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Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
How foreign caregivers became Israel's lifelines during October 7 massacre
The bravery and compassion of 'the strangers within your gates': Whose needs do we put first in this moment? Israel's foreign home care came from different corners of the world to dedicate their time and energy to taking care of the Jewish state's most vulnerable members. And when tragedy struck on October 7, these 'strangers among us' found themselves in an impossible scenario: Whose needs do we put first in this moment? As Gaza border communities were ravaged, brutalized in an up-close-and-personal manner, foreign home care workers became front-line defense forces. Between sirens, gunshots, and allegations that terrorists had infiltrated the communities, home care practitioners from across the world shielded those they were dedicated to serving. On October 7, aides from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand, Ukraine, and others moved their patients into bomb shelters while still taking the time to prioritize their daily needs. They made sure their patients were fed, had diapers changed, received their medication, and even acted as human shields for them. In Israel, the home healthcare sector has seen a remarkable increase in the reliance on foreign workers, particularly in the context of an aging population that requires additional support. These foreign workers have not only become an integral part of Israeli society but also, in many cases, like another member of the family for those they care for. On October 7, caregivers put the person they were dedicated to caring for as their main priority. In moments of strife, they acted on their feet and still put their jobs first. When the October 6 celebrations began, they were filled with joy, music, and a shared sense of belonging. Yet for Camille Jesalva and Monica Biboso, two home care workers living in Gaza border communities alongside the women they cared for, the next morning's events turned into an unimaginable fight for survival. Their fight was not just for themselves but for the people they were brought to Israel to care for. Others, including Paul Vincent Castelvi, were killed while protecting those they came to serve, leaving behind loved ones at the most crucial times. In a panel hosted by Israeli NGO Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, survivors shared their firsthand experiences, while those missing their deceased loved ones paid tribute to the crowd. Camille Jesalva, 32, was initially supposed to be flying back to visit her family in the Philippines for the first time in years, just days before October 7. It was a long-overdue break, especially as she was aching to reunite with her young son. Her long-awaited return had been delayed repeatedly by the COVID-19 pandemic, but this time, it was finally happening. Still, Jesalva decided to stay just a little longer. She postponed her flight to celebrate the holiday of Simchat Torah with her community in Kibbutz Nirim – a choice that would ultimately save lives, including her own. Any good feelings from the night before quickly vanished. Before 6:30 a.m., red alert sirens began to sound. At first, Jesalva thought it was routine. But when the explosions continued for over half an hour, she knew something was deeply wrong. 'I heard Arabic voices outside the window. I said, 'Oh my God, they are here.' That's when I knew they weren't the military.' Jesalva and the 95-year-old woman she cared for, Nitza Hefetz, sheltered inside their home. Despite the growing danger, Jesalva's first thought was Hefetz's well-being. 'She is my reason for being here,' she said. 'As a caregiver, we do everything for them. She was hungry, she needed her medicine. So I ran through the glass doors like I was playing with Hamas, just to help her.' As bullets flew and Hamas terrorists stormed the kibbutz, Jesalva focused on keeping Hefetz calm. 'I was scared of the fire but not yet scared of the people – I still didn't understand.' When the terrorists entered their home, Jesalva took a desperate risk – she approached them directly, hands raised, and offered her belongings. 'I said to the Hamas, 'Shalom adoni,' – 'adoni' ['sir'] because I wanted him to be calm – with my hands up. I begged for our lives. I told him, 'Take everything – my wallet, my money – but not my ticket. I want to go home. My son is waiting for me.' 'I looked him in the eyes and said, 'Please.' I wasn't trying to be brave. I just knew I needed to survive – for Nitza, and for my son.' Miraculously, the terrorists left without harming them. Though relieved, Jesalva felt a pang of guilt, unsure if her actions had put Hefetz in greater danger. 'When the Hamas left, I jumped to Nitza and cried for two-and-a-half hours. That was the first time I felt so weak – like a candle falling to the ground.' But Hefetz, whom Jesalva had protected throughout the attack, returned the favor. 'She hugged me. She calmed me. She's my hero,' Jesalva said. 'I came to take care of her, and she ended up taking care of me.' They remained trapped for over seven hours before the military arrived. Even then, Jesalva feared it might be another deception. Once she realized help had truly come, she and Hefetz began their escape – crawling through mud and dodging gunfire. 'We escaped under fire. I injured my foot catching Nitza so she wouldn't fall. We fell in the mud. It was like a roller coaster,' she recalled. Reflecting on the ordeal, Jesalva credits her survival to faith, resilience, and the unwavering sense of duty she felt as a caregiver. 'I kissed my son's photo and said to God, 'If it's my time, take me.' But somehow, I'm still here,' she said. 'I came here for my son, and for Nitza. I don't need to die – I need to live.' Just days after her husband had flown back to the Philippines to join their two children, terror struck for Monica Biboso, a caregiver who stayed laser-focused on helping her patient in a crisis. When explosions woke Biboso before 6:30 a.m. on October 7, she immediately sensed something was terribly wrong. The gunfire that followed wasn't distant – it was right outside her window in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Still, her first instinct wasn't to flee. It was to care for Esther Rot, an 81-year-old woman with dementia whom she looked after. Biboso, 36, a caregiver from the Philippines, had been trained to prioritize her own survival in emergencies. 'They always told us, save yourself first,' she said. 'But I went to Esther.' She changed Esther's diaper, got her out of her pajamas, administered her medication – including sleeping pills – and blended food, and moved her into the mamad, the reinforced safe room. 'I thought to myself, it's not good. But I didn't think twice. I had to take care of her.' As gunfire and explosions intensified, Biboso did what she could to remain composed. 'All the time, I'm holding the door,' she said. 'They tried to open it again and again. I don't know how I was that strong, but they couldn't open it. I put all my power, all my strength.' When the Hamas terrorists couldn't break down the door, they deployed chemical smoke. 'It was a very bad smell – like burned rubber or plastic. I couldn't breathe,' she said. 'I told myself, 'It's better to die here than for them to catch me.'' Esther was barely conscious, unable to speak more than a word or two. As smoke filled the room, Biboso stayed focused on keeping her alive. She improvised a gas mask from her T-shirt, tying it around her face. She surrounded Esther with pillows and blankets, hoping to preserve a small pocket of breathable air. 'Her whole body was red,' she said. 'I even used her pants to fan away the smoke. It wasn't enough.' At one point, she thought Esther had stopped breathing. 'I shook her and said, 'Esther, Bucha, shake.' But she was so quiet. She didn't move.' Biboso, now physically weakened and soaked in sweat, began losing her grip on the door. 'I peed on myself from fear. Twice,' she recalled. 'I didn't even feel it. I thought it was my last breath already.' Without Internet, electricity, or hope, Biboso placed her phone under Esther's bed and waited. Friends and Esther's family had been trying to reach her, and when connection briefly returned, she got a call from a soldier who was a friend of one of Esther's daughters. He told her it might be safe to leave – that the IDF was close. 'I trusted him,' she said. Biboso opened the window and jumped outside, hiding under a maple tree beside the house. 'I asked him where I should run – right or left – but he didn't know. I decided to go right.' What she saw next would haunt her. 'Bodies lying on the floor. Burned cars. I couldn't go. I dropped my phone next to a dead body. I picked it up and ran back.' Too shaken to continue, she returned to the safe room. After more than seven hours of hiding, the IDF finally reached them. Esther had to be rushed to the hospital due to smoke inhalation. Biboso, though conscious, was severely dehydrated and emotionally devastated. 'While we were driving, I saw bodies, burned cars, everything,' she said. 'That's why I have nightmares all the time.' Despite everything, Biboso never left Esther's side. 'Everyone thought we were dead,' she said. 'I thought no one would save us – just God. So I prayed. I prayed a lot.' In the face of terror, Biboso held the line – both literally and emotionally – choosing courage over flight, and care over fear. 'I don't know how I did it,' she said. 'But I did. For Esther.' Filipino caregiver Paul Vincent Castelvi was killed on October 7 – his son was born weeks later. On the night of October 6, Castelvi, 42, was full of pride. He had just assembled a crib and stroller in anticipation of his baby boy's arrival. Smiling, he sent a selfie to his wife, Jovelle 'Bell' Santiago, back in the Philippines. 'He was so proud and happy that he already built it and it was ready for our son's arrival,' she recalled. The Kipnis family, for whom he'd worked as a caregiver and extended family member, had gifted him a ticket back to the Philippines for Christmas of that year, according to a Thai news outlet citing Paul's father, Lourdines. Little could anyone have known, the events of the following morning would drastically change those plans. The next morning, October 7, sirens blared across Israel as Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented assault on Israeli communities near Gaza. Castelvi, a caregiver working in Kibbutz Be'eri, messaged Jovelle to say he was already in the bomb shelter with the couple he worked for, Eviatar and Lilach Kipnis. Eviatar was badly injured in a bike accident nearly a decade prior and had developed an autoimmune disease, leaving him in a wheelchair. He urged her to stay calm: 'Try and relax and not to worry – God will never leave us alone.' At 9:30 a.m., Castelvi sent what would be his final message. Hours passed with no reply to his wife's repeated calls and texts. 'I thought there was no signal in the bomb shelter,' she said. 'But time passed, and it was already afternoon – and he didn't reply.' Castelvi, along with Eviatar and Lilach, was murdered that morning in the terror attack. Castelvi was declared dead, and his body was recovered in the nearby Be'eri Forest. Eviatar was found dead on October 17, and Lilach was found dead on October 23. A month later, Jovelle gave birth to their son – a child Castelvi never got to meet – bearing the name of his father in his memory. Now a widow and single mother, Jovelle continues to speak about her husband with love and quiet strength. 'I'm still hoping this is just a dream, a nightmare – that I'm living alone now, without my husband,' she said. 'A widow, and left with our son – a son that Paul was never given a chance to meet.' She described Castelvi as a gentle, selfless man. 'Paul, my husband, was a very good man – a good provider for the family, a good son, and a good husband.' Castelvi was also the family's primary breadwinner, according to his parents. He sent much of his income back home to support his parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews financially. Though overwhelmed by grief, Jovelle is determined to raise their child in his father's image. 'For our son, little Paul, I will be strong and brave to raise him.' Jovelle also remembered Castelvi's employers, Eviatar and Lilach, who had embraced the young couple as family. 'They were great people,' she said. 'They were excited to meet our son, and that I would come to Be'eri for my maternity leave. They made us – both Paul and me – their own family.' Her tribute ended with a final farewell to her husband: 'To Paul, my love, you are always in my heart until we meet again. My greatest love, you.' Their names may never appear in history books or on national memorials, but the stories of Camille Jesalva, Monica Biboso, Paul Vincent Castelvi, and so many others are etched in the collective heart of a nation. These caregivers did more than fulfill a job description – they risked everything to uphold their promise to protect and serve the vulnerable. On October 7, when faced with terror, they responded with love. In a moment where many would have run, they stayed. They acted not as bystanders but as lifelines. Their bravery is a reminder that in the darkest of times, humanity is defined not by fear but by compassion, duty, and an unbreakable sense of purpose. ■
NHK
a day ago
- Business
- NHK
6,000 plus foreign workers reported injured on the job in 2024
A Japanese government survey shows that more than 6,000 foreign workers died or were injured in workplace accidents nationwide in 2024, the 13th straight year of increase. The Labor Ministry says 39 foreign workers died on-the-job last year. The number of casualties among foreigners, including deaths, was 6,244. The figure increased by 572 from the previous year, for the 13th straight year. The rate of casualties from on-the-job accidents was 2.3 per thousand for the overall working population in Japan, including Japanese. The rate for foreign workers stood at a higher number of 2.71. By work category, the casualty rate for technical interns was 3.98, compared to 3.91 for people with special skilled worker status. By industry, 2,979 affected workers were in manufacturing, followed by 1,165 in construction, and 476 in commerce. By country and territory, 1,594 affected workers were from Vietnam, followed by 878 from the Philippines and 757 from Indonesia. The Ministry cites the lack of vocational experience or communication, with language barriers as apparent factors that caused accidents. The ministry is urging companies to provide their foreign workers with safety training using educational materials to teach them about workplace risks. The Labor Ministry says that as of the end of last October, more than 2.3 million foreigners, the highest number ever, were working in Japan.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
ASML Urges Consistency on Taxes After Dutch Government U-Turn
By and Charlotte Hughes-Morgan Save ASML Holding NV called on the Dutch government to ensure stable investment and fiscal policy, criticizing tax policy decisions that reduced benefits for foreign workers. ASML cited the example of the country's recent reversal on its tax breaks for high-skilled expatriate workers, which went through four iterations in three years before being reinstated at a slightly lower level.
CNA
6 days ago
- CNA
Two charged for instructing foreign workers to hold placards in illegal protests at construction site
SINGAPORE: Two people were charged on Tuesday (May 27) in relation to illegal public assemblies involving foreign workers in October last year. Rebecca Rubini Ravinthiran, 33, and Vee Derrick Mahendran, 36, both Singaporeans, were also charged for abetting foreign workers to commit offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA). In an earlier joint press release, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the police said that Ravinthiran is accused of directing 15 foreign workers under her employment to gather outside two construction sites on Oct 24. She also instructed the workers to hold placards to demand payments owed to her company. Mahendran allegedly aided the offence by going to a construction site to "ensure that the foreign workers complied with the woman's instructions". Ravinthiran faces 17 charges in total while Mahendran has 11. RAVINTHIRAN'S CHARGES Two of Ravinthiran's charges are under the Public Order Act, while 15 are under the EFMA. She is accused of organising a public assembly to demand that Apex Engineering be paid the outstanding payment owed to it by instructing no fewer than nine workers from Apex to gather at a construction site at Block 324A Tengah Garden Walk - Parc Flora @ Tengah - and hold placards. No permit had been granted for the event on Oct 24, 2024, stated the charge sheet. Separately, at about 11am the same day, Ravinthiran is said to have organised a public assembly to publicise the same cause at a construction site at 91A Jalan Satu - Dakota Breeze. She allegedly instructed no fewer than six workers from Apex to gather at the site and hold placards. This event similarly had no permit. Each of Ravinthiran's charges under the EFMA states that she instigated a foreign worker to breach the condition of their work permit, with a total of 15 workers involved. She is said to have facilitated each worker's contravention by instructing each to be involved in the illegal activity of participating in a public assembly at either work site. For two of these workers, Ravinthiran allegedly instructed them to prepare and distribute placards and coordinate with other workers to be involved in the public assembly. MAHENDRAN'S CHARGES Mahendran's charges comprise two under the Public Order Act and nine under the EFMA. Mahendran is said to have abetted Ravinthiran by helping organise two public assemblies at the two construction sites to publicise the same cause. He allegedly helped in the preparation of the placards the day before, and coordinated with Ravinthiran on the gathering of the workers to hold the placards. He is said to have ensured that no fewer than nine workers from Apex gathered at the Tengah construction site. As for the charges under the EFMA, Mahendran is said to have helped nine foreign workers contravene the conditions of their work passes by supervising them while they were involved in the illegal public assemblies. He then allegedly updated Ravinthiran on his observations and conveyed her instructions to the group of workers. Both cases will return to court on Jun 24. Last October, MOM said on Facebook that it was aware of a social media post regarding several migrant workers holding placards at a worksite. MOM said it engaged the workers involved and found that they were not owed salary payments, and did not have any concerns about their well-being. Then-Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam has also said that MOM was investigating the employer for illegally deploying the workers and abetting the workers to perform illegal acts under the EFMA. A person convicted of organising a public assembly without a permit can be fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,890).
CNA
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
Two to be charged for instructing foreign workers to hold placards in illegal protests
SINGAPORE: Two people will be charged in court on Tuesday (May 27) for allegedly organising illegal public assemblies involving foreign workers. The duo, a 33-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man, will also be charged for abetting foreign workers to commit offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA). In a joint press release on Monday (May 26), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the police said that the woman is accused of directing 15 foreign workers under her employment to gather outside two construction sites on Oct 24 last year. She also instructed the workers to hold placards to demand payments owed to her company. At the first construction site along Jalan Satu, she allegedly gave six workers four placards and instructed them to stand outside the site with the signs, the statement said. The woman then allegedly hired a delivery service to deliver another four placards to nine other foreign workers with similar instructions at the second construction site along Tengah Garden Walk. The authorities added that the man, who will be charged in court along with the woman, had aided the offence by going to the second construction site to "ensure that the foreign workers complied with the woman's instructions". "The duo and the foreign workers did not have a permit under Section 7 of the Public Order Act (POA) to carry out these public assemblies," said MOM and the police. "Investigations into the 15 foreign workers for their involvement have concluded and no further action will be taken against them as the police had ascertained that they were acting under the instructions of their employer and had no intention of breaking the law." Last October, MOM said on Facebook that it was aware of a social media post regarding several migrant workers holding placards at a worksite on Oct 24, 2024. "MOM has engaged the migrant workers involved," the ministry said. "The workers shared that they were not owed salary payments and did not report any well-being concerns." Then-Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, when asked in parliament by former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Hazel Poa about the incident, also reiterated that the workers were not owed salary payments and had no well-being concerns. "MOM is also investigating the employer for illegally deploying the workers and abetting the workers to perform illegal acts under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and will take appropriate actions if necessary," said Mr Shanmugam. The police reminded the public that organising or taking part in a public assembly without a police permit in Singapore is illegal and is an offence. Anyone found organising a public assembly without a permit can be fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,893).
