An overarching sense of concern

An overarching sense of concern


Avi Cohen




It's scary how expert and professional we've become at this.


Just 24 hours after the explosion, which in a split second turned the resort city of Burgas into yet another place where terror hunts down Israelis, a moving memorial service was held at the site. By the time the coffins were loaded on to the Israel Air Force Hercules plane, no sign of the attack was left at the site — only the painful memories remained.


The dead and wounded were returned to Israel, the volunteers from the ZAKA disaster victim identification organization collected whatever remains were found, and the Israelis who stayed behind in Burgas slowly returned to their holiday routines.


One Wednesday afternoon, when the first reports of the attack on the bus started coming in, everyone sprang into action to ensure that the Israeli victims were taken care of as quickly as possible. As we got closer to Burgas, we saw Israeli soldiers, ZAKA volunteers, Israeli police officers, and Magen David Adom ambulance medics all acting as though they were bound by some unwritten contract to take care of their fellow citizens. There aren't many countries in the world that display such a level of concern.


On the way to the city, Israelis claimed that it was suddenly scary to be in Burgas. But as the hours went by, they calmed down, due in part to the sense of security emanating from the Bulgarian forces, but also because of the Israeli security services.


When the memorial service began, a foreign reporter turned to me and said, "You lot are good at ceremonies." I responded, "Yes, but we're also good at taking care of our citizens, and as bad as it may sound, we're also good at being highly efficient at our work, even in situations where it is difficult to remain unaffected."


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