Damascus, May 19 (SANA) For more than two decades, Wisam Alayya has transported sick and wounded residents from Syria’s Wadi Barada valley in Damascus countryside to hospitals in the capital, emerging as a key volunteer link in an area long affected by war, damaged infrastructure and limited healthcare services.
Residents of Alayya’s hometown of Kfeir al-Zeit and nearby villages in the valley call him the “bullet driver” for his rapid response to emergencies. During the war, when Wadi Barada faced bombardment, shortages of public services and a lack of ambulances and medical centers, Alayya became one of the main volunteer rescue drivers.
“There are no ambulances and no hospitals in Wadi Barada,” Alayya told SANA. “If I don’t do this work, who else will?”
Wadi Barada, northwest of Damascus, saw years of fighting and restricted access to services during the conflict, leaving residents heavily dependent on informal rescue and medical transport networks.
From survivor to rescuer
Alayya, 44, said his involvement in rescue work began after a childhood bicycle accident, when a neighbor transported him to Al-Mouwasat Hospital in Damascus for surgery.
“That experience gave me a strong sense of responsibility toward others and shaped the course of my life,” he said.
After completing his studies, he began assisting accident victims in 2001 using a motorcycle he had purchased.
War, siege and evacuations
Following the outbreak of anti-regime protests in 2011 and the ensuing war, healthcare conditions in Wadi Barada deteriorated sharply as the area came under siege and repeated bombardment.
Alayya said he worked alongside Civil Defense Forces and ambulance teams to evacuate the wounded and transport patients to hospitals in Damascus.
To pass through security checkpoints, he said he used forged or substitute identity documents, including those belonging to deceased individuals or people resembling wanted patients, and relied on hospital contacts and permits obtained through bribery to travel between Wadi Barada and Damascus. He said the measures were used to move army defectors, draft evaders and others wanted by security agencies.
Alayya said he was detained and tortured several times at the regime’s military and security checkpoints because of his activities. He also said his home was damaged in barrel bomb attacks.
Between December 23, 2016, and January 29, 2017, during an Assad army offensive against Wadi Barada, Alayya said he helped evacuate wounded civilians to hospitals outside the valley.
Personal cost
The war also affected his family directly. Alayya said his older brother Ahmad, who commanded the local Civil Defense Forces, was killed during the fighting. His brothers Abdul Karim and Badr al-Din later fled to Idlib after government forces entered the region.
He said he chose to remain in Wadi Barada with his wife and three children to care for relatives and support residents who feared leaving the valley for treatment due to possible arrest.
Alayya said dozens of patients and healthcare workers were detained or killed after appearing on wanted lists.
He also recalled an incident on December 8, 2024, during the “Deterring Aggression” battle, when he was called to evacuate a wounded rebel fighter near a checkpoint on the outskirts of Wadi Barada.
“Later I discovered the wounded man was my nephew, Mohammad, the son of my younger brother Badr al-Din,” he said. Mohammad later died in hospital.
A trusted figure in the valley
Medical workers in Wadi Barada described Alayya as a reliable figure during emergencies.
Surgeon Ahmad Farhan Surour said Alayya combined “a sense of humor with nerves of steel” and consistently supported medical teams under difficult conditions.
M.F / ABD
