Swords of iron stories
The story of Fasa Awizho
Fasa Awizho is 36 years old. He was born in Ethiopia and lives in Ofakim. He is married and has two children. He was a Police officer in the Yoav Division.
On October 7th, that Saturday morning, a friend called and said that his wife is at a party and was shot at. Together, my friend and I headed there. On our way, we thought we arrived at a car accident, but it turned out to be a terrorist attack. The driver of the lead vehicle had been shot twice and her vehicle blocked the road. There was also a parked van.
Suddenly, I saw someone standing with an M16, and I realized we were caught in a battle situation. My friend and I got shot at, both by the terrorists and Israeli citizens who were trying to stop the terrorists. There was no way, at the time, to tell the civilians that I was a Policeman as they were 50-60 meters away, so we distanced ourselves to regroup.
Later, I learned that 30-40 seconds before we got to that point, where the woman was shot, a squad of 7-8 terrorists passed there with RPGs. Had we not, faced the delay and the shootings, we would have continued and the terrorists would have been right on our tail. Who knows if I would be alive today…
We started getting closer to the NOVA festival and we saw dead bodies. Only the urgent need to find the specific people kept us going.
I only had a gun on me. I saw a terrorist and shot him. I got shot in the leg. I got shrapnel in both my legs. With my adrenaline surging, I did not realize I had been wounded. Even when the medic came, I sent him to treat other people. It was only then, when the medic told me I had been shot, that I realized I was wounded. I was taken to Soroka hospital and then to Beilinson for treatment.
While at the hospital I was given the name of a person who could help me coordinate my treatments at Beit Halochem. She took care of all the paperwork so after my hospitalization, I immediately started my physiotherapy at Beit Halochem in Beer Sheva. The staff at Beit Halochem are amazing and attentive. They listen, they get to know you. Little by little I am dealing with the trauma I have suffered.
