Bus overturned by bulldozer
Photo: GPO
Testimony: MDA's olim volunteers first to arrive at scene of terror attack
Youths attending MDA emergency medicine program were first to answer call on bulldozer attack. They tell tales of horror at witnessing awful sight, but admit experience only reinforced their feelings for Israel
Emergency medical teams, the first to arrive on the scene of any disaster, are usually accustomed to the sight of blood and bodily injuries. However the Magen David Adom (MDA) team that arrived first on the scene of the Jerusalem bulldozer attack two
weeks ago had not even had the chance to grow accustomed to Israel when they were exposed to the harsh views.
This is because the team was made up entirely of volunteers that had only recently come to Israel, and graduated from an MDA course for the distribution of emergency medical treatment just a few days prior to the attack.
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"At the first moment I thought we had come to the scene of a traffic accident," said Alon Mordel, a new paramedic assistant who arrived just a few moments after the attack had occurred. "We started to run over in order to offer assistance and as we got closer we saw more vehicles and understood that it was a terror attack."
The newbie volunteers had heard of the harsh Israeli reality, but they never anticipated they would come face to face with it so quickly. "I was not expecting something like this to happen," said Haim Cohen, another volunteer. "I knew it was possible that a terror attack would take place, everyone always says it could happen, but I didn't believe it."
Scene of Jerusalem attack (Photo: Reuters)
The youths had to swallow their shock quickly in order to offer assistance to the many victims. "You comprehend what you're seeing and try to help: A man is lying on the road so you try to help him, you see people rescuing a woman from a car so you go over to try to help the rescuers. There's no time to think, you just act," Alon recounted.
Every year dozens of Jewish youths from around the world come to Israel in order to undergo a 60 hour course that teaches them basic life-saving techniques. The course is part of a joint effort by MDA and the Jewish Agency, and though it prepares them for the offering of basic medical treatment, it doesn't prepare them for the sights they may have to witness.
"At some point I saw the terrorist that had been shot dead in the bulldozer. These are memories that will never leave me," Haim said. However he stressed that even the harsh views of the attack would not deter him from continuing to contribute.
"Dozens, maybe even hundreds of people arrived to help. It looked as if every Israeli had shown up. It felt like everyone was connected, like brothers, like one body of people that want to help each other. It was a very strong feeling," he said.
"On the one hand you see the most awful side of humanity, how one person can kill so many. But three minutes later you look around and it appears as though an entire nation has come to help and save people," Alon said, adding that the difficult experience only reinforced his sense of belonging to Israel. "This is a very special nation. Until my final day I will be Israeli," he announced.
