Netflix's ‘White Helmets' Highlights a Syrian Rescue Group on the Front Line

The "White Helmets" — some 3,000 ordinary Syrians who make up the Syrian Civil Defense rescue group — are the country's unlikely group of heroes, NBC News reported.

These volunteers, nicknamed for the color of their headgear, used to be shopkeepers, bakers, and teachers. Now they put their lives on the line every day to save civilians affected by the country's brutal war.

"These are very normal, ordinary people who now do one of the most extraordinary jobs on this planet," explained Orlando von Einsiedel, the director of a new Netflix original documentary that offers a glimpse into the lives of these volunteers.

The 40-minute documentary follows three men to Turkey, where they receive training before returning to Aleppo to work together in the same rescue unit. It was at this training site that the filmmakers met Khaled Khatib, a 21-year-old volunteer who has documented rescue missions since the group first formed in 2013.

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