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Source: http://www.sar-el.org/Cliona%20Campbell.html
An Irish Volunteer in Israel
(Sar-El - Volunteers for Israel) Cliona Campbell - My decision to fly 5,000 km across the globe from my comfortable suburban existence to the sweltering heat and harsh discipline of the Israeli army was never one based on impulse. Ever since the age of nine, I have been captivated by the Jewish people - a nation which has endured hatred, persecution and genocide, and yet still retains an unyielding will to survive, unifying them in an unbreakable kinship. Volunteers in the army are not afforded preferential treatment. We don the same uniforms, sleep on the same squeaky bunk beds, survive on the same food, and carry out work that the soldiers themselves would otherwise be doing. By night we would sit outside the barracks with the combat soldiers as we chatted animatedly about our favorite bands and Tel Aviv hang-outs. I gazed at the myriad of faces surrounding me. Moroccans, Russians, Yemenites, Ethiopians - all sporting the same khaki green uniform, all calling each other "achi" - "my brother." The final day of volunteering felt almost like a bereavement, as the commander's words echoed in my mind. "We have no oil, no precious metals, and a chronic water shortage. The only resource we do have is our people."