This week, we reached out to our end-users to learn more about their problems in everyday life and during a war to find out the real issues and how we can help make their lives better.
We conducted interviews with people who live in different areas: X, lives in the Gaza Strip:
Originally from Ashkelon, he moved to 'Sderot' for a few years, lived with his wife for three years, and recently moved to 'Silver village.'
Can you tell me about your daily routine? And in times of war/tension?
For him, it is not too big a matter. It is something they have become accustomed to.
His wife got pregnant and considered leaving because of the situation. Routinely everything was fine. They "enjoyed" benefits and received money from Jews worldwide; there are tax benefits, the municipality is very helpful. At the time of the alarms, it is hard, but all around is good. Yes, there is alertness, but it is subconscious.
He's sure it's affecting somewhere inside but in the little things. He was abroad once, and he heard an ambulance alarm and was anxious as if there were missiles.
There are many benefits to living in a place with missiles without an income tax.
When moving an apartment, they think about where the security room is and how many services there are.
How does it feel to hear the alarm? What's the first thing you think of in those moments?
Run to the "Mamad." Without fear, without too much thought. He is doing it robotically without overthinking. He is very afraid for his son, to whom he will not provide the required protection.
Would you please describe to me the sense of security of living in your area?
Iron Dome instills confidence. Without it, it would have been scary. He is not afraid right now.
What do you think are the most significant difficulties in daily life alongside the security situation?
It hurts income, disturbs sleep, subconsciously you wait for an alarm, you leave the car window a little open.
What are the benefits of living in such a place?
Economic benefits, housing, tax, etc.
What do you think can be improved in the existing conduct to make you feel more confident?
Stop the threat, do not focus on defense, but engage in attack, eradicate the threat, improve deterrence.
Can you share what it is like for you to raise children in the envelope area (for parents)?
Sad, very hard. he considered leaving because of him. The situation was not bad enough to move, but they consider leaving whenever there is an alarm.
Additional information provided:
The municipality is very helpful—the children's Resilience Center.
He doesn't think there is a need for another tool that is missing. Maybe take an existing tool and make it more user-friendly.
Psychologically, he doesn't know if children have a place to unload and talk about the situation.
X, lives in Netivot:
Can you tell me about your daily routine? And in times of war/tension?
During periods of tension, suddenly you can't go to work. Sometimes for whole months. People are facing financial difficulties and are stuck at home all day. Students are missing school. There's a feeling that it's not fair. It is very difficult to study at a time like this when you have to run between the computer and the emergency room. People are longing for a routine and an everyday life.
What happens during an alarm?
It's a problem when you are outside because you do not know where the alarm will catch you.
You have 30 seconds to run to the shelter.
A year ago, she worked on a therapy farm for children with trauma - and they had to stop work altogether during times of tension.
For example, when on a 10-day escalation routine, correspondence and support groups can significantly help children cope with the situation.
On caregivers, you have to protect the children during an alarm, and it is very stressful.
What do you think are the most significant difficulties in daily life alongside the security situation?
The difficulties are both mental and physiological. You feel like you're missing out and not doing things like all the kids at the center.
The war leads many children to suffer from concentration problems. There is difficulty concentrating on studies. Your mind is distracted, and you constantly think about when the next alarm will come.
For example, she was a counselor in a youth movement, and in the middle of the night, one of the boys started vomiting because of post-trauma.
There is a center that offers emotional therapy - a psychologist for kids. But not everyone can come, they have to meet specific criteria, and there is much bureaucracy.
In her opinion, those who need help most are the elderly, children, and those who do not have a shelter at home and need to sleep in a shelter with other people they do not know.
The elderly cannot physically go down to the shelter, and then they have to stay at home and have nothing to do. They have to sit and wait for it to pass and pray that nothing will happen to them.
There are whole months when the children don't attend school. This significantly affects the social aspect. They can't play with their friends. They experience anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Parents also need to be at home and stay with the kids 24/7, which is very difficult.
The problems accompany them every day, too - she hears a song on the radio and is suddenly afraid that there is an alarm. Anxiety and stress are present every day. Once, a motorcycle passed behind her house, and she ran to the shelter.
How do you deal with these problems today?
There are help centers and social workers. There are not many more options.
What do you think can be improved in the existing conduct to make you feel more confident?
I think people mainly need something communal. Buy medicines and supplies for the elderly, clean shelters, babysit, and provide occupation for children. Community development is necessary. Mutual aid. With us in Netivot, this does happen, but not enough.
There is no financial support for families in a bad financial situation. There is also an economic gap, a social gap, and an educational gap.
For example, her neighbors have left because they had a hard time dealing with the situation.
Her sister had childhood anxiety disorders and manifested in wetting at night. It interferes on all levels.
X, lives in Netivot:
Can you tell me about your daily routine? And in times of war/tension?
She has a regular routine. She gets up every morning for work and then comes home. In the evening, she sometimes meets with friends but not too much.
The routine is entirely different during an alarm - try to stay at home as much as possible. Everything you want to do at home (prepare food, shower, etc.), you calculate steps from the emergency room. Almost everyone sleeps in the emergency room, and those who do not wake up several times a night go to the emergency room—dealing with the news all day and having no time to deal with other things. There is no security close enough to her work, so she is unwilling to work during the war, even if the business continues to operate. Her younger brothers are afraid and stay only on the security room floor to not have to go down the stairs during alarms.
How does it feel to hear the alarm? What's the first thing you think of in those moments?
"here we start again, and I wonder how long it will take this time." She has become quite cynical and indifferent about it, although in the last round, the case of a child getting killed in the emergency room made her take it more seriously again."
There are also feelings of frustration because, once again, she needs to stop routine and work. In the last round, she went down to Eilat to freshen up out of "lack of choice" - if she could, she would have preferred to stay and continue working instead of going on vacation and spending money.
Would you please describe to me the sense of security of living in your area?
At the moment, she feels safe, but as soon as the alarms return, her sense of security is quickly shaken. Her younger brothers are tense, and whenever there is a news report related to the war, they ask their parents to check that everything is fine in the shelter.
What do you think are the most significant difficulties in daily life alongside the current situation?
To maintain a regular routine of life. Every time you get back to your routine, it is interrupted, and it takes time to get back to normal. It takes time after a war to get back to the mentality of a routine.
What are the benefits of living in such a place?
She loves the warmth and brotherhood in the south and Netivot. The fact that everyone knows everyone and that everything is close.
What problems arise in times of emergency or a tense routine?
-Lack of mobility.
- Always someone "sacrifices" himself to get out of the house to bring basic things.
- Everything wears you out - Every decision to do something takes a long time of calculating risks.
-Workplaces are being closed, and schools stop.
How do you deal with these problems today?
There is no initiative currently being explicitly taken to deal with this.
What do you think can be improved in the existing conduct to make you feel more confident?
Add shelters in the older areas of Netivot, where the layout of the shelters is not as extensive as in the newer areas.
Other interesting notes:
During the last round, she came to the center of the country. People from the center, who did not experience alarms before, talked to their friends from the south to help them relax and understand how to function.
She has a family in Ashkelon, and she noted that every time they see in the news that there is an alarm in Ashkelon, they wait a few minutes to give them time to enter the emergency room then call the family to make sure everything is fine.
X, Lives in Yad Mordechay:
Can you tell me about your daily routine? And how does it look like in times of war / tension?
Previously self-employed then employed and recently re-employed again. I work in design and it is very difficult for me to get into a creative routine. Every day we get up in the morning for kindergarten and schools, around 16:00 we pick up the children from the informal education in the kibbutz. Afterwards, after school activities, dinner and some relaxing time at home. During times of tension / fighting, the whole routine stops. In recent years during tensions, the routine has completely stopped. I was born in a kibbutz and it has never been like this in my life. I left for school and when I came back, I was already married and pregnant. I did not know this routine back then, and now this our life routine. "They say in the news that we will return to the normal routine after this round ... but there is no returning, because this is our routine".
How does it feel like to hear the "color red" warning alarm? What is the first thing that comes up your mind in these moments?
Today I am no longer scared. If not for my children ... I wouldn't leave the kibbutz when there is a tension round. I know how to go to the closest shelter and lie on the floor. The children are small, the situation does not allow them to go out as they would like too, they supposedly know what to do, but it is still not a sympathetic situation and I will not let them go outside. The children know in these moments mostly to enjoy the fact that there is no school. "My daughter is very, very stressed, as the color red alarm starts, she runs to the closest shelter and gets under her bed, sitting there and that's it, no talking." For my husband, the first thing he wants me to do is to take the children and drive away from the area. He sometimes stays to help in the kibbutz. But I do not like to leave straight away, it feels like I am running away and I do not want to do it under pressure. Imagine how it feels like, traveling with three kids, without knowing where to go .. Sometimes it's nice when Hotels or any guest houses offers us a room to stay. But today it is no longer like that, hotels can no longer afford it. You are in a situation where you do not know what will happen tomorrow, everything is very sensitive and it's not easy, we try to make the best out of it and make a "lemonade out of the lemon". Can you describe the sense of security of the area where you live?
"When the situation is relatively quiet and as long as it stays calm ... 97% Heaven 3% Hell. Well ... maybe a little more than 3%." For me the alarms are scarier than the color red warning alarm. I feel much safer around places where I could hear the color red warning alarm and not a normal alarm. But in terms of staying around the central area of the country, it is no longer a solution for us now that we are aware of how they have suffered too from alarms and rockets last round.
Security? One time when we were driving, when we got to Ashkelon junction, I noticed people running ... there was an alarm. People were lying down on the floor. I was with my three kids in the car. What can I do? what would you do? I kept on driving ...
What do you think is most difficult thing while living with this security situation?
Especially the lack of uncertainty to everything, anything can happen at any moment. Think about it, I can't really know what will happen tomorrow! I worked at Nativ HaAsara, five minutes from home, many times it happened where I left work at noon, said goodbye to everyone, not knowing we would not see each other for some time. We didn't think something will happen, we left as we usual do.
I am a member of a moms WhatsApp group- and if anyone knows anything, they will let everyone know on the group chat if something happened, that way we could be less surprised. Some mothers have everything arranged in advance. I'm no like that ... But this uncertainty and the feeling that you do not want to be unprepared is horrible, I wish I could sense when something is about to happen so I could avoid this madness.
How do you deal with the difficulties these days?
The difficulties are present, this abnormal routine, is present. We don’t hide anything. Sometimes my little girl doesn't even like to talk. She tries not to talk but I do try to get counseling.
Assistive resilience centers are available and helpful. However, there isn't a place I can say that really helps me and us to cope, but it has already become a national problem.
What do you think can be improved in the existing conduct, to make you feel more confident?
An orderly security plan, to have a safe place where we can go to without depending on Hotels/People to host us. Knowing I don't need to search for a place, and free of costs. We have an arrangement where we stay at kibbutz Ein Gev, but I don’t know where exactly to go too, and it's based on free space. I do not blame anyone, but if something was going on it would have been easier if there was a place somewhere where I could go to without feeling that I was crashing at someone's house. It's not simple to get into someone's routine just like that.
Can you share how it’s like to raise your children around your area?
It's always challenging, people say it's not normal ... but it's our normal and this is the situation, it's what we have. I for that matter grew up in a shared accommodation, if this is not normal and this is not normal then what is normal? Is raising children in Tel Aviv normal? That's what we have. In Sweden it is much calmer but here it is our home.
X, Lives in Kibbutz Nirim:
Can you tell me about your daily routine? And in times of war / tension?
Routine - In the day-to-day routine, I oversee the welfare and health of the kibbutz. On a daily basis, life in the kibbutz is not affected by security. When there is an escalation or aggravation of the security situation, it is felt, within a second it is reversed. But on a daily basis there is a normal routine. Escalations begin and end, and then every day is like any other settlement.
During times of tension - as soon as there is an escalation- once there is an understanding that there is a security deterioration, everything changes. It all starts with a message to the residents or a rumor or a feeling that something is happening, you can see the army entering. People change their behavior, families with young children usually evacuate on their own initiative even before there is orderly conduct, there is an independent evacuation to the center of the country. Older people walk less around the kibbutz, and the services are different and more limited. You can feel the difference, both in the atmosphere and in the daily activity. In emergencies, the team that is responsible gathers and decides what can be done and what needs to be done.
Is there anyone in charge of emergency times in the kibbutz? "Yes, there is an emergency team called 'Tzachi', composed of kibbutz members who volunteer and coordinate the 'Tzachi', the other functionaries are the same as during normal operations. When there is an emergency there is a gathering of the team, and the kibbutz is run by "Tzachi". Finding out who needs help, what the immediate and urgent needs are, and what can be sacrificed, deciding whether to close the pool or leave it open, sounds nonsense but ... how to take care of the adults and how to open the department store to meet the needs of the kibbutz members who stay here, clinic, doctors- we need to plan and check how to do all of it. During an emergency, the rockets are falling here, something is happening here, it's not just knowing that it can happen. The tension is rising."
From your field of welfare, what worries or bothers people the most in these moments? "What is disturbing is of course the information, people want to know what is really happening. A few weeks ago, for example, there was a rumor that there is a tense security situation in the kibbutz, it is a feeling that you do not really understand or know what is happening. So, during tense times, I call the older members and tell them what's the situation, we go through it one by one and tell them about what's happening. We do this with both the older people and the foreign workers who take care of the elderly. One of the most important things is to know what is happening in real time.During an event of tense security situation I make one conversation every day with each of the adults, seeing how they got along and whether help is needed. The most important thing for adults is the information about what's going on. There is an app that transmits messages, in a group by topic, there are security messages, society and culture. So in the security messages you can send an informative message to everyone (with information about what is happening), it's like SMS that reaches the whole public. "
How does it feel to hear an alarm? What's the first thing you think of in those moments? "First of all you need to get organized, when you hear the alarm you understand that you need to get to the bomb shelter fast. I personally also try to check that the people I’m responsible for have heard the alarm. There is actually only 15 seconds to get to the bomb shelter, so there is not much time to check too much. After the alarm, I make the phones check that everyone I am responsible for has reached the bomb shelter, check on family of course, friends, people under my responsibility at work. There is not much time to think. The thoughts come after."
Can you Please describe the sense of security you feel when living in your area?
"I can not say that in a period of escalation there is a sense of security ... Ahh it's hard to define it as a sense of security. There is an escalation so the feeling is not simple ... It is not easy. "
What do you think are the most significant difficulties in daily life alongside the security situation?
"The responsibility for other people, especially families with young children, this experience is very difficult for them to understand. So most families with young children get out of here in the first 24 hours. It is difficult for the people you are in charge of, families with children and the elderly, nursing and elderly population - they are less mobile, and can not easily leave the kibbutz. "
What are the benefits of living in this area?
"There's something in the atmosphere of the community, in caring for each other in these moments, there's a sense of community in these places. But this sense of community is much stronger in times of tension and escalation”
What problems arise in times of emergency or a tense routine?
"We are an emergency team, I'm not alone. We have a team that works and backs each other up, gives answers. There are all kinds of problems that need to be solved, such as how to prevent older people from walking around the kibbutz and giving them supplies home, because an older person goes shopping, 15 seconds of alarm can not be enough to reach the bomb shelter. On the other hand, older people do not want to lose their independence. In addition, every issue of the operation of the clinic, some of the medical staff is not local, so they can’t always arrive when the situation is tense. How to strengthen the staff of foreign workers who have to function under stressful situations and take care of the elderly. Moral questions for the foreign workers- Should I enter the bomb shelter before my patient who does not want to get up from the wheelchair and says there is no point in getting up. I have to constantly think about how to help people who are under my responsibility."
How do you deal with these problems today?
"To my great joy, in recent years the clinic's staff, even though they are not here, come and continue to operate the clinic. The 'Tzachi' members in Nirim help with that. There's always thinking about how to make things simpler so as not to endanger the people, constantly looking for more solutions to these problems."
What do you think can be improved, to make you feel more confident?
"I have no idea about this issue other than to make peace (laughs), do not see anything that can help. In the past there were thoughts that the government will provide orderly evacuation services, but I do not think it will provide an answer. Despite the difficulties and the very very difficult situation I have no idea of anything better."
Can you share what it is like for you to raise children in this area?
"We have three children who are already adults. We got to raise the younger children in more tense times. They grew up with the rockets, yes. It's hard for me to say how the situation effected the children, because they grew up into it, they are used to it, they function within the situation. We, too, because we stayed in the kibbutz in all these situations and did not evacuate, only the children were evacuated, they dealt with the situation. There are very few children in the kibbutz and in the end they evacuate, no families with children stay here. "
Difficulties summary: *Social distancing.
*Gap in school.
*Anxieties and mental trauma.
*Difficulty in obtaining basic products.
*Sleeping with strangers in a shelter.
*Avoiding leaving the house.
Thank you!