Dana Celma from Israel joined the conversation remotely, but immediately warned that the Internet tends to go haywire during rocket attacks. In the course of the conversation, however, apparently there are no airstrikes, so the communications did not disappoint us. Dana has been living in Israel for 14 years and says that she was most afraid in the first days of the war, when there were rocket attacks near her place of residence. Also a couple of days ago, there were rocket attacks near Jerusalem, where Dana lives: “In general, in a country where there is no direct hostilities, everyday life goes on, children go to school, institutions and shops work as much as they can. A large part of the population, that , who were in the reserves, drafted into the army, so there is a shortage of manpower. But I feel as good as I can feel.”
On the morning of the attack by the “Hamas” terrorist group, Dana was with a group of tourists a kilometer away from the attack site – then she had to support the group of tourists from Australia both practically and emotionally, including helping them get out of the country.
Meanwhile, speaking about the security of the diaspora, Dana first revealed that there are more than five thousand Latvian citizens in Israel, but most of them are Jews of Latvian origin who have dual citizenship. About 50 active Latvians and Jews of Latvian origin, who maintain contact with Latvia on a daily basis, in Israel: “In the first days of the war, we contacted each other to understand how everyone felt and where they were, because we are scattered all over the country. There are people who live in the very south, not exactly in the war zone. I must say that the mood is generally positive. Yes, there are people who considered leaving the country, there are those who left Israel, but are now about to return. Most have stayed here and have not left. The girl , which is the closest to the Gaza Strip, is very active in the village where the wounded are placed. She and her husband help the wounded by participating in volunteer work. I am also actively involved in volunteer work, people from the south are accommodated near where I live. In the afternoons, even now after talks, I will go there to work with children, help families where mothers are alone, husbands are drafted into the army and have to deal with a group of small children. In general, the mood is positive, and we are trying to do as much as we can.”
Asked under what conditions she would leave Israel herself, Dana says that first of all there is hope that everything will calm down, and there is no feeling that she will have to leave: “As I said a couple of years ago at the event on November 18, our heart is divided – we are Latvians, at the same time we are full-fledged residents of Israel, and the sense of community, to lend a hand wherever possible, is alive in us.”
By the way, there will be no celebration for Latvians in Israel on November 18 this year, because now is not the right time for celebrations, and some Latvians’ spouses have been drafted into the army, so the celebration will be postponed to a more peaceful time, hoping that it will be soon.
The program also contacted the Latvian businessman Digna Abuzeida, who lives in the Egyptian city of Hurghada. She said that there are also around 50 active Latvians with children in Egypt and that everything is quite calm with them at the moment. Life takes its daily course. Thanks to the new ambassador, there is active Latvian communication. They themselves have created a “WhatsApp” chat in case of a crisis situation. But for now, Egypt is calm and at least Digna does not feel any anxiety.
Meanwhile, Belgian Latvians do not feel safe in their homeland, as Agnis Sauka pointed out, after the killing of two Swedes in Brussels, and talk about caution. Those who experienced terrorist attacks several years ago are more worried. Since then, many have changed their daily habits, for example, after the explosion at the metro station, they no longer use the metro, but drive their personal cars. Agnis himself says that he feels safe and that he is more worried about not crashing the car and that the children do not use drugs at school.
Justīne Krēsliņa, head of the European Latvian Association, emphasized that we can feel safe anywhere in the world today, as much as there is a risk of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, because there is a general chaos in the world and this chaos is so unpredictable. In Sweden, the terrorist threat level has been increased – not the highest, but the second highest. Residents don’t feel it, there is a greater presence of police and security services, however, there is an incentive for Swedes not to identify themselves as Swedes when traveling abroad, that is, you don’t need to loudly advertise that you are a Swede, because that way there is a chance of becoming a target.
The second one, which is decided in Sweden, is to ban entry to events with bags. The diaspora can be affected by the state’s decision to reduce support for ethnic organizations, which means a reduction in funds for the Latvian community, and will also affect the teaching of the native language in schools – if previously five children in one municipality was enough to ensure the learning of the native language, now there must be five children in one school. The chair admitted:
“For a small nation like ours, it is much more difficult to find five children in one school than in one municipality.”
How this will affect the Latvian diaspora in Sweden in the future is currently difficult to judge, just like predicting exactly how events will develop elsewhere in the world.
Toms Rätfelders, an associate researcher at the Institute of Foreign Policy of Latvia and a doctoral student at the University of Delaware in the USA, who specializes in Middle East research, said: “For the time being, I don’t feel a threat in America, following the discussions about the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, the division can only be felt at the level of internet debates. There have been U.S. anti-Semitic incidents at universities, or taking to the streets to express support for the Palestinians. A week ago, President Biden said that he was ready to help university administrations deal with politically charged sentiment.”
2023-11-13 07:15:56
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