90-year-old woman left without electricity in her home for several days: "This is a life-threatening danger"
According to the family, moisture originating from the neighbor's apartment penetrated the infrastructure and led to the power cut. The elderly woman, who deals with diabetes and moves with a walker, was left without a refrigerator and air conditioning. Her son: "I just want my mother to live with dignity." The neighbor: "The issue is being handled and was never neglected."
Imbat Rata, an elderly woman of about 90 who lives in Ramle with her disabled daughter, has been living without electricity in her home for several days. According to her family, a water leak and moisture originating from the neighbor's apartment above have been ongoing for years, and after they penetrated the electrical infrastructure, a fear of electrocution arose. Following the danger, the electricity supply to the apartment was disconnected last Saturday.
Since then, the elderly woman has been left without a refrigerator and air conditioning during the hot summer days. Imbat deals with diabetes, requires daily treatments and injections, and moves using a walker.
"Today I went to the neighbors, I took an extension cord from there so that there would at least be emergency light in the house," her son recounted. "My mother is a sick woman. She is constantly trying to maintain independence and not burden us, her seven children, but this situation is simply unbearable."
According to the son, the main concern is for his mother's safety while she navigates the dark apartment. "Why does my mother have to live like this? She lives in the dark, she could fall and die. What are they waiting for, for something to happen to her, God forbid? I live every day in fear that something will happen to her."
According to him, an attempt was made to treat the leak at the beginning of the week, but the problem has not yet been solved. "The neighbor promised that they would come to fix it, and on Sunday they arrived, did something small with the leak, but in practice the situation continues. The problem needs to be treated at the root and not just do cosmetic work." According to him, the neighbor told him that the building is designated for 'pinui-binui' (evacuation and construction) and therefore she intends to perform only a localized treatment.
The son said that he turned to various parties in an attempt to find a solution. "I tried to talk to everyone. I went to the municipality, I spoke with the deputy mayor, I spoke with a social worker. Everyone tells me 'go to court', but court is a long process and in the meantime this is a life-threatening danger," he said. "Why aren't they handling it and doing something in the meantime? I just want my mother to live with dignity."
Imbat's seven children are meanwhile trying to assist her and bring food and basic equipment to the apartment. "If you had come to see her, you would cry. No human being deserves to be in such a situation," her son said. "We are a law-abiding family and we do not want to conduct ourselves in an unclean manner with the neighbors. We spoke nicely. I am already beside myself, it hurts me."
The neighbor stated in response: "The issue is being handled, the issue was never neglected. A plumber arrived and together with the insurance company they located the leak and are currently waiting for the matter to be handled."
