So, I'm going to preface this serious-face post with a little update, and a cute-as-a-button picture: my coffeeshop. I love it love it love it. They play good music constantly, and the people who work here are SO freaking cool. Yay for neighborhood coffee shops. We also were adventurous last night and walked to the end of the street our neighborhood is named for: Florentin. FINALLY, we found out why people think we live in such a cute neighborhood! The end of that road is HOPPIN, with a cute little sushi bar, lots of little bar/pub/restaurants, coffee shops, and gelatto places!! SO cute! There's another yay for exploring our neighborhood.
Ok, now to serious-face post. Since this is a politically touchy subject, I am going to try and present just my experience and a little of what I was told without trying to seem too biased or one-sided. Try, being the operative word here.
Soooo, yesterday we went to Sderot, a city in the Negev (southern desert) in Israel. This city also happens to be 1km (about .6 miles) away from the Gaza strip. Since it is so close, it is unfortunately subject to a lot of rocket attacks from Gaza, almost daily. Since 2001 there have been 10-12000 rockets that have hit the city, with many casualties. We were on a neighborhood block where every house had been hit by a rocket at least twice...very sad stuff to see. The people there can't really leave because their property is worth nothing, and everywhere in Israel is basically within missile range (VERY small country), and a lot have stood in solidarity trying not to cave to the terrorists aims: to get them to leave.
Honestly, all of us were a little apprehensive about this trip. There has been relative quiet in Sderot since May: that is, up until Rosh Hashanah 3 nights ago. Two bombs were launched on the city in the middle of the night, but thankfully no one was hurt. We got off of the bus, and Sheldon (our professor/leader) gathered us near the entrance to the nearest bomb shelter and explained to us about Tseve Adom, or "red alert". When Tseve Adom comes on over the loudspeakers, located all around the town, you have a maximum of 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter. He told us, "if you hear tseve adom, its not a time to discuss Hamas policy: I will point to the nearest bomb shelter and you will run. We came as a group, so if someone goes down, help them as fast as you can and get inside." Its mayhem: we watched a video of a tseve adom going off in a school yard, and it was panic and pandemonium. People have a visceral reaction to that sound here, I can't even imagine the terror that that evokes. I was scared and I never even heard it. Its also really sad that the kindergartners have learned to start singing at the top of their lungs as soon as they get inside the bomb shelter, to cover up the noise of the explosion. I cant imagine living like that on a daily basis: most everyone who lives in that city has PTSD, even the two year olds show signs of it. And what's even more horrible is that Israel really hasnt done anything about it: the families don't get any sort of help with rebuilding their houses completely, and the mental health facilities there which are sorely needed are all closing down due to lack of funding. Its a really really sad situation. After we had a meeting in the 'central' bomb shelter, we had the chance to go to the police station and see the rockets that had been recovered from the attacks. They are made from scrap metal and are very rudimentary, but i guess are 'kicked up' since a terrorist tactic is to load bullets, scrap metal, and any other sharp projectiles into the rocket so that they go flying on impact, injuring more people. It's ridiculous too, since these are all civilians. We also got a chance to stop at a school/playground in Sderot: the children basically play in painted bomb shelters because the playgrounds have gotten hit so many times. And the schools, everything is concrete. The good part is that you are never that far from a bomb shelter: the bad part is that it has to be like that.
After we left Sderot, we went to an outlook right over Gaza, where you can see almost everything. This was also quite scary since we were in sniping range, and couldnt bring cameras or anything that made us look more tourist-y. Its a beautiful view, but an unbelievably sad and frustrating area of the world. I dont know really how to describe it other than heartbreaking: and things weren't even presented to us in a sympathy-creating or overtly pitiful way. Everything in this country is so matter-of-fact about death and loss and their daily sacrifices and fears, it can be kind of disconcerting. It also makes me really grateful for how I live and for my quality of life. And for my life in general.
Sorry for the overtly depressing tone: what I saw there is something that you can't get out of your head very easily. If any of you want more info on Sderot or the conflict, they have their own media group with some interesting links, etc: http://sderotmedia.org.il/
Love you all--a more un-depressing post soon, I promise.
H.W.O.T.D: atzuv/ atzuvah (M/F): it means sad. rather appropriate.
10-12000 rockets have hit sderot since 2001: 250 of which have come in the past 8 months, during a 'cease-fire' with gaza.
children play in this bomb shelter on their playground.
So sad :(
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