"The crises have strengthened me" Sgt. Y. (20), a fighter in the Paratroopers Brigade, experienced a difficult childhood
Although behind it is not an easy life story, Sgt. Y., a paratrooper, takes life with great optimism. "I went through quite a bit in life," he opens, Until I degenerate into crime.
I believe that the crises have strengthened me, and I definitely feel a new beginning now. "
Y. was born in Israel to parents from Ukraine, and has a big brother.
In December 2019 he enlisted in the paratroopers.
"I always wanted to fight and reach the highest. It was hard to get accepted, but with the help of people, including a social worker, I was able to get formed and enlisted in the paratroopers," he says.
The story of his life, as mentioned, is complex.
"My maternal grandmother passed away in 2006 and it was difficult for my mother to contain death. She began to degenerate into alcohol, the crisis in the house intensified, and the frictions between the parents escalated to violence on my father's part towards my mother. , And he was again convicted of violence against his mother, imprisoned for a longer period and after that they separated.
"I have not been in a relationship with him since. I remember that my brother, a young boy himself, would take me out of the house to walk around the neighborhood so I would not see what was happening in the house. Then my mother met a partner, who also suffered violence, and she herself continued with alcoholism.
The situation at home affected Y.'s character and the way he looked at life.
"Kids bullied me and more than once also attacked me because I was small and introverted. I could easily hang out with guys who weren't exactly normative but I chose not to do so. There's probably an angel guarding me. I stayed away from anything bad."
"The crises have strengthened me."
Sgt. Y., Photo: Yehoshua Yosef
At the age of 17, he left home.
"I lived for a while with the family of someone who was my friend, and part of the time with my brother or friends. In the army I moved to live alone, on rent. Luckily, the army recognized me as a lone soldier. The increase in the military salary makes it easier for me."
With his mother he is in a partial relationship ("better condition now"), and as for his plans for the future he says: "Slowly. In the army of life as if they had been paused. I certainly want to learn, work and progress, but step by step. After all I went through, intensities My mind is strong and it will help me.
"I have goals after the military to get a job, to graduate, but right now I just want to devour life and get the best out of it."
"It was a difficult time, I won life again" Ronny Burns, 56, a released inmate
"Only he who falls into the pit can understand the situation I was in. It's like falling deep into the sea, drowning, and only after the head comes out and feels the breath again - you realize you have reached heaven. Today I am in a new life. My children, who are my life, have a father again, And I definitely thank everyone who helped me get through this path. "
This is what Roni Burns from Sde Uziyahu, a divorcee and father of five, says, who has finished serving a prison sentence and is entering his new life.
Burns says he was born into a family that lived in poverty and had to start working at the age of eight.
Over time, Burns progressed and grew until he made money as an independent business owner, including managing a team of about 200 employees.
But in 2011 he was arrested for tax offenses due to financial hardship the company ran into, ran for nine years in prison, and in July 2020 was released after being deducted from his sentence of three and a half years.
"The fall was very hard," he recalls.
"It was a difficult time, in prison you are just telling, but thanks to the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority I am here today."
At first his application to join the rehabilitation program was rejected on the grounds of non-compliance, but after a struggle he was accepted into the program.
"It was a difficult time. I won life again."
Roni Burns, Photo: Liron Moldovan
"Thank God, my family has always been with me," he says, "and on top of that I had the prisoner rehabilitation authority like a second family, embracing, supporting and helping. It just does you good on the heart. Rasha gives you all the tools to move forward and succeed , Help you cope, teach you that you can ask for help.
There are amazing women and men there. "
Burns currently works for a company that supplies fuel to large companies and factories.
At the same time, he advises companies and organizations that need guidance on streamlining work and increasing productivity.
When asked in one sentence what he experienced, he thought a little and then said, "Before I was arrested, I had everything - but I had nothing. After I was released, I have nothing - but I have everything. Do not do anything that could rob you of your freedom."
"Thanks to the corona, I quit - and went free" Gila Cohen, 68, quit after 50 years of smoking
Gila Cohen (68) will feel a special departure from Laboratories for Freedom on Passover.
Gila smoked cigarettes for 50 years, until she finally stopped: "I started smoking during my military service in the Air Force. During the Yom Kippur War, I served in the southern sector of Sinai and the cigarettes were distributed to us for free. I have been smoking ever since."
The cigarette has accompanied Gila's life and has become an integral part of her routine.
She said she smoked all day: "In the morning with the coffee, on the way to work in the car, during work, in front of the TV, after dinner, before bed. The cigarette was always there."
As the years went by the addiction grew, until her age reached a point where she smoked 30 cigarettes a day: "I tried to quit several times in my life. I tried all sorts of methods, I even stopped for a period, but I always went back to the cigarette. I missed everything I did, so I went back to it." .
"Thanks to the corona, I quit - and went free."
Gila Cohen, Photo: Coco
The corona plague exacerbated Gila's addiction.
"Staying home made me smoke more," she recalls, "I would get up in the morning and smoke a cigarette with the coffee, sit in front of the computer, start working and the cigarette in hand. I would smoke one cigarette after another. Boredom and inaction did their thing."
The corona made her age smoke more, but also made her decide to quit smoking once and for all: "I saw the terrible damage the corona did to people who smoke. I realized I was risking myself every day anew. If not because of the cigarette damage, then because of the corona damage. I did not want to be a burden "About my children if I have a cold. So I decided this time it's final - I quit smoking."
Gila went to a smoking cessation workshop of "Maccabi Health Services", and thanks to her she stopped smoking.
"This is the first time I was given tools on how to think differently. I learned what happens to the body when you start and stop smoking," she says, "I understood how the body responds to a cigarette and why. "That I control the situation and that I have lifelong tools on how to deal with the desire for a cigarette. Even when I have the desire to return to the cigarette, I know how to manage it, I know how to explain to myself how I feel and how to control it."
Gila has not smoked for half a year and feels proud of herself: "I left laboratories for freedom, unequivocally. The cigarette led my life, and now I have run it again. I got rid of this drug and I am happy."
"Solomon with the decision, a weight has fallen over my shoulders" Dr. Liron Keidar (37), a gynecologist, underwent mastectomy
Dr. Liron Keidar (37) is a gynecologist and advises women on a regular basis in decisions related to their health and body, but this year she had to make a decision from such a year of life for herself.
Kedar, a gynecologist, obstetrician and fertility doctor at Beilinson Hospital of the Clalit Group, is a carrier of the BRCA gene, which dramatically increases the risk of women carrying it developing breast and ovarian cancer, and is even linked to other cancers including pancreatic cancer.
"Solved with the decision, a weight fell over my shoulders."
Dr. Liron Keidar, Photo: Coco
Women who carry the gene are at a 50% to 80% risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime and at a 40% -50% risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Therefore women carrying the gene are under surveillance that includes frequent checkups and live in uncertainty.
The only treatment that may reduce the risk of getting sick (but not completely prevent it) is preventative mastectomy.
The most famous woman who went through this is Angelina Jolie.
"I love my breasts and I really did not want to part with them. I breastfed three sweet children and we have good memories together," says Kedar about the decision, "but I much more love my life. I love my partner, my family, you My kids, and I really do not want them to have to deal with illness, or I. Unfortunately, I lost two grandparents to this damn disease and to this kindergarten. ".
Contributing to the decision was the grueling routine of surveillance and testing that accompanies the carriers.
"The repeat biopsies, the non-optimal MRI and the repeat follow-ups, as well as age, brought down the time it took.
"I knew I was willing to do anything to keep my family and me from getting this disease, the chemo, the radiation and the constant fear that followed," she said.
And the truth is, the feeling is that a heavy weight has fallen off my shoulders.
I feel stronger, empowered and feminine than ever inside and out.
"And if one woman, even one, is examined following my story and I give her the courage to make a decision about her health, and perhaps change the rest of her life - in my opinion it's worth everything."
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