Orpaz Nadav never imagined that her maternity leave would be so far from her home in Gvaram. Just a month and a half ago, her daughter Kai was born. A few days later, Black Saturday occurred.
"It caught us in a traditional kibbutz performance on Children's Day, which began on Friday and ended with sleeping in tents on the grass of the dining room," she says. The security forces killed them on the access path to the kibbutz. It was a tough day."
When the attack began, they all went into the safe room. "The children were suffering and afraid of the shelling and all the madness around," Orpaz admits, "We guarded them and were together all the time. Kai must have had a rough day, too. At 5:60 P.M., we evacuated the kibbutz in a kind of secure convoy. After initially being in different places, we arrived at Kibbutz Givat Haim-Union, using the "friend brings friend" method. There are 50-<> families from Gvaram here and in other nearby kibbutzim – in moshavim and even in nearby Hadera."
Evacuees at a hotel at the Dead Sea | Yoni Rikner
She emphasizes that the proximity to friends from Gvaram makes it much easier for them. "They go above and beyond for us," she says, "they give us just everything: from shared dinners, Shabbat receptions, many cultural performances – to all the equipment we need. They are just angels here. True champions. We spend a lot of time together with members of our community, and there's a kind of comfort in that. It is very helpful to cope with the great difficulty that has fallen upon us.
"At the same time, we are far from home and no one can tell us when we will be able to return to Gvaram. It's a real refugee feeling. We are literally refugees in our country. We scrambled for clothes and equipment, entire families left with almost nothing. It's true that there are many who donate and help, but it's hard."
Now, as mentioned, she is on maternity leave with Kai. Although she is badly needed in the army, since it was known in advance, they found a replacement. "Of course they need me in the army, but my children also really need me now," she says. "Guy continues to work at Tnuva, and I'm here with them on the kibbutz. Three small children and a baby who need a lot of attention. We're happy here, but obviously we'd love to get back to normal, to our home."
The Nadav Family:
Lt. Col. Orpaz (35), deputy commander of the NASA unit in the technological division; Guy (37), director of Tnuva's preventive maintenance department; coral (6); Reef (4); Seagull (8 years and <> h); Kai (<>.<> months)
Evicted families interested in sharing their story with Israel Hayom can contact us by email TalA@IsraelHayom.co.il
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