Khaled Omar Harrah (Arabic: خالد عمر حرح, romanizedKhālid ʻUmar Ḥarraḥ; 1985 – 11 August 2016) was a Syrian man who volunteered for the Syrian Civil Defense Force, known as the White Helmets, an organization dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance.

Khaled Omar Harrah
Born1985
Aleppo
Died11 August 2016
Aleppo
NationalitySyrian
Occupation(s)Painter and decorator, later White Helmet
Years active2014-2016
Known forSearch and rescue operations in Aleppo

He was a painter and decorator when the war in Syria broke out.[1][2] He rose to international fame in June 2014 after he rescued a baby trapped in a building destroyed after an air strike in Aleppo,[1][3] an act which gave him the nickname "the hero of Aleppo". The rescue was caught on video and viewed around the world.[4]

The documentary film director Feras Fayyad dedicated his 2017 documentary Last Men in Aleppo, which chronicles the search-and-rescue missions of Aleppo's White Helmets, to him.[citation needed]

At age 31, August 11, 2016, he was killed in an airstrike,[4] leaving behind a wife and two daughters.[1][2] In 2017 Politico listed him as one of the 28 people "shaping, shaking and stirring Europe".[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kennedy, Merrit (13 August 2016). "The Volunteer Who Rescued Syria's 'Miracle Baby' Is Killed In Aleppo". NPR. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b Westcott, Lucy (12 August 2016). "Khaled Omar Harah, Syrian 'Miracle Baby' Rescuer, Killed in Aleppo". Newsweek. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  3. ^ Smith, Hannah Lucinda (13 August 2016). "Airstrike kills rescue worker who saved baby in Aleppo". The Times. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b Baumstieger, Moritz (13 August 2016). "Syrien - Der Held von Aleppo ist tot". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Khaled Omar Harrah: The First Responder". Politico. 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Magazin wählt Petry und Erdogan zu den 'Denkern und Machern 2017'". Rheinische Post (in German). 7 December 2016.
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