They married an elderly couple, rescued babies, distributed thousands of rations, and have so far assisted some 10,000 refugees. Avi Marcus, a resident of Hadar Ganim, describes the situation on the Ukraine – Moldova border and talks about the activities of the rescue mission of the Rescue Union
Posted on: 11.3.22 07:00
Russia’s war in Ukraine has been going on for about two weeks now, the humanitarian situation is getting worse and the influx of refugees is breaking decades of records. Among those who rallied to help the people of Ukraine and the hundreds of thousands of refugees who were forced to flee their homes under the harsh attacks of Putin’s soldiers are members of the Rescue Union who set out on a special delegation to Moldova entitled “Operation Orange Wings.” One of them is Avi Marcus (44), a resident of the Hadar Ganim neighborhood in Petah Tikva and a father of five, who serves as chief paramedic and deputy director of the medical division of the Rescue Union.
In a conversation with Malabes, he gives a glimpse into the activities of the organization’s members on the Moldova-Ukraine border. “On Thursday, exactly two weeks ago, a decision was made to send a delegation from the Rescue Union at the request of Rabbi Pinchas Salzman, the rabbi of Kishinev. “First – everything related to emergency medicine, second – routine medicine, third – psychotrauma, fourth – to address refugees wherever they are, whether it is clothing, footwear, food, drink and warm clothing.” Today, the delegation already numbers about 60 rescue union members Permit from Petah Tikva, Hod Hasharon, Raanana Kfar Saba.
To date, an estimated 10,000 refugees have been treated by the delegation. The expedition’s journey began on Saturday night about two weeks ago. “We landed in Romania and after a 14-hour drive we arrived in Chisinau in Moldova and we have been here since we arrived,” says Marcus. “We set up our Knesset and the starting point. Our work here is in several sectors: on the northern border – Mogilev Pedolsky and on the southern border – in Planka. Every day we send teams, with each team including at least a paramedic, a paramedic and a rescuer. And the same assistance, some of which we brought from the country after we turned to a lot of donors and some of which we bought here in Moldova. “
Rescue Union Relief Mission, Rescue Union Photo
In addition to assisting with basic survival equipment, the rescue delegation organizes flights for hundreds of Israelis and Jews who want to immigrate to Israel. “We started organizing flights from Chisinau to Israel,” says Marcus. “So far we have flown 400 people and now another bus is leaving with another 150 people, with the Rescue Union financing these flights. So far five flights have departed and more are expected to depart later.”
The hands of the rescue workers of the Rescue Union and the rest of the volunteers in the field are busy around the clock, with the flow of refugees not stopping for a moment. “Refugee buses come all the time, eat something hot and move on,” he says. “And it’s going to be even minus seven degrees. We do two thousand dishes and our teams every day that deal with this whole operation.”
What is the main difficulty you are having?
“There is a very large mass of people, we need a lot of help here. The financial costs here are very high. We have a lot of donations from abroad. In doing so, there is also the mental-emotional difficulty. We are worn medical teams that workload is very intense. The difficulty is seeing the same people emotionally – mentally. We see that they are in tragedy and ongoing trauma and we have to somehow help them – a lot of people come and therefore we are not able to reach everyone. We rented some vehicles to get around. Also, every day we bring here some buses and transits to transport those people to the airport or to transport our crews to the borders. A very, very large and complex operation. “
What will you remember from this journey?
“First, when we got here, then they had a wedding here for two adult couples, aged 65 and 67, who came from Ukraine and there was no one to marry them and they came here and had a wedding. Another case, there were two four-month-old babies rescued by no means after Surrogacy procedure. In addition, there was some 80-year-old Parkinson’s patient who ran out of very specific medications he needed. After great efforts we were able to fly the drugs out of the country. The sights here are not simple. “A lot of families were torn apart. It’s hard to see that.”
Members of the Rescue Union’s relief mission, Photo of the Rescue Union’s
Have you been on a similar expedition in the past?
“When I was in the army, I was on a delegation that went to Kosovo. It was different because there were people who lived in tent cities, but here there is civilization around them.”
How long will you stay here?
“We plan to stay here for another week and a half. We are focusing first, on humanitarian aid, medical flights, running the clinic we have here with exits to treat all sorts of places within the city or on the border.”
How is your personal handling of the situation?
“Without my family and the support of my wife and children I would not have been able to be here. I should also thank everyone and thank you very much for this huge body that gave me the right to be in it and make a world correction. It is very important to give help without receiving an award. In life and here I feel I can do it in the best way possible. “
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