Cydrick Garin, 23, one of the 21 soldiers who was killed in Gaza on Monday, struggled as a young man as the son of immigrants from the Philippines. He received an award from Southern Command in 2021 for his outstanding role as a soldier in the Givati Brigade.
When he fell in Gaza on Monday as a combat sergeant in the 8208th battalion of the 261st brigade, he fell along with 21 soldiers killed in a tragic attack that caused a building to collapse upon them. Most of the soldiers were from two battalions in the same brigade.
His mother, Imelda Garin, wrote on Facebook after learning of his death, “How can I cope with everything now that you’re gone... I’m gonna miss you so much... I love you, my child... I won’t forget you..”
Garin lived in Tel Aviv. His Facebook page, which has now been locked, says that he is from San Mateo, northeast of the capital of Manila in the Philippines, although he spent most of his life in Israel. According to Walla, he studied at the Bialik Ragozin school in south Tel Aviv, and there is now a temporary memorial at the school.
Garin sought to enlist in the IDF
He sought to enlist in the IDF and joined the Givati Brigade. He received recognition from Southern Command as an outstanding soldier in the unit in April 2021. According to a post on Facebook commemorating the award and the ceremony, one person wrote a congratulatory note describing the pride that it brought to the Filipino community in Israel. A video of the ceremony in which Garin received the award and was called on stage was also posted to social media, in which he is described as a member of the Shaked battalion of Givati.
In April 2021, when he received the award, the IDF profiled him and his journey to the army. “If you had told Sergeant Cedric five years ago that he was going to be a fighter in Givati and receive an honor from the commander of Southern Command, there is no way he would have believed you,” the article notes. It describes a young man who supported his mother.
“It wasn’t easy for a mother to raise a child alone in a country she barely knows,” Garin told the IDF in their article about him in 2021. “To this day, it is difficult for her to speak Hebrew. She would work as a cleaner, leave early in the morning, and return late in the evening, and I would not meet her. Most of the time, I was alone.”
He also took various jobs to support his family, and he had run-ins with law enforcement. In Givati, he excelled and attended a course for senior sergeants in the unit. He was chosen for having the highest qualities in a unit of hundreds of men.
Several articles in various Israeli media describe Garin’s journey to the army as one that involved multiple hardships and struggles. These included the run-ins with law enforcement at a younger age. His achievements when he made it to Givati and received recognition for his outstanding leadership illustrated his transition and success as a soldier.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to his mother and friends as well as members of the Filipino community.