Below is a moving account, taken from a media interview with 9-year-old Ariel* from Kibbutz Be’eri.
“I’m still trying to recover from everything that happened. One of my good friends, a real hero, his body was found with a bullet in him. I’m just a kid, I go to maybe 2 funerals a year. And now I have something like 40.
I hid in a safe room the entire day of Simchat Torah, pushing heavy things against the door to keep the terrorists out. I thought this was the end, so I started saying goodbye to my friends. And then at 3 AM we were evacuated, and I wrote to them – I’m alive. But on the way out, there were many things that children shouldn’t see. Bodies everywhere, destroyed houses. It was scary.
I packed my doll that I had from when I was 4 days old, and we went on a new journey. Nothing is going to be the same anymore.
Anyone who went through half of what these children went through would need help to heal, and these are children grappling with intense trauma. ZAKA360 are planning a 4-day therapeutic retreat for 50 child survivors, but at $2,500 per child, they need help to make it happen.
👉If this 9-year-old testimony touched you, please consider giving a contribution to make sure the event event happens.
