A dance professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal recounts what she experienced last Saturday while in Israel during the surprise attack by Hamas.
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Caroline Laurin-Beaucage was in Jerusalem choreographing a show with an Israeli, a Palestinian and a Russian during a dance festival.
“There are bomb rooms in hotels. There are places of refuge. From the moment we hear the alarm signal, we have 90 seconds to seek refuge and stay there for about ten minutes.”
“I feel like a month has passed between last Saturday and Saturday of this week,” she says.
“I realize how lucky I was that day,” she says.
Because she had been invited to a festival, she also had the opportunity to connect with a Canadian Department of Public Affairs official who she met at the fair and who helped her return to the country.
She also reports that Israelis are used to seeking shelter in bomb shelters when an alarm occurs. However, this does not apply to tourists.
“I think of those who have to live with this reality every day, a reality that for me is surreal,” she concluded.
Remember that many Quebecers and Canadians are currently still stuck in a war zone.