Neve Michael can now
celebrate Jewish holidays in a traditional and joyous fashion. But
no one among our staff or our children can forget the traumatic
events of this past summer, during which our Children’s Village
hosted over thirty families with children from the war ravaged
northern region. The shared experience of those frightening days
still haunts our children, and we have employed an expert child
psychologist to help heal their wounds.
In the aftermath of
the war, many of our resident children have asked about their new
friends, the children they were just getting to know during the war.
Our wartime guest children, many of whom returned to poverty
conditions in areas that were hit hardest by the war, have also
received professional help as they face their own healing processes.
Yet, with all their troubles, they too have inquired after our
children. This was most poignantly expressed by a mother who sought
shelter in our home and spent over a month sleeping with her little
girl on a mattress in the crowded hall of our dormitory. In a recent
telephone conversation with our staff, she thanked us again for our
hospitality in a time of crisis and expressed a desire to pay us a
visit. Her daughter, who misses a special friend she made among our
children, then got on the phone and asked to speak with her.
This solidarity between disadvantaged children in a time of
war is an ongoing story. At present, it is at the level of shy
inquiries, discreet phone calls, and tentative plans to make a
reunion. The time shared by frightened children is the basis of
lasting memories, and perhaps even lasting friendships.
A
Short Tale of Solidarity