1. C
M
Y
K
E Irish Daily Mirror
SATURDAY 24.01.2009
17
EXCLUSIVE
CLAIRE BRENNANBY
news@irishmirror.ie
‘WEHIDUNDERTHEBEDFOR
DAYSCOLDANDHUNGRYAS
BOMBSEXPLODEDOUTSIDE’
EXCLUSIVE January 8 report
Horrorin
Gazaends
forfamily
brought
tosafety
inIreland
ORDEAL Ibrahim and Suha
Nateel with their children, Basil,
Maha, Milad and Maria in
Finglas, North Dublin, yesterday
Picture COLIN KEEGAN/COLLINS
Israeli bombers are on their way. Sitting in
their temporary home at Basleskin Recep-
tion Centre in Finglas, tiny Maria starts to
cry as a plane from the nearby Dublin Airport
passes by.
Suha’s husband Ibrahim said his children’s
dreams have now turned to nightmares
adding: “I can see they are psychologically
damaged. They spent so long in the dark
when they arrived here they couldn’t believe
the sunlight and the sounds.”
Ibrahim was studying for his Masters
Degree when Basil was born and while his
family returned to Gaza he moved to London
to complete his PhD in Politics.
So when the Gaza border closed last
September he was forced to live thousands
of miles away from his family.
The Irish embassy in Tel Aviv made three
dangerous attempts to rescue the Nateels and
other Irish citizens and in the end had to rely
on US protection to get them out.
They travelled to Egypt before flying to
Dublin and yesterday Suha thanked the
embassy workers who never left her side and
praised Irish UN boss John Ging for bringing
Palestinians hope.
The Nateels don’t know how long their Irish
visas will last and are still praying for peace.
Suha sobbed: “Gaza looks like there was
an earthquake – everything is destroyed.
“It’s my home but it’s not safe I couldn’t
go back here. My children are safe in
Dublin. Sorry but I can’t go back.”
FOR 23 days Suha Nateel cowered
under a bed in her Gaza home with
herfoursobbingchildrenandprayed
an Israeli bomb would not hit.
Every night she’d tell the terrified young-
sters that help was on the way and last
Tuesday that dream came true – as they flew
to Dublin and into the arms of Suha’s
husband Ibrahim.
Even though they’re now safe Suha said
the sounds of the Israeli and Hamas conflict
still haunt their dreams.
Choking back the tears she described how
she lost friends and colleagues as blast after
blast destroyed her hometown of Maghazi.
She said: “When the war came we were
closed in one room. We slept under the bed
every night and would only leave to go to
the toilet or get a piece of food.
“It was very miserable. I was scared
death would come every minute.”
Suha was granted emergency refugee
status in Ireland along with her three daugh-
ters because her five-year-old boy Basil was
born in Belfast and has an Irish passport.
She said Basil and his sisters, Maha, 10,
Milad, eight, and three-year-old Maria are now
scared of loud noises because they think
It looks like
there was an
earthquake,
everything is
destroyed. Gaza
is my home but
I can’t go back
SUHA YESTERDAY
DEMOLISHED
Remains of house
after bombing
VETERAN
Last Spain
Civil War
volunteer
dies at 92
By MIRROR REPORTER
THE last surviving Irish
combatant on the Repub-
lican side of the Spanish
Civil War has died.
Bob Doyle, 92, passed
a w a y i n L o n d o n o n
Thursday after a short
illness.
Mr Doyle was born in
Dublin on February 12,
1916, and became politi-
cally active in the 1930s.
He joined the IRA after
being beaten up in street
fights with the Blueshirts
which left him with perma-
nent damage in one eye.
But he quickly became
more interested in social
issues and, in 1937, decided
to volunteer for the Inter-
national Brigade.
He was partly motivated
by the fact that his former
flat-mate Kit Conway had
been killed in action at the
Battle of Jarama on Bob’s
21st birthday.
EXPELLED
He was foiled in his
initial attempts, arrested
a n d e x p e l l e d f r o m
Valencia.
Undeterred, he made it
into Spain later that year
by crossing the Pyrenees.
Initially deployed to
train new volunteers, he
disobeyed orders in order
to join a frontline group.
After the battle at
Belchite, he was taken pris-
oner by Italian fascists on
the Aragon front in March
1938 and held for 11
months.
He was regularly tortured
by Spanish fascist guards
and interrogated by the
German Gestapo and once
taken out to be shot.
Released as part of a
prisoner exchange deal,
Doyle enlisted in the
British Merchant Navy for
the duration of the Second
World War before settling
in London with his Spanish
wife Lola.
FIGHTER Bob Doyle
CHINA
CHINESE people in Ireland
are ringing in the Year Of
The Ox this weekend.
Celebrations were taking
place in Dublin with the
Chinese New Year Carnival
offering workshops, food
and dance performances.
The festival is partly
organised by the city
council.
Year of the
Ox arrives
POLICE in Nigeria are
holding a goat on suspicion
of the armed theft of a car.
They suspect black magic
is involved.
BILLYTHEKID