Comments Related To: Sderot: A City in Peripheral

Nice report preston
I just wanted to add then in the last couple of years there have been a significant amount of efforts put into protecting the city. Even though there is still a lot to be done, shelters are being built and Sderot is becoming safer.

I would agree with you. The issue that Nitai had repeatedly brought up with me was the quality of the shelters in people's homes. Although many shelters are being built around the city to make it safer, for much of the time that people spend in bomb shelters they are in their own homes. Nitai had been living in his shelter for much of the war. The issue is more of the practicality of such a small and inadequate living space that many residents are forced to live in for long periods of time.

In many parts of Sderot, houses don't come with their own shelters, rather there is a community shelter nearby. But the proximity of Sderot to Gaza doesn't allow residents enough time between the sounding of the siren and impact of the rockets to get to shelters outside their homes.

I'm not meaning to undermine the efforts to make the city safer, it has made things easier for people to move about in the city itself. But it isn't enough, and while much of the aid is going to repair the city and make buildings safer, the whole situation is wearing down on the local education system and the city's financial security. That's something that Ben-Yaish had repeatedly brought up.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. I felt a need to bring some of these things to light.