Rosalie is dominated by sadness for the country she was forced to leave behind

One day after landing in the Netherlands, Rosalie is still processing the hectic and hasty way she had to leave Israel. On the phone, she tells DUB that there was a brief moment of relief at Eindhoven Airport, but now the sadness she felt in the days that preceded her arrival is back.

"I'm grateful that I could escape so soon, but it was also hard to accept that I could no longer stay in the country I was getting to know and love. The worst thing is being forced to leave the country and the people behind in such a horrible situation."

'I soon understood that this was of a different order of magnitude' 

Rosalie was an exchange student from UU at the local university in Haifa, Northern Israel. She was supposed to start following courses there this week, but she had been in the country since September, travelling around. 

Last Saturday, she heard about the attacks while staying with a Christian Arab host family in Haifa. She was planning to move to the university's dorm this week. "I was going to attend a service at a Messianic Jewish community with two friends, but one of them texted me saying that maybe it would be better not to go."

"Initially, the seriousness of the situation wasn't entirely clear to me. I got mixed messages. The Arab family took things rather lightly at first. It's not unusual for Israel to be under fire, so people already count on that happening. Besides, nothing has happened in Haifa for a very long time. But, based on the way Hamas conducted the invasion and the fact that some Israelis were taken hostage, I soon understood that this was of a different order of magnitude."

'I still had so many questions'

Worried, her friends and family in the Netherlands called to check if she was alright. Utrecht University got in touch as well. UCR is part of UU, and the university is responsible for students on exchange when something like this happens. After talking to her parents, she initially decided to stay. "I think it's such a unique country. I'd already had beautiful encounters with people from all kinds of groups. Everyone had their own story about why they live where they live or where their family comes from. Each group has its own history. I find that fascinating and it also suits me because I'm a History student. I wanted to get to know so much more, I still had so many questions." 

She changed her mind when fears started to grow of a second front, up north, and a confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. Haifa's university decided to postpone the beginning of its academic year and UU informed Rosalie on Tuesday that it would really like her to come back to the Netherlands. The e-mail warned her that Haifa risked being caught up in the front line, and that was ultimately what helped the student make a decision. "I understood that the situation had become unpredictable. Even the north, which had been quiet for years, was not safe anymore."

'My name was not on the passenger list'

She was able to book a flight to Berlin online for Friday. Together with her German friends, she waited for news at the dorms, which were becoming quieter and quieter. All the bags were packed to leave as soon as possible and she ensured that her mobile phone was always charged.

In the end, it wasn't the embassy, but rather a UU representative who called her on Wednesday morning to tell her that she should take a train to Tel Aviv, where a military plane would land soon. The university ensured that her name was on the passenger list. She initially thought that she wouldn't make it. "I was taking into account that I'd have to sleep at the airport. But, when I was underway, I got a message that the flight was delayed."

When she arrived at Tel Aviv Airport, she encountered a chaotic scene. In addition, an employee of the Dutch embassy told her that her name was not on the list but maybe it could be included in another list.  

'We all had to lie on the ground'

She had to wait two to three hours and, during that time, she came across other students. Some of them had been allowed through, while others weren't. She approached the embassy employee two more times to no avail. "That's when I got really nervous. I still had to go through customs, which is not just a matter of walking straight ahead in Israel."

UU's employee advised her to be a little bit more assertive. "You are on the list. Let them call The Hague if they have to," they said. Rosalie approached that person yet again, and this time it worked. She was going to Eindhoven.

However, there was another air raid siren before she boarded. The airport was under fire. "We all had to lie on the ground. The person next to me immediately got down to the ground and I thought: 'People go through this often here. Unimaginable, really.'"

'What I've been through is not that bad'

Now back to her parents' place in Veenendaal, she is processing everything she's been through. She is planning on following the courses she was going to take in Haifa online now. But she can't go back to her room in Middelburg because it's being rented by another student until January.

"I can't complain, though. What I've been through is not that bad. What people who live there have to go through every day, people from all groups, that is bad. I am well aware of that. Living in safety is not guaranteed."

She tells DUB that Haifa was not her first choice of destination for an exchange semester. It wasn't because she is Jewish, either. She's just always been interested in the country and its inhabitants. "I've had a little necklace with an inscription of my name in Hebrew ever since I was a little girl. That necklace has been passed down different families and it honours a Jewish girl who passed away at a concentration camp."

"I think that this experience still needs to sink in and the country and its people will not let me go anytime soon. But, unfortunately, I will not be able to go back to Haifa for a while."

UU informs that all students who were in Israel have since been repatriated. The university refrains from informing the exact number of students in Israel, citing privacy reasons. "There were less than ten students there," says a UU representative.