‘It is a Spectacle to See How Israel Destroys Missiles Mid-Air, And Keeps Citizens Safe’
Rahul, a native of Amethi district in UP who is working as a mason in Caesarea, a coastal town of Israel, says war with Iran hasn’t brought any major changes to his schedule. His words:
I am part of a 30-member group who came to this coastal town of Caesarea in October last year. We are employed with a construction company in different capacity from masonry to welding. I earn around ₹1.60 Lakh per month (converted from Israeli New Shekel). We have been provided free houses and use company transportation to reach construction site, about 3 km away; the only expense I incur is on food, which comes around ₹30,000 a month. Overall, life is good. Caesarea is a pleasant and calm city and all of us enjoy our stay here.
However, over the last few days the members of our group have been receiving anxious phone calls from our families in India in the wake of Israel-Iran war. Naturally, they are worried about our wellbeing in a foreign country but we keep telling them that there is nothing to worry about. Little has changed for us and our work schedule here. Nevertheless, on our local SIM cards here, we keep receiving updates and advisories with regards to our safety and movements etc.
This city, like Tel Aviv and Haifa, is also well protected by the Israeli air defence system (Iron Dome) and as soon as we receive a warning message or hear the war siren, we move inside specifically allotted bunkers. These safe-houses are very accessible and barely a minute or two from any location in the city, be it our residential area or the construction site.
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This is the first time I have seen war from so closely and trust me it is a spectacle to watch how Iron Dome shields this country and neutralise the missiles in the air before they can cause any harm to its citizens. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that one day I would witness war games being played this close to me.
Initially, we used to feel panic at the sounding of a war siren. But now, having seen the defence forces taking down the advancing missiles in the air in a matter of nano-seconds, we no longer rush to the bunkers and often watch the action. On a lighter note, Isareli skies often light up the same way it occurs during Diwali in India.
We have heard in news reports that Tel Aviv has been the worst affected by the Iranian missiles and about two dozen people have been killed there. But here, it is relatively peaceful and we have not heard of any Indian worker getting even injured. Indian workers are a close-knit society here and we often exchange news regarding the condition in our cities.
Both the Israeli and the Indian governments are concerned about our safety and according to the news that we come to know through social media, our government is in constant touch with the local government. The overall security of Indians (labourers or white collar workers) is also being monitored round the clock and our embassy has issued helpline numbers in case we have any grievances or meet an untoward event.
At present, we are safe and are thankful to the Israeli government that is taking care of us just like the local citizens and all we can do is to pray for the safety and well-being of this country which has been providing bread and butter to us and supporting our families back home.
As told to Rajat Rai
