Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 11) — It’s been days and yet overseas Filipino worker Rosielyn Aluya still can’t sleep well at night as the sound of rockets and bombs randomly fill the air especially at night.
Rosielyn, who is in Tel Aviv, told CNN Philippines that while they are considerably far from the center of conflict, there were instances when rockets would hit nearby structures.
“Grabe na yung trauma ko hindi na po talaga nawawala,\” she said. \” Tuwing may giyera makakarinig ka lang ng kaunting kaluskos yung puso mo sobrang kaba.”
[Translation: This has been a traumatic experience for me. In times of war, your heart is always pounding and you get nervous a lot even with small sounds.]
The OFW said the Israel-Hamas war has been the worst she has witnessed after being in Israel for the last couple of years.
She said she even witnessed how a rocket hit a neighboring bakeshop where she usually bought bread in the morning.
“Nakita ko po talaga pagbagsak ng rocket. Ang laki ng butas na ginawa, at saka sa kabilang building ang daming wasak-wasak na bintana pati mga pader dahil sa impact ng rocket yun,” she recalled.
[Translation: I saw how the rocket destroyed the building. Other establishments were destroyed too, there were broken windows due to the rocket’s impact.]
Hotel worker Rosielyn Asistores also shared her harrowing experience in the last three days.
“Malapit lang po sa amin yung target area ng mga rocket,\” she said. \”Habang nasa duty kami at ginagawa ang mga room, yung mga bintana biglang yumanig talaga pati yung pader dahil sa impact ng bomba.\”
[Translation: Our hotel is near one of the target areas of the rockets. While we were on duty we suddenly felt the building shake. We saw the windows and walls vibrate due to the bombing’s impact.]
Daily Banga, another hotel worker in Israel, said she and her co-workers decided to stay in their hotel rather than go home every day.\”
She said the bomb shelter in their hotel is also much bigger.
“Mas mabuti na po na nasa hotel na at hindi na lumabas-labas pa,\” she said. \”Mahirap din abutan ng sirena sa labas habang naglalakad.\”
[Translation: It’s better to stay in the hotel for safety rather than go outside. It’s also difficult if the (air raid) siren goes off while you’re walking home.]
Banga also disclosed that one of their co-workers was kidnapped and killed by Hamas militants.
“Ang receptionist po namin nabalitaan na lang namin na dinukot siya at pinatay ng Hamas,” she said.
[Translation: We learned that our receptionist was taken and killed by Hamas.]
Despite these experiences, the OFWs in Israel still opt to stay for now.
