Israelis Not The Only People Affected by October 7th: Nepali and Thai Lives Lost

The Times of Israel newsite shares the heartbreaking story a Nepali intern who lost his life on October 7th. Twenty-three year old Rajan Phulara was murdered by Hamas terrorists at Kibbutz Alumim during their attack on Israel. He had only recently arrived in Israel for a yearlong “learn and earn” internship, studying agriculture on the kibbutz while also earning money for his family. Phulara, and other Nepali interns had been instructed to seek safety in a bomb shelter during a rocket attack, but did not realize this kind of ground invasion was possible. They all entered the bomb shelter but were killed by grenades that Hamas threw inside, which mutilated many and killed others. Survivors described the grenades being thrown and the gunfire that also took lives. And the ones who lived had to unfortunately exit the shelter over the bodies of their friends and colleagues.

Phulara, holding a Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, had plans to return to Nepal after his studies and secure a good-paying job with the civil service. His family took on a hefty debt so that they could finance his education and travels. They expected that his success would be a return on investment for them. The young man’s body was sent back to Nepal for burial on November 5. The tragedy left his family devastated, and apparently his parents went down to a nearby river to drown themselves after the news of the loss of their only son. Villagers spotted them and brought them home. We here at the israel daily news podcast are sending our heart-felt condolences to the family, friends and villagers in Nepal who are suffering. Hamas took the lives of ten Nepali people who were working and learning in the south of Israel near the border on october 7th. 

Thailand is another country that had a population affected by the October 7th massacre. YNET news profiled and highlighted the Thai angle through the lens of Bobby Sorapot, the leader of Thai workers from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Believe it or not, but after they survived, they actually returned to the kibbutz to live and work. The Thai workers and Israel’s army are the only people there at kibbutz Nahal oz right now. 

Sorapot was offered a chance to rejuvenate himself. He went back to Thailand for two and a half months and then decided he was ready to return to duty, despite the trauma of he and his colleagues who literally hid from terrorists on October 7. During the assault, they sought refuge in a safe room, enduring a 40-50 minute ordeal while terrorists were in their apartment destroying the place. He reports that after the violent assault, the kibbutz and his apartment were swarmed by Gazan looters who came to take advantage of the situation. 

There is a new problem, he reports, of wild dogs coming in from Gaza and immense economic losses because at the beginning before people started volunteering, there were no people available to milk cows. There were 400 cows on the kibbutz but many of them were killed by terrorists and others can no longer produce milk because they became so traumatized during the assault on october 7th. The israel daily news podcast was amongst the few and the only reports that covered what happened to cows in the south on october 7th. 

Sorapot expressed confusion and dismay over the attackers, questioning why the people of Gaza had targeted them, saying the Thai workers had worked and shared with the Gazan workers before October 7th.