Vietnamese in Israel: Even on the road, you have to "weigh your brain" to avoid missile rain
Báo Dân trí•04/10/2024
(Dan Tri) - Loud explosions resounded. Missiles appeared one after another in the sky, and bright spots of light hovered, the closer they got, the bigger the streaks of light became. The attacks turned the lives of many Vietnamese people in Israel upside down.
Vietnamese witness recounts the moment Iran fired a series of sky-shaking missiles at Israel (Video: Nguyen Kim - Hong Hanh - Cam Tien).
Houses in "hotspots" of attacks must close and move to other places "Worrying and restless" are the feelings of Ms. Minh Hue (Vietnamese, living in Nahariya city, Northern Israel) these days whenever she hears the missile alarm siren. Every sudden, too strong sound easily makes her think of bombs and startles. Ms. Hue and her family's lives have been disrupted as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalate. Especially since Israel assassinated the leader of Hezbollah, the northern and central provinces of Israel have suffered more attacks. Israelis seek shelter during Iran's missile attack (Photo: Reuters). Nahariya is only about 25km from the Lebanese border. This is an area where Israel produces and stores defensive weapons, so it has become one of the "hot spots" of attack. Ms. Hue's family lives in a long-standing apartment building with only a shared shelter at the foot of the building. Therefore, Ms. Hue and her husband decided to move to her husband's parents' house to stay. "My husband's family has a shelter right in the house, so it is safer. There is food and basic necessities in the shelter. Every time I hear the siren, I quickly go into the shelter. The fighting is tense, so my family and I always follow the instructions and limit going out when it is not necessary," Ms. Hue shared. Ms. Hue is married to an Israeli and has only been to this Middle Eastern country since January 2024. The first time she ran away when there was a missile alarm, Ms. Hue was so panicked that she did not have time to put on her sandals. The woman still cannot get used to the wartime lifestyle, with frequent alarms and weapon attacks. "Every time I hear an alarm, I feel very worried," said Ms. Hue. According to Ms. Hue, schools in Nahariya city have been closed. Ms. Hue's language class has also switched to online learning. Some administrative agencies have also temporarily suspended operations. Although she has taken shelter at her husband's parents' house, Ms. Hue still has to travel a long distance to work every day. This area has been hit by more attacks, so while working, Ms. Hue has to pay attention to updating the news so as not to miss announcements from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). "These days, my husband's family cares for me and reassures me, and many friends and relatives constantly ask about the situation," said Ms. Hue. Knowing that her relatives are worried about her, the Vietnamese woman often updates her relatives in the country briefly to reassure them. 20 nerve-wracking minutes of a Vietnamese mother on a stormy bus On the night of October 1, Iran launched about 200 missiles at Israel to avenge the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. The attack forced about 10 million Israelis to take shelter. Middle East experts said that this was an unprecedented missile attack by Iran on Israel. According to the IDF Chief of Staff, Iran attacked residential areas and endangered the lives of many civilians. Thanks to Israel's reliable defense capabilities, the damage was relatively small. The Israeli army also admitted on October 2 that some of its bases were hit by Iranian ballistic missiles on the night of October 1. On the evening of October 1, sitting on the bus home at rush hour, Ms. Vu Linh could not help but feel anxious when on the streets of Tel Aviv, everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Previously, like many people living in Israel, Ms. Linh received a warning that on October 1, Iran was likely to attack Israel. However, they did not know exactly what time of day it was. The bus was moving normally and suddenly stopped. Outside, many private vehicles also stopped moving. The alarm blared loudly. The driver opened the car door, Linh and the passengers hurriedly got out... No one said anything, but everyone understood that missiles from Iran were flying in. If they did not get to the shelter in time, their lives could be in danger. Linh had lived in Israel for quite a long time. She and Nguyen Kim (43 years old, from Dong Nai) opened a beauty salon. Late in the afternoon of October 1, she urged her fellow Vietnamese to quickly clean up and close up to go home early. However, because they were in the middle of a treatment for a customer, the two left the shop when the city lights came on. Two Vietnamese women had a worrying trip home (Photo: Character provided). The bus ride from the store to home was only about 20 minutes, but it seemed to take longer than usual. "It was a stormy trip home. We had to get off the bus four times to run away because of the sirens and warnings of weapons attacks from Iran," Kim said. At that time, Tel Aviv's air defense systems were constantly intercepting. Looking at the missiles shining brightly in the sky and the earth-shaking interceptions of the defense forces, the two Vietnamese women were shocked and wanted to return home as soon as possible. On the street, many people did not have time to go to the shelters and had to hide in tunnels, or behind cars, walls for fear of missiles landing or debris falling from above. At that time, Kim's two sons were with her husband, so she felt somewhat reassured. However, Linh's two children were home alone. Although she had taught her children to remember how to take shelter when there was an alarm, Linh still felt uneasy when looking at the chaotic scene on the street. Having lived in Israel for many years and having lived in conditions where Israel was engaged in intense fighting with many forces, the two Vietnamese women had never witnessed a "rain of missiles" raining down on Israel for about 10-20 minutes like on the night of October 1. "Loud explosions resounded. Missiles continuously appeared in the sky, bright spots hovered, the closer they got, the bigger the streak of light became. Israel's state-of-the-art air defense system continuously intercepted Iranian missiles. However, there were also missiles that fell to the ground, exploded, and caused black smoke and damage to facilities," said Kim. According to Kim, because the IDF had warned before the missiles arrived, people quickly moved into shelters. Therefore, fortunately, human casualties were minimized. However, on the way home, Kim still saw the scene of devastation when the missile fell outside a school. Glass doors were shattered, the ceiling was in tatters and a deep hole appeared on the ground. In the city of Netanya, many Vietnamese living here also witnessed the "missile rain" shining brightly in the sky. "The IDF warnings were issued by region. Sometimes in the same city, some places had to go into the shelter, while others saw missiles flying at the same time. Standing on the roof looking out into the distance, we just prayed that no one was injured," Ms. L.N shared. After the series of attacks by Iran on the evening of October 1, the Israeli government announced that across the country, only 2 people were slightly injured by shrapnel in Tel Aviv. Some others were treated for minor injuries after falling while running for shelter and were extremely worried. The missile attack took place before Israel celebrated the Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah - on October 3. On this special occasion, Ms. Hue, Ms. Kim and many Vietnamese people prayed for good things, peace and prosperity for the new year.
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