"After seeing this disaster [in Syria] you are
transformed. You cannot stay the same. The only thing that helps is
planning the next mission."
(Israel)–[Israel21c.org]
Several times a year, often more an Israeli Jew, goes
undercover to organize a mission of humanitarian aid for Syrian NGOs.
From there the aid is delivered to the increasingly desperate and
starving people of Syria, an enemy nation still reeling from a brutal
and deadly civil war that may, or may not, be nearly over. (Photo via Israel21c.org)
She's not alone. Some 200 or so Israeli volunteers working for her nonprofit, Il4Syrians, have also been operating in stealth mode since the revolution began in 2011.
It's a dangerous job for anyone, but for
Israelis the consequences of exposure are unthinkable. Doreen, whose
name has been changed to hide her identity, has signed a form that says
that if she is captured, the government will not negotiate for her
release. It's a form that all of her volunteers – Arab, Jewish,
Christian and Druze – must fill in before they leave on a mission.
"It is frightening," Doreen, a mother of two, tells ISRAEL21c. "It's always frightening. We know we are on our own."
Doreen, who is 47, is no stranger to danger
zones. Since 1994, she has been giving aid in some of the worst
humanitarian disasters of the last couple of decades. The tsunami in
Southeast Asia, devastating flooding in Chechnya, the earthquake in
Haiti. She's responded to crises in Iraq, Pakistan, Indonesia, Rwanda
and Darfur.
When the revolution began in Syria in March
2011, she knew immediately that she had to help. A month later,
Il4Syrians was on the ground. "We were probably the first international
NGO operating in the area," Doreen tells ISRAEL21c. "At that point
people didn't realize how deadly the conflict was. They still called it
demonstrations, not a revolution, but we had already figured out that
the number of casualties was enormous."
Living in the north of Israel, the conflict
was close to home. "We could hear the noise of the bombs and explosions
from Syria. It was really shocking," she says.
The first mission brought in sanitation
kits, baby powder, food and medical supplies. Since then the
organization has stepped up its work, passing along food, medicines,
survival kits, medical devices and even – on one mission – 3,000
chemical suits to protect the doctors working with patients who had been
victims of chemical attacks.
Aside from these basic supplies, the
organization also supports 17 field hospitals and surgery rooms in
Syria, all manned by Syrian NGOs. Doreen's team keeps them stocked with
everything they need, ranging from sterilization equipment to
anesthetics and medicine.
The volunteers train and equip Syrian aides
in firefighting and search-and-rescue missions – particularly searching
for people under the rubble of bombings. "We discovered that most
victims suffer smoke inhalation or burns because bombings trigger
explosions in the gas cooking systems. It means there's a serious need
for firefighters there," says Doreen.
The organization has also provided four 3D printers to Syria and trained 22 orthopedic doctors to print out prosthetic limbs.
Convoys go once every one to three months,
depending on funding. The Israeli volunteers all speak Arabic fluently,
and have cover stories for protection. "Missions are short and
pinpointed," says Doreen.
As the years of Syria's increasingly brutal
conflict have worn on and more of the country has been swept into the
war, things have changed dramatically. "Everything used to be clear and
organized, and due to tight relations with very committed Syrian NGOs,
aid could reach almost any point in Syria, but now it's limited to
specific areas," admits Doreen. "Initially every territory had civilian
leaders; now there are only military leaders who aren't just in charge
of fighting, but all the infrastructure of civilian life.
"In the beginning it was a beautiful
country, but it has changed," she continues. "Buildings are gone,
clinics have been bombed, and people are missing. You cannot believe the
magnitude of the disaster, or the poverty. Everywhere you go there's a
smell of death. There are bodies still trapped under the rubble. There's
nothing you can do."
But the worst thing, she says, is what's
happening to the people. "At the start they were anxious to create a
change; now you just see despair in their eyes. They have lost hope."
It
can be hard for the Israeli volunteers too. Time after time they end up
buying the same equipment for the same clinics and hospitals as they
are bombed deliberately and repeatedly. Doreen recalls one clinic that
they resupplied after a bombing attack, only for the doctor to steal the
equipment and take it to Turkey to open a private clinic. "I'm not
angry with him," says Doreen. "It's caused by the desperation of the
situation. (Photo via Il4Syrians)
Inevitably this cloak-and-dagger work is
tough on her family. Until a few years ago, her mother wasn't even aware
of the work Doreen did. "I told her I was training groups worldwide to
deal with mass disasters," says Doreen.
It was only after hearing her daughter give
an anonymous interview on the radio that her mother finally realized
what was going on.
"It's very difficult for my family, my
partner and my children," acknowledges Doreen. "I don't have any smart
ideas of how to make it easier. We have to work where we are needed, and
not just where we're allowed. Being a mother made everything stronger
for me because I realize that mothers will do anything to save their
children."
Doreen recalls a moment years ago, when her
oldest child was eight and she was preparing to fly to Kashmir after an
earthquake. "He asked if this time someone else's mother could go, not
his," says Doreen. "I told him that I hoped that if he was freezing and
starving on a mountain, some other mother would come and help him. After
that he used to tell me – 'If those kids need you more than I do now,
you can go, and then come back.'"
In the last few months, as Europe has become
increasingly unable to cope with the refugees flooding its shores,
Il4Syrians has also begun offering long-term aid to Syrian refugees in
Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria in an attempt to offset the
growing clashes there.
"We receive them the moment they come from
the sea. They have nothing. They need blankets, sleeping bags,
toothpaste, a hood against the rain. We give them...
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Source: www.breakingchristiannews.com/