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Before, During and After the War, "Independent Life" Program is there for Yasmin
Shira, a drama therapist, lives in Masad, a hillside community near the city of Tiberias in northern Israel. During the summer months, Shira and her husband run a bed and breakfast for local and foreign tourists who are drawn by Masad's beautiful vistas and cool weather. This past June, the couple's bed and breakfast was already booked for the entire summer. When war broke out less than a month later, the threat of rocket attacks caused all of the guests to cancel, and their bed and breakfast remained empty in what was supposed to be the peak of tourist season. Although Masad itself did not suffer any direct hits, the community was within rocket range, and two rockets fell in the neighboring Druze community of Mrar, killing two. Despite the danger, Shira and her husband decided to remain in Masad with the youngest of their three children. Their middle child, a son, was in active duty with the Israeli army, and their eldest, 21-year-old Yasmin, was in Nahariya, where she has spent the past two years as part of JDC-Ashalim's "Preparatory for an Independent Life" program. Yasmin, who suffers from a rare neurological disorder, joined the program in the hopes that it would allow her to live an independent life. Yasmin's disorder, whose symptoms first appeared when she was 14, does not affect her intelligence, but has impaired her vision and slurred her speech. Yasmin uses poetry to express herself, below is a poem she wrote about the recent crisis. She also has difficulty walking and standing and the "Preparatory for an Independent Life" program has done much to improve her self-esteem and self-sufficiency. Yasmin uses poetry to express herself, below is a poem she wrote about the recent crisis. This past summer, however, was quite difficult for Yasmin. When the rockets first fell in Nahariya, Yasmin rushed to a nearby bomb shelter, but her disabilities made it hard for her to reach the shelter in time. Frightened, Yasmin realized she would not be able to continue this way. Fortunately, JDC-Ashalim temporarily relocated Yasmin and the other young adults in the "Independent Life" program to central Israel, out of rocket range. Now that the war has ended, Yasmin is ready to return to Nahariya and her journey towards independence, and Shira is ready for the tourists to fill her bed and breakfast again. 
October 2006 |
