Dear Editor,
Many letters have appeared in your letters’ column on the Israel/Gaza conflict but most, if not all, embrace a mindful gap of the global impact arising out of Hamas’ actions on October 7, 2023; among the 1,200 hostages held in Gaza are those who either hold dual citizenship or are citizens of 40 countries. This short missive discusses how close Guyana came to be ensnared in the conflict on that day.
The sources of the information contained herein, while not enthused over publication of their experiences, have agreed that an abbreviated version can be publicized but considering the global rise of anti-Semitism they have requested that no personal information be disclosed. They have agreed that if these conditions change the possibility of a more in-depth interview will increase.
These are three sisters, all of whom are of pensionable age, and who out of their personal Christian religious persuasion, visited Israel about one month prior to October 7. Two weeks prior to October 7 they were in southern Israel and returned to Jerusalem in the week leading up to October 7. On October 7, at about 10 am, my international news feed was becoming saturated with the unfolding events in Israel. I messaged the three sisters asking ‘Are you Ok?’ ‘Rohan, we heading to the airport to see if we can get a plane out… ,’. At about 2 pm another message came through, ‘We are on a plane,’ and after a pause of several hours, ‘We arrived home… .’
While the three sisters were not in southern Israel on October 7, thus escaping the marauding Hamas terrorists, they, like all other civilians in Israel, were at risk of becoming part of that probability sample population, that is, potential victims of incoming rockets fired from Gaza. Israel’s Iron Dome is not hermetic and a small proportion of rockets do make it past interceptions exposing civilians to rockets directed at civilian populations or falling shrapnel. In conclusion, Editor, all three sisters were born in the hinterlands of Guyana.
Sincerely,
Rohan Sagar
