Khaled Khatib, a Syria Civil Defence volunteer and cameraman on the film, was due to attend

STATEMENT ON OSCARS



The Syria Civil Defence will not be attending the Oscars in Los Angeles.

Raed Saleh, Head of the Syria Civil Defence is the holder of US visa. Raed was planning
to attend but can not make it, the intense air strikes across the country mean he must

focus on work inside Syria.

Khaled Khatib, a Syria Civil Defence volunteer and cameraman on the film, was due to
attend. Unfortunately Khaled Khatib was not able to travel to the Oscars due to his pass-
port being cancelled by the Syrian regime, despite having been issued a US visa specifically to attend the awards ceremony.

The Syria Civil Defence are grateful for the platform the film "The White Helmets" is providing for their humanitarian message to reach around the world.

The Syria Civil Defence wants to thank all the people around the world that have sent

messages of support for their Oscar nomination.

Saturday 25th February 2017