ILOILO City – In her nearly seven years of working in Savyon City, Israel, it is the first time the Ilongga overseas Filipino worker (OFW) has feared for her safety.
Nezita Parcon, a native of Barangay Camangahan, Guimbal, Iloilo and a family caregiver in Savyon, shared her experience about the ongoing war.
The flying rockets or missiles and the howling of sirens have become normal over the years for Parcon, but starting last week, after seeing on television terrorists entering Israel and inciting violence against the innocent, she cannot help but feel nervous.
“First time ko maka-experience, amo na hambal ko nga wara ako nakulbaan sa rocket, wara ako nakulbaan nga mag-siren. Ang nakulbaan ko is ang terorista nga naka-enter sa territory sang Israel,” said Parcon in an Aksyon Radyo Iloilo interview yesterday morning.
She noted the more frequent sounds of sirens that warn of incoming rockets, making her think to go home.
“Manug-seven years na ako sa Israel. Sang una nga giyera okay lang, wara ako mahadlok, pero kadya nga giyera daw mahambal ako sa kaugalingon ko nga mauli na lang ako. As in ang fear grabe. Makita mo sa television kon ano ginahimu sang terrorists sa mga tawo, mahambal ikaw nga ano man, tawo gid man dya?” she added.
Parcon explained it would be better to hear the sirens so they could prepare and seek protection in one of Israel’s bomb shelters.
What worries her more are the people on the streets. She could hardly identify who are terrorists and who are not, following reports of some terrorists entering houses and shooting people.
“Ang ginahimu nila magsulod-sulod sa mga balay kag mamatay sang tawo, amo ran ang kakulba mo. Ang rocket indi ka makulbaan kay may bomb shelter, ang nakulbaan mo ang tawo sa palibot. Wara ikaw kamaan kon ina bala terrorists or indi,” she said.
The Ilongga, however, is thankful for Israel’s advanced technology; once the siren sounds, their telephones or cell phones vibrate automatically.
Aside from that, Parcon is thankful that his employer’s house is basement-type, with less risk of debris falling, and not building-type.
The house is equipped with security alarm at the entrance gate and door that detects unauthorized entry. With these, they opted to stay inside the residence.
Savyon is one of the cities in Israel that houses more wealthy people, making it more peaceful. The city is more or less four to five hours away from the southern Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Even when throwing garbage, Parcon limits going outside out of fear of encountering terrorists.
Due to the ongoing conflict, she said residents are panic-buying basic goods like rice and water despite the risk of being caught by terrorists once they leave their houses.
“Yesterday, nakita namon sa TV, almost 40 persons died, tapos may mga bata nga nautdan sang ulo. Nagapanindog balahibo mo. Indi ka kamaan kon tawo bala ran ang naghimu sa mga kabataan nga patyon kag hambalan nga wara ron sang ulo,” Parcon detailed.
She believes that even before the attack by Hamas last weekend, more than 100 terrorists had already sneaked into the borders of Tel Aviv.
Despite all of these, Parcon is still confident, as the Israeli forces assured, that the well-equipped and trained government forces will win the war.
Parcon assured she and other OFWs she knows are in constant communication with the Philippine Embassy in Israel.
“Ang hambal sang embassy sa amon giya nga kon puede kon wara man lang ikaw agtunan sa sagwa, stay home, mas okay kag mas safe,” Parcon also said.
The Ilongga further said that she has been preparing for any possibility, such as in case the Philippine national government orders the repatriation of OFWs.
“Kay nanay ko kag tatay ko, don’t worry, safe ako rigya. Kada adlaw–adlaw makita niyo man ako kay nagapanawag man ako,” Parcon assured her family./PN
