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Sultan Kitaz / Reuters

The leader of a group of volunteers whose work saving lives in Syria is the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary will be unable to attend the awards show because of President Donald Trump's refugee ban.

Trump's highly controversial executive order, signed on Friday, banned Syrians from entering the United States indefinitely.

Netflix's documentary The White Helmets, directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, received the Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary (short subject) .

White Helmets leader Raed Saleh

Jacky Naegelen / Reuters

British producer Joanna Natasegara had planned to bring Syrian White Helmets leader Raed Saleh, and cinematographer Khaled Khateeb, to the ceremony. Both of them are Syrian nationals.

In an interview with BuzzFeed News from the Syrian-Turkish border, Saleh expressed his disappointment over Trump's refugee ban.

“A country’s greatness is measured not by its weapons or warplanes, but by how it helps those in times of desperate need,” he said.

Saleh, who has already visited the US on a number of occasions to speak and raise awareness about the work the White Helmets does, said the ban would prevent him in the future from telling the world the situation on the ground in Syria.

“We hope that these visits can continue so that we can continue to explain what is happening in Syria,” he said, “and to call for an end to the relentless bombing that is destroying so many innocent lives.”

Saleh called on the American people to make their own feelings about Trump known. In the meantime, he said, “we will continue to do whatever it takes to save lives in Syria.”

The White Helmets, also known as the Syria Civil Defence, became particularly well-known for their life-saving work in eastern Aleppo during the protracted fight over the city between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The group has roughly 3,000 volunteers in 69 branches that operate across the country. Often the first — and only — emergency responders left in contested Syrian territories, 130 White Helmets volunteers have died in the course of the conflict.

Producer Natasegara told BuzzFeed News the “horrifying” travel ban was a sad “loss of dignity” for the US. “Donald Trump needs to watch this film,” she said, “he doesn’t understand, he himself has a lot to learn from the White Helmets.”

Von Einssiedel, the film's director, said that the executive order banning travel for Syrians was shameful. “He should watch this film, and in terms of Syria, understand what people are actually going through,” he told BuzzFeed News in London. “They are coming out of utter desperation.”

“The White Helmets message of compassion is one voice that is needed so much at the moment,” he continued. “To not have them there is such a shame.”

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