VOA新闻杂志2023--Ukrainians in Israel Face War Conditions Again

Ukrainians in Israel Face War Conditions Again

Thousands of Ukrainians decided¹ to flee war in their country and head to Israel after Russian forces invaded in 2022. But now those people are facing war conditions again as Israeli forces continue battling Hamas militants³.

Tatyana Prima fled to southern Israel from the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol 18 months ago with her husband and young daughter. The 38-year-old was thankful to arrive safely to Israel and thought she and her family had finally left the bombs behind.

But Prima's sense of safety and calmness disappeared when Hamas militants invaded Israel on October 7. "All these sounds of war that we hear now, they sometimes work as a trigger that brings back memories of what we've gone through in Mariupol," she said.

The Israeli government estimates more than 45,000 Ukrainians have fled to Israel since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Most of the refugees were trying to deal with war trauma⁴ experienced back in Ukraine when conflict broke out in Israel.

Some have left Israel, but many remain and are refusing to again flee a war. Most have lost in-person support systems because of restrictions⁵ in Israel involving gatherings⁶. Others have lost hope of reuniting with loved ones they left behind in Ukraine.

When Hamas militants attacked on October 7, they killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages. On that day, Prima awoke to the sound of alarms. She lives in the coastal⁷ city of Ashkelon, a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip. The crash of airstrikes and shelling has been continuous, as Israel pushes forward with its offensive against Hamas. Prima describes the situation as "deja vu," bringing back similar memories from Ukraine.

Mariupol was one of Ukraine's hardest-hit cities in the war with Russia. The city was cut off and bombarded for weeks as people struggled for food, water and heat. During the war's early weeks, Prima cooked over an outdoor fire, used snow for drinking water and sheltered with other relatives just outside the city.

As the shelling intensified⁸, rockets fell around where Prima and her family stayed. After an incident in which her husband's hand was blown off while he searched for water, she decided to leave. The family arrived in Ashkelon in April 2022 and joined relatives of her husband there.

Israeli defense⁹ systems block most incoming missiles from Hamas. But at least 80 have landed in populated areas or empty fields in Israel since the war began, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project reports.

Prima said the conflict has intensified her feelings of isolation¹⁰. This is because her community support groups have moved most activities online because of government restrictions on gatherings in public.

Koen Sevenants is a mental health specialist who has worked with refugees and displaced people in several conflict areas. He told The Associated Press (AP) he finds such individuals often experience "hopelessness." Experts warn that if people who have not fully¹¹ recovered from one traumatic incident are victimized again by a new one, the event that caused the trauma can seem worse.

Refugee organizations have offered financial and food assistance to people in Israel who do not feel safe leaving their homes. But Olya Weinstein said these groups are not equipped to help all those in need. Her organization, Project Kesher, has been helping¹² about 6,000 people who fled Ukraine, mostly with food.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said an unknown number of Ukrainians remain trapped in Gaza. Ukraine said at least 160 of them have been safely removed. Gaza's Health Ministry¹³ has estimated more than 12,700 Palestinians - most of them women and minors¹⁴ - have been killed since the war began. That number includes both civilian¹⁵ and Hamas militant² deaths.

Words in This Story

trigger - n. an event or situation that makes something else happen

trauma - n. severe shock caused by a bad experience

deja vu - n. a feeling that you have already experienced a particular thing at another time

 

isolate¹⁶ - v. to separate someone or something from other people or things

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。