By Mey Al Sayegh

What makes Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers so critical during emergencies is that they live in the communities they serve. That also means they are just as vulnerable to the hardships, the losses and the pain as their neighbours and loved ones.

The floods that struck Derna in eastern Libya on the night of Sunday, 10 September were certainly no exception.

Selflessly helping those in need, Libyan Red Crescent Society (LRCS) volunteers jumped to the call and provided aid and support after the north-eastern region of Libya was struck by heavy rainfall caused by Storm Daniel. The heavy rainfall then led the crumbling of two dams in the early hours of 11 September.

Tragically, four Libyan Red Crescent volunteers lost their lives in the subsequent deluge, three of them while helping to save the lives of others. This is their story. But it’s also a testament to all the volunteers around the world who have suffered losses this year, or who have made the ultimate sacrifice while giving others a second chance.

Up until recently, Abed Alqader Atiya Alkherm served as head of the media department for the Libya Red Crescent team in Derna, using his writing and photography skills to give a voice to people in need. But he decided to leave that post so join frontline response teams. Tragically, when the flash flood hit Derna, he lost his own life while helping others.

Photo: Libyan Red Crescent Society

In the act of helping others

Abed Alqader Atiya Alkherm had served previously as the head of the media department at the Libyan Red Crescent branch in Derna, where he used his photographic and communications skills to convey the voice of people and their stories.

But he had decided that he also wanted to help people more directly, so he joined the Libyan Red Crescent emergency response teams in Derna. When disaster struck on 10 September, the 31-year-old volunteer did not hesitate.

“Abed laid the camera down and risked his life to save others,” says Bahaa Kawash, the director of media and Communications at LRCS.  “He and all Libyan Red Crescent heroes will be in our hearts and memory.”

In the days that followed that tragic night, their grieving colleagues shared memories and stories of the volunteers’ bravery, competence and compassion.

29-year old Khaled Abed Alkareem Aldwal had developed a strong reputation for his skills in first aid and his readiness to help others, recalls the former director of media and communications at LRCS, Tawfeq Al Shokry. Khaled was remembered for once saving the life of a man at a restaurant where he used to work, providing him with first aid. Following the floods in September, one of the survivors wrote on his Facebook page that Khaled risked his life to save his two daughters before the floods washed him away.

Volunteer Hussein Bou Zanouba was heading out to try and save lives when the ambulance he was riding in collided with an electric power pole, leading to his tragic drowning.

Photo: Libyan Red Crescent Society

Hussein Bou Zanouba arrived at the Derna branch as normal at 6 PM that evening, many hours before the flood. When the floodwaters began crashing through the city, he did not hesitate to join the rescue teams.

During his rescue mission, the ambulance collided with an electric power pole, leading to his tragic drowning. During those early morning hours, his mother tried to call him 23 times. But her calls were in vain as he had left his phone back at his home in Al Bayda, another city in eastern Libya that was heavily affected by the floods.

It was an agonizing time for his colleagues who searched for Hussein amid the dead bodies and refrigerated mortuaries in Derna, remembers Ali Hweidi, the former director of Youth and Volunteers at LRCS in Benghazi.    

Enduring tragic losses

The loss of these volunteers hit their colleagues hard. But they maintained their courage, resilience, and unwavering dedication to helping those in need, continuing their critical work that through the days and months after. 

In addition to those who lost their own lives, many volunteers in Derna that night suffered other types of horrendous losses. one Libyan Red Crescent colleague, Abdallah Abou Shayana, sadly perished along with his whole family as their home was inundated by the deluge of water that swept through downtown Derna that night.

Many other dedicated volunteers, who actively helped save those threatened by the devastating floods, had to endure other kinds of tragic losses, with some losing family members, neighbors and friends.  

26-year-old Hamdi Ahmed Baleid was helping others throughout the night, but when he returned home, he found his family’s house had been completely obliterated. His entire family was gone.

Photo: Libyan Red Crescent Society

Hamdi Ahmed Baleid last spoke to his mother at 2 AM in the early morning of 11 September. Along with his colleagues, he was helping others throughout the night. In what was to be their last call, his mother urged him to stay dry to not get sick himself. Upon returning home, he found his family’s house had been completely obliterated. His entire family was gone. 

By some sort of miracle, volunteer Ayman Abed Arzaak Agribyal survived the flash floods that threatened to sweep him away. Unfortunately, however, he ultimately lost his mother.

Despite their losses, both Hamdi and Ayman continue to work daily with the Libyan Red Crescent to assist people as they rebuild their lives after the catastrophe. For Hamdi, he finds solace in the conviction that helping others is the best way to navigate through his profound grief.

Through these difficult times, the IFRC Emergency Response Unit deployed after the flood offers psychosocial support to all survivors, including volunteers. However, more will be done says the IFRC’s Storm Daniel Operations Manager Mamdouh Al Hadid, adding that a more long-term "Caring for Volunteers" program is in development.

In the meantime, the IFRC honors the bravery and selflessness of the Libyan Red Crescent teams, as well as volunteers around the world for their tireless efforts and sacrifices in the face of great dangers in 2023.

Three months ago, the floods may have taken these volunteers physically, but their humanitarian spirit continues to inspire their friends and teammates at the Libyan Red Crescent, as well as countless others around the world.