Carolina Mendes has been studying in Israel since she was 14 and was on active duty as a soldier when the war against the terrorist group Hamas began.
Brazilian Carolina Mendes, 20, who has lived in Israel since she was 14 and is part of the Israeli army’s rescue teams, spoke to g1 about her routine during this period of conflict.
Carol Mendes, 20, defends the Israeli army as a combatant
Despite her great responsibilities, Carol leads a life similar to that of any young person: she loves creating dances on TikTok, where she has more than four thousand followers; posting photos of her travels on Instagram and showing romantic moments with her boyfriend.
Coming from a Jewish family in Ceará, she decided to stay in the country after completing three years of high school there. Carolina began her military service at the age of 18, which is also compulsory for women
Israel and Hamas have been at war since Saturday (7), when the terrorist group, which governs the Gaza Strip, invaded Israel, killing and kidnapping civilians.
Carolina was on active duty as a soldier in the Israeli army when Hamas bombed Israel, leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded on Saturday. She is part of the rescue teams and has been called up to act as a combatant.
‘My commander started calling me a lot, until she told me I had to pack my suitcase for a month. I didn’t know what was going on, I thought it was just a bomb as usual. When I turned on the TV, I thought we were in a movie. Everything was so out of control,” recalled the Brazilian.
Carolina lost at least seven colleagues from the base where she worked. After the deaths, her team moved to a more remote and safer base.
“We don’t know when we’re going to go back to our base again. We don’t know when we’re going home. The situation in the country is super complicated, everyone is shaken up,’ said Carolina.
The young woman’s boyfriend, who is also involved in the war, has been asked to return to his base and must work in Gaza, which for her is ‘complicated’.
The Gaza Strip is the Palestinian territory located on a narrow piece of land on the west coast of Israel, on the border with Egypt.
“But we can’t put our heads down and complain, because the country needs us here,” said Carolina.
From Ceará, Jewish and an Israeli citizen
Carolina comes from a family of Jews persecuted in Europe during the Second World War. She is one of the five daughters of businesswoman Izabel Mendes, who now lives in São Paulo.
When they came to Brazil, Izabel’s grandparents arrived via Recife and ended up settling in Sobral, a town in the interior of Ceará. Izabel was born when the family was already living in Fortaleza. She moved to São Paulo after her parents divorced.
Carolina was born when Izabel decided to live in the capital of Ceará for a while. She grew up in São Paulo when her mother returned. But the links with Fortaleza remained, with many family members still living in Ceará.
The family has preserved its roots and Judaism as a religion. Because of these ties, one of Carolina’s sisters had already gone to Israel to attend high school before her. She took the same route when she was 14 years old and was part of a study program for Jewish descendants.
As a student, Carolina lived at school during the week and went to Tel Aviv at weekends, where she stayed with her older sister. She gained dual citizenship, being recognized as Brazilian and Israeli. And she wanted to continue living in Israel after completing her three years of studies. When she made this decision, she was already in the company of two sisters: Renata and Bianca.
In recent years, she has had several homes. Carolina has lived on military bases since she joined the Israeli army. When she comes to Brazil almost once a year, she visits her mother’s house in São Paulo. According to Izabel, her daughter prefers Fortaleza, where she is reunited with part of her maternal family.