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Greater than 400 days and nights have handed since my then 19-year-old daughter Naama was taken hostage to Gaza. Naama is a fun-loving teenager, liked by all. She embodies values of kindness, tolerance, and compassion, volunteering at a kindergarten for the youngsters of asylum seekers, and dealing to construct bridges between Israeli and Palestinian kids by the “Palms of Peace” group.
A lot time has handed since that horrific Saturday when the world watched Hamas movies of armed terrorists brutally dragging a crushed and bloody Naama with six of her pals into the trunk of a Jeep that took them into Gaza, after forcing them to witness the homicide of their pals.
Naama Levy has been held hostage for greater than a yr, (Dr. Ayelet Levy Shahar)
The haunting photographs of that day nonetheless torment me with a helplessness that I had beforehand solely felt in nightmares. We all know she was wounded, and at the moment she and the 100 other hostages stay in grave hazard. Launched hostages have confirmed our worst fears in regards to the violence, bodily and sexual abuse, hunger, and darkness in underground tunnels. Now, with winter’s harsh chilly setting in, their probabilities of survival beneath these inhumane circumstances develop much more determined.
‘WE DON’T WANT TO BURY THREE GENERATIONS’: LONGING FOR HAMAS’ TINIEST HOSTAGE AND HIS FAMILY
Not too long ago, Naama spent her twentieth birthday – a milestone that ought to mark a younger girl stepping confidently into maturity – underground, in a tunnel, surrounded by the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped her in her pajamas greater than 400 days in the past.
Final November introduced a glimmer of hope when 105 hostages, principally girls and youngsters, had been launched and reunited with their households as a part of the primary and solely hostage launch deal. However Naama wasn’t amongst them. Since then, regardless of quite a few alternatives for added offers, every failed negotiation has been one other missed probability, one other day of separation, one other night time of uncertainty.
Naama Levy’s mom describes her as fun-loving and sort. (Dr. Ayelet Levy Shahar)
Not one second has handed with out my household and me combating to deliver Naama residence. Every morning begins with the identical determined query: How can we save her? We’re fortunate to have large assist from our neighborhood, pals, household, and colleagues, which permits us to by some means keep fragments of normalcy inside this overwhelming chaos – important for our every day survival.
For me, there’s one other important anchor – my sufferers. As a household doctor, my work is to hearken to sufferers’ difficulties and supply aid for his or her ache. Throughout this horrible time, my medical clinic has grow to be a sanctuary of function and stability. I’ve discovered that addressing others’ difficulties helps soothe my very own private anguish.
Initially of our wrestle – as hostage households – I puzzled whether or not I might include a affected person’s misery whereas my daughter endured actual struggling. Some sufferers tiptoe into my workplace, apologizing for bothering me with one thing like a sore throat. The reality is, my skill to deal with them truly helps me deal with my very own struggles.
Households of the Hamas hostages nonetheless held in Gaza, like Naama Levy’s, are praying that People do not forget in regards to the plight of their family members. (Dr. Ayelet Levy Shahar)
Many perceive the bodily and psychological implications of extended captivity beneath excessive and really troublesome circumstances. Maybe in my case, medical data and medical coaching make it even more durable. It isn’t straightforward, however I need to select – as a lot as potential – the place to direct my ideas. Dwelling on the “unknown” solely intensifies the issue.
Sadly, the voice of the worldwide medical neighborhood is barely heard. The Oct. 7 bloodbath, the hostages’ well being circumstances, and the shortage of medical entry violate each worldwide commonplace and regulation. I’ve met with each the Pink Cross President and WHO Chairman on a number of events and was shocked to search out that the hostages’ dire scenario didn’t appear to be amongst their priorities. All they supplied was a hug and a little bit empathy. Whereas worldwide organizations stay silent, we can not afford to attend.
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I consistently think about the second of Naama’s return and dream of our life collectively after this nightmare ends. These visions really feel so actual, so tangible. After I stroll with Naama’s youthful sister by our neighborhood, I can not assist however image their reunion. At each step, each avenue nook, I think about us collectively after she returns from that cursed place. Till then, I speak to Naama in my ideas, telling her to remain robust, reminding her that she’s a real survivor, and that past all this hardship and struggling lie the nice days forward – when she’ll lastly be free.
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Time is working out. I implore each the present and incoming U.S. administrations to go away no stone unturned and use each avenue of affect at their disposal—these lives cling by a thread. To the American individuals, who’ve at all times stood for justice and human dignity: Your voice issues now greater than ever. Don’t let these hostages fade out of your consciousness. Don’t let their struggling grow to be yesterday’s information. Your assist and advocacy might imply the distinction between life and dying for my daughter and the opposite hostages.
