If I don't have me - who do I have: just like the rest of the country - Liat Keder, the CEO of the "Sergio" Hair and Beauty College, an old and respected business that has been operating in Rishon Lezion since 1978, also had to deal with the grim reality since the outbreak of the war.
Along with quite a few cities in the southern part of the country, Rishon Lezion was also in the line of fire in the first months of the war, which forced Kader to immediately close the place and bear the heavy burden of a place that has been closed for more than a month, which provides for many workers and provides a home for many customers and students.
"We went through very, very difficult weeks, and even now, even though we are back in business and the business is recovering, we are still licking our wounds," says Kader, daughter of the late Sergio Zanzuri, the founder of the college. "Of course, in the first month the business was closed Absolutely and we had to suffer heavy losses, but now, fortunately for us, we are seeing the recovery.
"The situation in December was already much better, and this month as well. The customers have returned, of course, and with them the students. It certainly makes the period we went through easier, but unfortunately we did not receive any help from the state."
Just like many business owners in the north of the country and in the south, Liat and the rest of the college staff have a full stomach about the state's handling of the crisis and the compensation they received, or rather - did not receive.
"The state did us an outrageous exercise. When it came time to discuss compensation, they actually combined November and December. In November the place barely operated and we saw a drop of up to 40% in profits, but in December we saw a recovery, so they did an unfair exercise here. They also compared the October revenues to October of last year, during which there were holidays and the business barely worked.
"This year we really waited in anticipation for the month of October, because the holidays were in September and the college was supposed to be at its peak, and unfortunately everything was shelved because of the war. Everything was canceled because of the tragedies that whole families went through, but it's a shame that the state is abandoning so many business owners, who now have to recover on their own."
It's hard not to sympathize with Kader when she talks about the disappointment with the state, but one thing she knows, and that is that her business and many other businesses had no choice but to take the reins and recover alone, without any assistance.
IDF force in the south. War of Iron Swords (archive), photo: IDF spokesman
"I was in Tel Aviv the other day, and I saw all the businesses working and people just looking to hang out. On the one hand, it pinches my heart, because a lot of people's lives have been ruined recently and I want to express my sympathy. But on the other hand, what we realized in the shadow of this tragedy is that if we, the business owners, don't We will move the wheels of the economy ourselves - no one else will do it for us.
"We want to work, provide people with a living and respond to customers. The state didn't help us, so we have to do it ourselves."
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