Recovered Israeli student Anat Bilu (second from right) in a Chengdu hospital. File photo

Just before the earthquake hit Sichuan province on May 12, two Israeli women were relaxing over lunch in a small caf inside the Hongkou nature reserve in Dujiangyan. They were chatting on their cell phone, and one had even kicked off her shoes.

Anat Bilu and Maayan Segev, both in their mid-20s, were on a backpacking holiday. They were studying Chinese medicine in provincial capital Chengdu through an exchange program from Israel's Reidman College of Complementary Medicine.

What happened next became the top story on Israeli news for a week, and helped inspire a $1.5 million donation of supplies from the Israeli government to China.

When the ground began shaking, the Israeli students ran outside, leaving everything behind. There was a low wall barrier around the caf. Just as the Israelis reached that point, the caf collapsed.

They never cleared the short wall, but instead were struck by the falling rubble and their bodies smashed into the barrier. Segev took the impact on her jaw, while Bilu suffered severe damage to fingers on her left hand.

When the trembling stopped, they walked to the village clinic. A young Chinese woman, Tian Tian, and her friend Wei Wei, translated for them and stayed by their side in the temporary shelters for two days. Tian Tian was from Dujiangyan, vacationing in Hongkou. She feared her whole family had died, but she chose to reach out to the two wounded foreigners.

From their remote location, the two Israelis did not even realize the scale of the disaster. They were also unaware of the grassroots rescue mission being organized by their countrymen in the Chengdu area with help from ordinary Chinese citizens.

Local Israelis formed a search party headquarters in an apartment. Since Bilu and Segev were on the phone moments before the earthquake struck, their friends knew where to search.

The Beijing Israeli embassy was desperate to join the search. Consul General Alon Shoham, Press Officer Guy Kivetz and Chinese staffer Zhao Fanghang boarded one of the first flights to Chengdu on May 14. When the plane got clearance to land, everyone onboard burst into applause.

Meanwhile, rescue efforts were ongoing in Sichuan, largely thanks to the help of a Chinese businessman, surnamed Zhang, in the construction industry. Press officer Kivetz describes Zhang as "a huge man with a big heart".

An Israeli businessman in Chengdu asked Zhang for help, and without hesitation Zhang offered three of his cars and two drivers (he himself drove the third car) for the search effort. He had shuttled some students out towards Dujiangyan on the night of May 13, and planned to do the same on May 14.

Embassy staff met with local Israelis at the improvised headquarters, and they quickly left in Zhang's caravan of vehicles. The embassy arranged for an ambulance to come, and brought food, water and medical supplies.

Back in Hongkou, the two Israelis decided to descend to the main roads. With the help of a young Chinese man and his relative, they made the six-hour journey. Even though his own home was destroyed and his family's whereabouts unknown, this new Chinese friend assisted them on their journey.

Eventually, Bilu and Segev crossed paths with two Israeli men from the rescue party. At 8 pm, the students reached embassy staff and boarded the ambulance.

Casualties from the countryside were continually pouring into the Chengdu hospital when the women arrived that night. Yet Kivetz notes that there was a clear order amid all the apparent chaos.

"In Israel we know about crisis events with lots of casualties," says Kivetz. "The medical teams were really angels. They acted bravely, quietly and professionally."

With hundreds of medical staff working on an endless stream of patients, the girls were grateful for the individual attention they received. Even though their injuries were not the most serious, doctors and support staff took time to explain their diagnoses.

Segev went immediately into surgery in Chengdu for multiple fractures in her jaw, and Bilu underwent surgery back in Israel to repair nerve damage on her fingers.

"From the story of the girls' rescue we learn that we are the same, that as much as Israelis do for each other so too do the Chinese," says Kivetz. "This moved Anat and Maayan the most."

The Israelis involved in the search and rescue of Segev and Bilu now feel a strong connection with the people of Hongkou, Dujiangyan and Chengdu, and they decided to give back.

Chengdu Israelis are delivering supplies to areas where newly homeless people have come in from outside the city, and are also helping build shelters.

Besides the $1.5 million equipment donation, Israel will also give an additional $10,000 directly to the Hongkou area.

"It makes me happy to know that the donation will get to the people of the village that helped us with so much devotion," Bilu says.

(China Daily May 26, 2008)