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Interview:



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“We had a house with 4 bedrooms, a saloon, a kitchen, a bathroom. It was 300 meters from the border. We were living all together, our extended family and with other 4 families. We shared 4 dunums of land and more than 100 olive trees. We were producing olive oil and my mother was making cheese. We had lived there for 38 years”.



“The first three days of war we stayed in our house. On the 3rd day they bombed two houses. The neighbors got afraid and escaped. One of the destroyed houses belonged to the Abu Shaar family. The father and mother died in the house. They destroyed even more houses, to make people afraid. On the 4th day, we left our house too”.



“Just behind were we are now, an old man ran to his son’s  house. The snipers killed him. He was 60 years. They entered the house and tied the children and women and took them to a neighbor’s house, so they could use the house as a base. They occupied the house for two days”.



“We walked for 3km to reach the UNWRA school in Salah ad-Din Street. In there, each classroom was hosting ten families. We got some food from UNWRA. Men spent most of our time outside of the classroom, despite the cold. We wanted to give children and women some space to be comfortable. The strikes were so close to the school, it seemed they were exploding above us. Children were crying, screaming and clinging to their mothers.  Every moment we expected a missile to hit us. We were afraid to go to the supermarket to buy anything. Two people were killed because they were holding plastic bags on their way back from the market”.



“After the war we returned. I cried when I saw the house. It was leveled to the ground. Nothing left. Only our water tank was still there, but riddled with bullet holes. I had expected to find the house in the same way as we had left it. There had been so many incursions before, but our house always stayed standing. We had always returned to it and found everything there. Some stones were the only thing we recovered. From that we made our living room”.



“We have six children in here, three girls and three boys. After the war they started wetting their beds. They had nightmares. Many times they woke up screaming. The youngest three cling on to their mother at night, they need to feel she’s there. The older ones are afraid to go to school. In the morning, when I’m preparing them they ask me: “Will there be shooting today?”. From the windows of the classroom they can see the tanks moving along the border. They would prefer not to go to school and stay home. I feel afraid to send them. Every single time we hear shooting, we run down to the school to see whether everything is fine”.



“It’s all a tragedy. I used to be free of worries. Every Wednesday we went to the market, to buy everything we needed. I had enough money back then. Now, when the children ask me for a shekel, it’s already too much. You know, in summer it’s very hot here, and in the winter it’s very cold. Our children sleep one upon each other. It’s a difficult life. And we’re so close to the border, without electricity we feel so vulnerable”.



"We used to have a big house, with 4 bedrooms, a saloon, a kitchen, a bathroom. We used to have our own water well. Now, I have nothing. If someone had asked to change lives, I would never have thought even for a split second of changing it. You know, now from Saturday until Thursday I am thinking how to get some meat to the table for Friday lunch”.



“The occupation has destroyed our lives. I’ve lost all hope. And I became more nervous. It has become much worse since the war. I’m disappointed. I used to have a great life. Now, I have nothing. We can’t expect anything, except for more bad things to happen. I never threw a single stone, I never fought any soldier and still I lost everything. You know, my uncle, he was killed in front of my eyes and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even get him to hospital”.



“We all want a house, a home. Just two rooms, a house with two rooms, I would be happy with it. Just to have a safe and clean place for my children.  Just imagine someone having everything: food, water, clothes, a house and in one hour…it’s all taken away”.