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Life in an ambulance, speeding around Sderot
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BY: ELLEN SCHUR BROWN Editor, Family Section
Just a little over half a mile from the Gaza border, the Israeli town of Sderot has taken countless heavy hits from Kassam rocket fire.
Ori Shaham, deputy director and senior paramedic for the region, who visited Cleveland recently, spoke to the CJN about the physical and psychological toll of daily rocket fire on his community.
What’s going on in Sderot now?
It’s quiet now. (Palestinians) call it a “cease fire,” but one or two rockets hit every week. Walk down any street n every block has one or two houses hit.
What are Kassam rockets?
They’re primitive homemade pipe bombs. They’re not very accurate, but 250,000 Israelis live within their range.
What happens when a rocket hits?
I can’t tell you the feeling you get when you hear the words tzevah adom (red alert). After the bomb blast, the room is unrecognizable.
The most common injuries are from flying glass. Sometimes it’s worse. Two brothers were on their way to buy their father a present when a rocket hit the street. One, the soccer player, lost his legs.
Some people are not injured physically, but they are mentally. I think that’s more serious. Children have trouble sleeping, or they’ll draw a picture of their house with a rocket overhead.
How do you stay professional and work under these conditions?
Sometimes we have to make terrible decisions. A rocket hit Sapir College, and while we were treating the injured students, the alarm sounded (again). Do you leave injured people to save yourself? You have to decide what to do. We pray a lot.
You must see some real ironic situations.
In one house, the baby was crying, so the mother picked him up and was walking him around. At that moment, an alarm sounded, and a Kassam hit the baby’s room.
How well equipped are you to handle emergencies?
We feel more secure since the new station opened in May. It’s such a feeling of pride that you guys helped us build it. We have everything we need now: a large room for training and eating, a smaller room for the team to rest, and a bomb shelter. With ambulances located strategically (not centrally), we can respond in less than four minutes. The nearest hospital is in Ashkelon, 18 miles away, so if the injuries are severe, we have to stabilize. Then there’s a 15-20 minute drive, even if you’re driving like an ambulance driver.
Do you only treat Jewish residents?
When someone needs help, we don’t ask, “Are you Jewish or Christian or Arab (Muslim)?” We get to work. Every day we evacuate six or seven Palestinians to the Israeli side, mostly children or infants who need heart surgery. (Hospitals in Gaza) aren’t ready to do it.
After the tsunami of 2004, I went to Sri Lanka and opened a medical services clinic there. I stayed a month providing medical services.
ebrown@cjn.org
To learn more about the Northern Ohio American Friends of Magen David Adom’s capital campaign for the emergency medical station, see “Helping to meet the challenge of rocket attacks on Sderot,” CJN, March 27, or call 216-752-6884.
Ori Shaham, deputy director and senior paramedic for the region, who visited Cleveland recently, spoke to the CJN about the physical and psychological toll of daily rocket fire on his community.
What’s going on in Sderot now?
It’s quiet now. (Palestinians) call it a “cease fire,” but one or two rockets hit every week. Walk down any street n every block has one or two houses hit.
What are Kassam rockets?
They’re primitive homemade pipe bombs. They’re not very accurate, but 250,000 Israelis live within their range.
What happens when a rocket hits?
I can’t tell you the feeling you get when you hear the words tzevah adom (red alert). After the bomb blast, the room is unrecognizable.
The most common injuries are from flying glass. Sometimes it’s worse. Two brothers were on their way to buy their father a present when a rocket hit the street. One, the soccer player, lost his legs.
Some people are not injured physically, but they are mentally. I think that’s more serious. Children have trouble sleeping, or they’ll draw a picture of their house with a rocket overhead.
How do you stay professional and work under these conditions?
Sometimes we have to make terrible decisions. A rocket hit Sapir College, and while we were treating the injured students, the alarm sounded (again). Do you leave injured people to save yourself? You have to decide what to do. We pray a lot.
You must see some real ironic situations.
In one house, the baby was crying, so the mother picked him up and was walking him around. At that moment, an alarm sounded, and a Kassam hit the baby’s room.
How well equipped are you to handle emergencies?
We feel more secure since the new station opened in May. It’s such a feeling of pride that you guys helped us build it. We have everything we need now: a large room for training and eating, a smaller room for the team to rest, and a bomb shelter. With ambulances located strategically (not centrally), we can respond in less than four minutes. The nearest hospital is in Ashkelon, 18 miles away, so if the injuries are severe, we have to stabilize. Then there’s a 15-20 minute drive, even if you’re driving like an ambulance driver.
Do you only treat Jewish residents?
When someone needs help, we don’t ask, “Are you Jewish or Christian or Arab (Muslim)?” We get to work. Every day we evacuate six or seven Palestinians to the Israeli side, mostly children or infants who need heart surgery. (Hospitals in Gaza) aren’t ready to do it.
After the tsunami of 2004, I went to Sri Lanka and opened a medical services clinic there. I stayed a month providing medical services.
ebrown@cjn.org
To learn more about the Northern Ohio American Friends of Magen David Adom’s capital campaign for the emergency medical station, see “Helping to meet the challenge of rocket attacks on Sderot,” CJN, March 27, or call 216-752-6884.
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| Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas met to discuss core issues a day after Olmert expressed sorrow at the plight of Palestinian refugees. |
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