ameer Alhalbi/AFPCivil Defence members gather cluster bombs to safely detonate them in a field near al-Tmanah in the southern Idlib countryside on 21 May 2016Khalil Ashawi/ReutersMembers of the Syrian Civil Defence and other volunteers rescue a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in Aleppo on 28 April 2016Ameer Alhalbi/AFPCivil Defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo on 27 April 2016Abdalrhman Ismail/ReutersSyrian Civil Defence volunteers evacuate a family from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in Aleppo on 23 April 2016Ameer Alhalbi/AFPCivil Defence members rest amid rubble of damaged buildings after an air strike on the rebel-held Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo on 23 April 2016Abdalrhman Ismail/ReutersCivil Defence members hold a demonstration to teach children about war safety awareness in Deraa Governorate on 5 March 2016Alaa Al-Faqir/ReutersWhite Helmets pull a boy out from under the rubble of a building following air strikes by suspected Russian war planes on the Sakhour neighbourhood of Aleppo on 16 February 2016Thaer Mohammed/AFPA Syria Civil Defence member carries a dead child at a site hit by what activists said were air strikes carried out by the Russian air force in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province on 9 January 2016Khalil Ashawi/ReutersA member of Syria's Civil Defence comforts an injured boy inside an ambulance after what activists were were cluster bombs dropped by the Russian air force on Maaret al-Naaman town in Idlib province on 7 October 2015Khalil Ashawi/ReutersCivil Defence members mourn the death of their comrade, who died during what activists said were air strikes carried out by the Russian air force, during his funeral in Ehsim town in the south of Idlib province on 3 October 2015Khalil Ashawi/ReutersA Civil Defence member tries to get out from under debris at a site hit by what activists said were two barrel bombs dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo on 27 July 2014Reuters
Hassan and her feminist organisation were honoured "for asserting the equality and rights of women in circumstances where they are subject to ongoing violence, abuse and discrimination." The citation said the group has documented human rights violations and coordinated the response to sexual assaults on women participating in public protests during and after the uprising of 2011.
Cumhuriyet was praised for "fearless investigative journalism" in the face of "oppression, censorship, imprisonment and death threats." The paper's former editor-in-chief, Can Dundar, and its Ankara representative, Erdem Gul, were sentenced to five years in prison in May for their reports on alleged Turkish arms- smuggling to Syrian rebels. The two are appealing against the verdict which increased concerns over media freedoms in Turkey.
The four laureates will share a cash award of three million Swedish krona (about £268,475).
