About two weeks ago, Rotem Buskila agreed to come to her home in the moshav for the first time to pick up winter clothes. "Home was foreign to me," she says honestly.
"With indescribable excitement": Kibbutz Be'eri evacuees wait for the return of residents and youths kidnapped on Black Saturday // Yoni Rikner
"Yaron was there before me and I saw the sukkah folded in the yard. The house was a mess and decorations of the sukkah were on the floor. Life froze in time. The dishes I washed were still in the dishwasher, the blankets were still in the safe room, and the beds were without bedding. Our new neighborhood was vacated and the place looked deserted and abandoned. I didn't want to stay there for even a minute, and I asked Yaron to fly away."
Were you worried that sights like the one in the south could happen to you?
"We are very close to the border, but we did not live in fear, despite the talk about the tunnels. Since Black Saturday I have been in great shock. Just imagine that what happened there could have happened here too. Yaron immediately said we would get ready to leave and packed our suitcases, but we weren't in a hurry.
"Two days later, they said there was a fear of terrorist infiltration, and as soon as there was a lull from the missiles, we folded up and drove to my sister. The orderly evacuation to the hotel was after a week.
"They're trying to have a routine here." The Nitzan family at the Ye'arim Hotel. Photo: Efrat Eshel
"There's no doubt this place is amazing. I have my own room and the kids are in a separate unit, but it's not freedom. I have a hard time with not knowing. What will happen? When will we be back? I work here with the nursery, and Yaron also works normally, but he's in the far north and I'm worried.
"I know we'll go back to Yaara eventually. We have faith, and God will protect us, because living on the border we guard the country with great pride. The terrorists are doing everything to expel us, and we will not let them. We are the people of eternity. Israel is a small nucleus on the globe, but a strong nucleus."
What makes you happy these days?
"Elichai's aliyah to the Torah, which will take place in a week in honor of his Bar Mitzvah. There is no big event going on at the moment, because this is not the right time. Luckily, our families wrap us up and bring us food from home from time to time on Fridays, and buy gifts for the children. We bought a microwave and a toaster, and on Fridays I bake rolls like at home."
Families interested in sharing their story with Israel Hayom can contact us by email TalA@IsraelHayom.co.il
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