Ghanaweb got confirmation, through a phone call, that a Ghanaian was one of the 25 people people killed, Sunday, in a pair of powerful explosions that rocked the old bus station area in southern Tel Aviv in Isreal. His name will be relased after relatives in Ghana have been informed.
Israeli police said late today that of the 20 dead identified, 14 were Israelis and six were foreigners -- two from Romania and one each from Ukraine, Bulgaria, China and Ghana. More than 100 people were injured, and 57 remained hospitalized.
Mainly poor foreign workers - many from eastern Europe, Africa, Thailand and China - live in the district.
Narrow escape for Ghanaians in Tel Aviv Bomb A man from Ghana, who called himself Godfriend, said he was lucky that he and his family were inside a shop near the run-down old Tel Aviv bus station at about 6.30pm when the first bomb went off. He added that they were in a state of permanent alert following earlier bombings in the area. After this one, they didn't intend to stay in Israel much longer, he said.
When the first explosion knocked John Adu, another Ghanaian, to the ground, all the 45-year-old immigrant from Ghana could think of was finding a place to hide.
But he ran in the wrong direction. Moments later, a second explosion sent him sprawling again and this time he found himself being trampled by people fleeing in panic.
"I prayed not to die and thought maybe God would save me because I was in the Holy Land," Adu said. Though his trousers were left smeared with blood when one of the wounded fell on top of him, he escaped unscathed.
Adu, who sends money to his wife and two children in Ghana, said, "If I had money, I would leave this country." However, a moment later, he said: "I love this country. They can come and kill everyone, and I will stay and they can kill me, too."
"I never drank in my life. But today I drank," he said. "I had a whisky to calm myself."
In Tel Aviv, another Ghanaian house cleaner, Edward Amakwa, commented: "The Arabs make the bombs to kill the enemies. They are fighting over a piece of land. It doesn't make any sense. When you die, you are not going to carry the land with you. It doesn't make any sense to kill your neighbors."
Foreign workers wounded in the suicide bombing faced a painful dilemma: suffer at home or go to a hospital and risk deportation if they have no work papers.
The number of illegals is unknown, but Kav Laoved, an advocacy group for the workers, estimates that 65 percent of the 300,000 foreign workers are working in Israel are illegally.
With Israel's unemployment rate over 10 percent, the official thought is that the illegals are taking jobs Israelis could fill, even though most of the foreign workers have menial jobs at minuscule wages that Israelis would not even consider.
Ghanaian cleaner Benjamin Okyere did not say if he had the necessary work permit, but he said many foreigners feared Israeli immigration authorities.
"People are afraid that if they speak to the police they will repatriate them," he said
Another witness was in the Azulai coffee shop. "A few seconds after the first explosion, there was another explosion," he said. "I was hurled to the floor. I saw many bodies on the ground and I ran away."
Sarah Cromwell, 35, an illegal immigrant who came to Israel from Ghana three years ago, was frantically searching for her husband, who neighbors said had left their apartment to buy some pepper just before the blast. Two hours after the explosion he still was not answering his cell phone and neighbors were trying to assure her that he was probably safe.
"I'm afraid here," said Cromwell. "But, it's still better than Ghana."
"It can happen to anyone -- it doesn't matter if you're Israeli or foreign," said a 31-year-old from Ghana who would give his name only as Francis.
Ghanaweb got confirmation, through a phone call, that a Ghanaian was one of the 25 people people killed, Sunday, in a pair of powerful explosions that rocked the old bus station area in southern Tel Aviv in Isreal. His name will be relased after relatives in Ghana have been informed.
Israeli police said late today that of the 20 dead identified, 14 were Israelis and six were foreigners -- two from Romania and one each from Ukraine, Bulgaria, China and Ghana. More than 100 people were injured, and 57 remained hospitalized.
Mainly poor foreign workers - many from eastern Europe, Africa, Thailand and China - live in the district.
Narrow escape for Ghanaians in Tel Aviv Bomb A man from Ghana, who called himself Godfriend, said he was lucky that he and his family were inside a shop near the run-down old Tel Aviv bus station at about 6.30pm when the first bomb went off. He added that they were in a state of permanent alert following earlier bombings in the area. After this one, they didn't intend to stay in Israel much longer, he said.
When the first explosion knocked John Adu, another Ghanaian, to the ground, all the 45-year-old immigrant from Ghana could think of was finding a place to hide.
But he ran in the wrong direction. Moments later, a second explosion sent him sprawling again and this time he found himself being trampled by people fleeing in panic.
"I prayed not to die and thought maybe God would save me because I was in the Holy Land," Adu said. Though his trousers were left smeared with blood when one of the wounded fell on top of him, he escaped unscathed.
Adu, who sends money to his wife and two children in Ghana, said, "If I had money, I would leave this country." However, a moment later, he said: "I love this country. They can come and kill everyone, and I will stay and they can kill me, too."
"I never drank in my life. But today I drank," he said. "I had a whisky to calm myself."
In Tel Aviv, another Ghanaian house cleaner, Edward Amakwa, commented: "The Arabs make the bombs to kill the enemies. They are fighting over a piece of land. It doesn't make any sense. When you die, you are not going to carry the land with you. It doesn't make any sense to kill your neighbors."
Foreign workers wounded in the suicide bombing faced a painful dilemma: suffer at home or go to a hospital and risk deportation if they have no work papers.
The number of illegals is unknown, but Kav Laoved, an advocacy group for the workers, estimates that 65 percent of the 300,000 foreign workers are working in Israel are illegally.
With Israel's unemployment rate over 10 percent, the official thought is that the illegals are taking jobs Israelis could fill, even though most of the foreign workers have menial jobs at minuscule wages that Israelis would not even consider.
Ghanaian cleaner Benjamin Okyere did not say if he had the necessary work permit, but he said many foreigners feared Israeli immigration authorities.
"People are afraid that if they speak to the police they will repatriate them," he said
Another witness was in the Azulai coffee shop. "A few seconds after the first explosion, there was another explosion," he said. "I was hurled to the floor. I saw many bodies on the ground and I ran away."
Sarah Cromwell, 35, an illegal immigrant who came to Israel from Ghana three years ago, was frantically searching for her husband, who neighbors said had left their apartment to buy some pepper just before the blast. Two hours after the explosion he still was not answering his cell phone and neighbors were trying to assure her that he was probably safe.
"I'm afraid here," said Cromwell. "But, it's still better than Ghana."
"It can happen to anyone -- it doesn't matter if you're Israeli or foreign," said a 31-year-old from Ghana who would give his name only as Francis.
Police said the bombs were huge. They were packed with nails and ball bearings to maximise the injuries. At least seven of the wounded were in critical condition in intensive care last night. Ron Huldai, the mayor of Tel Aviv, said after visiting the hospitals: "We are in a state of war. Until we solve the basic problem, we shall go on suffering."
It was the first Palestinian suicide attack inside Israel in six weeks and the bloodiest for months, killing 25 people and wounding more than 100.
It was the deadliest bombing since March, when 29 hotel guests were killed in an attack on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday.
