Jordan Valley: Family visits and more

Humsah

Several families built their new home, after the recent demolition of Humsah, at the same place, in the limited area between the firing zone and the settlement areas. They expanded with the help of tents they received from the Red Cross and also with the help of Ta'ayush and other Israeli organizations.

The family we visited with, where my friend Gili unloaded a car containing lots of goodies, is made of older parents, two of their sons’ families and children and another unmarried son.  They make a living from grazing and the hard life leaves its mark on the little ones.

The military restricts their movement to a very, very limited area. For example, there were sacks with manure used for tabun fuel that were left behind at the place they had lived in before the demolition. They are not allowed to go there. If they are caught, they risk their tractor’s confiscation. And so we drove our car there on the unpaved terrain.  Ahmed loaded the sacks in the car and lay squeezed between them and the car’s roof on the way back home.

About 6-8 toddlers lacking any structure run around and among the mothers who are endlessly busy with housework. Obviously they need social help and parental guidance. I may be exaggerating a bit, but we thought it was really urgent to come up with a plan for the coming year.

Hadidiya

Later we reached Hadidiya, the kindergarten and the Bnei Odeh family. We registered them for the sea outing, and tangibly captured the terrible crisis caused by the demolitions and the fear from the next demolition. Hadidiya has smiling women, curious children, a kindergarten, a school. It is strange to make Hadidiya a model because it is still a place on the side of the road for the innocent first-world visitor (until the next war). Here, too, was destruction, and the fear exists, but the daily routines also exists, alongside a supportive framework, etc. We sat with everyone, kids, moms and grandma and one of them sewed chrysanthemums together into a long necklace, and there was a semblance of serenity.

Finally, we visited Makhul and went through the families one by one. At the end of the day, we loaded Joseph in the car in order to get him to a doctor who would treat his very painful back.