A Syrian refugee has written an article on his experience of the Syrian crisis and expressed his gratitude to Jewish and Israeli organisations and individuals who have helped refugees.
Aboud Dandachi created a website named Thank you Am Israel (accessible here), in appreciation of the assistance given to Syrian refugees by Israeli and Jewish organisations and individuals.
Dandachi, originally from the city of Homs, fled Syria in 2013 via Lebanon to Turkey, where he now resides.
He described the support of Israeli and Jewish funders and volunteers as “astonishing, absolutely astonishing”, noting that “there have been so many instances of Jewish and Israeli organizations and individuals who have gone out of their way to assist and help Syrians in need”.
While Arab countries “were the first to close their doors to Syrians”, and millions of Syrians along with Dandachi “were driven from our homes by fellow Syrians and Arabs fighting under the banners of Hezbollah and Iran”, Jewish organisations immediately came to their assistance.
In his article, the refugee states: “from the earliest days of the conflict, Israeli medical teams have been offering lifesaving medical assistance to wounded Syrians. Israelis have gone into Jordan to provide aid to Syrian refugees”.
He continued: “Tireless IsraAID volunteers are on the ground in the Balkans, ready to receive and assist the massive numbers of refugees fleeing the wars in the Middle East”.
He described his amazement at the treatment of Syrians in Israel: “Over the years I have spoken by phone to Syrians in Israeli hospitals and marvelled at the world-class cancer treatment and limb-replacement operations given to Syrians unstintingly and a great cost to the Israeli medical system”.
Dandachi particularly praised Canadian Jewish congregations, many of whom have “gone through an enormous amount of effort to sponsor Syrian refugees for resettlement”.
He noted that American and British Jewish organisations have also contributed to the aid effort, “petitioning governments in their respective countries to address refugee issues, and challenging politicians looking to exploit the fears and suspicions that inevitably come with any refugee crisis”.
The full article can be read here.
