The month starts with Holocaust Remembrance Day. Every day is actually Holocaust remembrance day, but this day is one of a few internationally acknowledged. Every year of my life the realization of what have happened there, in the darkest times of our history, hits me stronger and stronger. Every year I participate in ceremonies and hear the stories of survivors, who are , unfortunately,left fewer and fewer in this world. Their stories today seem to be of a particular importance, because soon there won't be anyone to tell them. I sit and try to remember every detail, look at their face and try to investigate every wrinkle, that tells the story of their life, of their enormous suffering, but also the eternal proof that "we are here to stay, forever." One of the most memorable stories was told by the youngest Schindler's list survivor, she was only 7 years old at the time, who shared her story with the Jewish community of NZ. She was a guest of Auckland university and kindly agreed to honor us with her presence at community's ceremony too. Such gesture is not obvious at all, since crossing the world in this age and coming all the way from Israel to NZ, would be difficult even for a young person.
...And the SIX MILLION...How do you ever comprehend that??? How do you explain it to your children? At what age do you start exposing them to the topic?
6 candles for the six million
This year , I have taken my 11 years old son with me, for the first time... He didn't want to go, he said that he knows "everything", because they have studied at school...I made him come...He was completely silent throughout...I could see how he finds it difficult even to form a question in his mind. I have decided not to "press" too much, not to "dig", just let it sink in his mind...I am sure that by next year, his thoughts will grow bigger and I am just hopeful I will be able to provide the answers and maybe we will just search for them together...And my six years old?????? How do you even start delivering this in such a tender age?
I find that living out of Israel and not having these complex issues as part of a school curriculum, makes it much more difficult to deliver to children and make them want to listen and actually absorb the magnitude of the topic.
Shortly, after Holocaust remembrance day, came IDF Fallen Soldiers and terrorism victims Remembrance Day. On this day all of Israelis (inside and outside of Israel) paused to remember the fallen soldiers. Virtually everyone of us knows a family who has grieved because of war. Virtually everyone, however young or old, knows a soldier or a civilian who was...and no more...This grief is , very sadly, continuously updated and ongoing and it is with us every day, but on this day it becomes unbearable. This year, it has been estimated that close to 25% of Israel's Jewish population had visited military cemeteries. It would have been translated to one million NZ population or 75 million American population, but neither that many Kiwis, nor Americans, attend their respective memorial ceremonies. We, Israelis, do! It personally touches each and everyone of us. In NZ, we had quite an impressive ceremony this year, with considerable number of community members in attendance. The grief of personal loss reached NZ too, with one Kiwi Jewish family who lost their son in "Protective Edge" operation and another sad story was told by a brother of fallen soldier, who made it his mission to travel around the world and tell his brother's story. For me it was another evening of rivers of tears, bringing up memories of a lost class mate. Bringing up thoughts of whether it will ever stop. Bring up emotions of mixed guilt and sense of relief of not living in Israel anymore. What a pain, heartache...almost physical...
From Auckland's memorial ceremony, 2015
I ask myself is it morally acceptable to "escape" this pain sometimes? Maybe just for one year? To pretend that there is no remembrance day this year (it's relatively easy, when living overseas)? Because those who sacrificed, sacrificed it all for us to live on. So how can we "take a break" from their memory?
On the very next day came ANZAC centennial Remembrance Day. This day is quite new to my repertoire of grief and ,to be honest, I was absolutely emotionally exhausted. Yet, I realize that I live in NZ now and it's history is now my history too. So I have pinned a poppy to my chest and honored the brave Kiwis who were mercilessly slaughtered in an absolutely unnecessary battle on a Turkish land of Gallipolli by Ottoman Islamic aggressor, defending the Royal Crown and the ally forces.Sounds like history is a bit repetitive, but getting into politics is not my current intention.
ANZAC memorial in Israel, near Gaza Border
I will just finish up by sharing one story . While asking a patient about his health history, drinking habits is one of the routine questions. One patient (50+ years old), last week, replied to me, that he only drinks once a year, but he drinks a lot on that day, 6 bottles! When I asked if he wouldn't mind to explain himself, he told me that his grandfather had 6 siblings, whom he ALL lost to WWI. Ever since, he "celebrates" ANZAC at the cemetery, by drinking a bottle of wine for each uncle and a potential family that he had lost.
ANZAC is a National Holiday in NZ and is celebrated by having a long weekend, followed after dawn ceremonies of remembrance. Exactly, like Israelis celebrate Independence Day, right after Remembrance Day. I, personally, find the sharp switch very difficult to adopt to and it takes me a while to "get going". But, I guess, it shows, that we, people of different nations, choose LIFE.
We are the light of freedom, for which many died in darkness!
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