With no ceasefire in sight for the Israel-Hamas war, Hawaiʻi friends and family of a humanitarian worker who was stuck in Gaza worried for her safety.
Ramona Okumura, a retired prosthetics clinician, was born and raised in Hawaiʻi and now lives in Seattle. Her community was contacting government officials and media organizations to expedite her evacuation from Gaza.
She routinely visits Gaza to help young people get fitted for prosthetics through the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
"We are increasingly fearful for her safety, given the lack of supplies, lack of food, lack of water," said her niece Akemi Hiatt, who lives in East Honolulu. "She might not even be hurt or attacked by any of the parties involved in the war, but she might just be hurt because of the direness of the situation."
Early Wednesday morning in Hawaiʻi, her family received a welcome update: Okumura was allowed through the Egypt-Gaza border and was on her way to Cairo. She expected to arrive in Cairo at 1 a.m. on Thursday in her time zone.
"Luv to everyone who helped get me out," she said in a text message to her family. "Pray for the people of Gaza who now don't have us as shields from harm."
Hundreds of foreign nationals flooded through the gates Wednesday, marking the first time that people trapped inside Gaza since fighting broke out between Israel and Hamas have been allowed to leave. The Gaza side of the Rafah crossing is operated by local Hamas authorities, who are coordinating with Egypt and facilitating the exit of foreigners and wounded, NPR reports.
Okumura lost contact with her family during the communication blackout last week, but she has since been able to communicate. She sent an audio recording from Gaza to share with others.
"Besides food and water insecurity for the 32 NGO members and 20 support staffers and families with whom I am sheltering, and location insecurity from the thousands of IDPs outside our gated area, there's the almost constant vibration and noise from jets flying overhead, bombs and missiles hitting all around us at all hours of the day and night," Okumura said in the recording before she left Gaza. IDP means an internally displaced person.
Her brother Miles Okumura told HPR previously that she will likely return to Gaza one day to continue helping because "that's the kind of person she is."
This interview aired on The Conversation on Oct. 31, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
