Bartosz Rutkowski, a former soldier and diver, is the chairman of the “Orla Straż” (Eng. “Eaglewatch”) foundation, which helps the victims of terrorism in the Middle East.

In an interview with tvp.info website, Mr Rutkowski stated that the moment when he decided to set up the foundation was the crucifixion of a 12-year-old Christian boy near Aleppo, who was tortured before his death.



“It was probably Ronald Reagan who once said that nobody is able to help everyone, but everybody is able to help somebody. I knew languages, I had a career in the army, as well as financial funds, so I thought: I can, and I want to help.”



Mr Rutkowski pointed out that there were two main groups of people which he and his foundation aim to help. The first are women and children returning from captivity, whose relatives were killed, the second are former soldiers who have joined the territorial defence forces to protect civilians, often without proper equipment and who are not paid for what they do.



One of the main ways of helping is by buying the release of women and children from the hands of the Islamic State. Although it causes controversies, Mr Rutkowski stressed that this was often the best choice, since an individual’s life is at stake, and it is a matter of saving innocent people, rather than thinking of where the money would go later.



According to the head of “Orla Straż”, the “price” of buying a person out of captivity varies from USD 1,500, even up to USD 20,000, depending on several factors, such as age or sex. On average, an individual’s life can be saved for USD 10,000 (PLN 38,000).



In such cases, the foundation does not contact the Islamic State directly. The relatives of the imprisoned individuals buy them out, with the guarantee of “Orla Straż”, that the foundation will help them to pay the loan.



However, the main scope of the foundation’s activity is funding specialist equipment and renovating facilities in Middle Eastern villages, such as locksmith workshops, bakeries, hospitals etc. Mr Rutkowski pointed out that when people see that such places are up and running, they are more likely come back to these villages and take another job, to revitalise the place.



Anyone who would like to financially support the foundation, can follow this link.