A Reason to be Grateful

By Rachel Kraus
ENP Volunteer Summer 2014, via Career Israel
Student at Brandeis University

The 4th week at my internship at ENP has certainly been the most exciting and inspiring one yet. 

This past Tuesday was the first time sirens were sounded throughout central Israel during this particular conflict, and I happened to be at Lod’s youth outreach center when this happened. It was the first time EVER that sirens were heard in Lod. It had started off as a typical day at the center; the soldiers who volunteer there led a great activity about dreams and how they can be achieved. Afterwards, everyone started getting ready to paint the walls of the center, paint a mural that they had decided on, and to do a little gardening in the yard. Suddenly, everyone started running towards the back of the building and I didn’t understand why until I heard the penetrating sound of sirens. It brought me back to my time on Young Judea Yearcourse in 2012 when rockets were fired at Jerusalem for the first time since 1991. I felt that same feeling of panic and uncertainty in Lod almost two years later, only to look around and find that it was an entirely different situation. On Yearcourse, I looked around the stairwell that everyone was crammed into and saw people panicking, crying, and shaking.

In Lod, however, I looked around and saw people chatting, even laughing, in a state of total calm. I was confused because it was these kids’ first time hearing these sirens, yet they didn’t seem worried at all. Once the sirens stopped, we looked outside to see smoke zigzagging the sky where the Iron Dome intercepted the missile. I was feeling somewhat unsettled and didn’t really know what everyone was going to do next. Then, without any mention of what just happened, the staff and the kids went outside to continue beautifying their center.

The juxtaposition between the uneasiness the missiles induced to the relaxing, therapeutic activities they were doing a few minutes later really struck me. I asked one of the teenagers how they were feeling, and he said it was no use thinking about one thing all the time. He said we can’t do anything to change it right now, so we have to simply continue living our lives. This boy is 16 years old, born in Ethiopia, having had to move to Israel and live in a somewhat crime-ridden city, yet his attitude is mature beyond his years. I was inspired by the bravery of these kids and their ability to live their lives happily despite all the obstacles that they face. It was so different from the spoiled attitudes of Americans that I’m accustomed to and it made me more grateful for all that I have. 

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