Syrian rescuer, on a break, recalls horror of war

In this photo posted on August 28, 2014, provided by Civil Defense Idlib, a group of volunteers in northern Syria which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, show a Syrian civil defense worker with his white helmet, treats a girl, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Thousands of miles from his ravaged hometown of Idlib in the comfort and security of midtown Manhattan, Raed Saleh chokes up as he recalls some of the horrors he has witnessed as a rescue worker in northern Syria. He feels angry, cheated and most of all, deeply sad for his country. "We were rescuing people from Syrian regime strikes. Today we are rescuing people from coalition strikes," he says. (AP Photo/Civil Defense Idlib) In this photo posted on August 28, 2014, provided by Civil Defense Idlib, a group of volunteers in northern Syria which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, show a Syrian civil defense worker with his white helmet, treats a girl, in Idlib province, northern Syria. Thousands of miles from his ravaged hometown of Idlib in the comfort and security of midtown Manhattan, Raed Saleh chokes up as he recalls some of the horrors he has witnessed as a rescue worker in northern Syria. He feels angry, cheated and most of all, deeply sad for his country. "We were rescuing people from Syrian regime strikes. Today we are rescuing people from coalition strikes," he says. (AP Photo/Civil Defense Idlib)

By Associated Press September 28, 2014 5 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Thousands of miles from his ravaged homeland in the comfort and security of midtown Manhattan, Raed Saleh chokes up as he recalls some of the horrors he has witnessed as a rescue worker in northern Syria.

He feels angry, cheated and most of all, deeply sad for his country.

“Two Americans and one Brit were killed, and the entire world mobilized to fight Daesh,” he said, referring to the Islamic State group by its Arabic acronym. “In Syria, some 200,000 people have died: Why doesn’t anyone care?”

From New York, Saleh says he has been in touch with colleagues in Syria over the phone and Internet since airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition began Tuesday.

“We were rescuing people from Syrian regime strikes. Today we are rescuing people from coalition strikes,” he said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reports that at least 13 civilians have died so far in coalition strikes, while the Pentagon said Friday it had not received any reports of civilian casualties from coalition airstrikes.