Amid bombings, St. Paul man goes to Tel Aviv to help Americans evacuate
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
As many Americans scrambled to evacuate Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks, Aswar Rahman of St. Paul was there to help them find their way out of the country.
"I was at a friend's wedding when we received the news alerts about this atrocity that happened in Israel,” said Rahman, who is the executive director of Twin Cities-based American Service.
He went straight to Tel Aviv.
"There wasn't a lot of guidance coming out from our government about any evacuation flights. So we just had a lot of people who we call stranded,” he said. “And we were doing our part to make sure that they knew that there was help available to help them get out of the country.”
Support Local News
When breaking news happens, MPR News provides the context you need. Help us meet the significant demands of these newsgathering efforts.
He described the situation as chaos.
"I remember very vividly showing up, and just approaching one of like, the nooks of the airport where there was a little information desk with a young woman about my age, and she was so exhausted, because this was about three days into this conflict,” he said.
He said he set up a table, began helping people connect with families, getting them flights out via Jordan, and generally answering questions.
"Within a matter of about 90 minutes, I was an officially sanctioned table at the Ben Gurion Airport with my little American flag, my computer screen and a line just formed almost immediately,” he said.
But it wasn’t like a normal day at the airport.
"It's a surreal situation, because the Hamas missiles that were targeted at Ben Gurion — they are very well aimed. But at the same time, the taxis are dropping people off, people are kissing each other goodbye, and they're taking their bags in the airport, there's a sense of calm, but with this idea that a missile could drop on this airport at any moment,” he said.
"And that had been happening for several days on either side of me being there.”
Rahman is back in St. Paul now, but said his work overseas isn’t over.
As the deadly conflict in Israel and Gaza rages on — airstrikes, settler violence and skirmishes with Hezbollah in Lebanon are bringing the war farther north. More Americans in the region are looking to evacuate.
"We're doing our best to keep our attention on our main work of refugee resettlement, but at the same time, not adding to the feeling of abandonment that many of these families have felt for upwards of a week now,” he said.
To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above.