Since last Saturday, a mother from Quebec has been barricaded in her apartment with her family, living in the terrible fear of war, interrupted by the sound of missile alarms that force her to seek refuge in the armored shelter each time in less than 90 seconds.
• Also read: Woman kidnapped by Hamas terrorists testifies
• Also read: After escaping Hamas: A mother talks about her ordeal with her one-month-old baby
• Also read: LIVE | 4th day of the Hamas-Israel war
“It’s amazing,” admits Myriam Azogui-Halbwax, who lives in Ra’anana, north of Tel Aviv, Israel. It goes on and on and we don’t really understand what’s going on. [On a] the impression that we are living a nightmare [mais] that it’s real.”
The Quebecer, who has lived in Israel since 2016, was woken up last Saturday morning by the first rocket alarm.
“I was dreaming and the alarm was so loud I thought it was in my dream,” she said. It was an astonishment. We know that we live in a somewhat complicated region, that our neighbors don’t really like us, but we were in the middle of a Jewish holiday. (…) It is like a warning on the morning of December 25th.”
Shoot all day
The bedroom of one of Ms. Azogui-Halbwax’s three daughters was built as an armored shelter, a safe space often provided in newer apartments in Israel.
When an alarm sounds, they have 90 seconds to seek refuge there. After this delay, shots could be fired. The alarms have been coming nonstop since Saturday.
“It didn’t stop this afternoon. It affected the surrounding cities, breathes the 51-year-old mother, who reached Le Journal by phone on Tuesday morning Montreal time. We’re a little petrified. We hear the sound of explosions, we stand by. I’m ready to run to the other room.”
AFP
She also compares this lockdown to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the entire society was brought to a standstill. Her two daughters, ages 12 and 17, who were born in Quebec, do not go to school.
“The school is closed, everything is on hold,” she says.
Adding to the concerns, Ms. Azogui-Halbwax’s eldest daughter, 19, is currently serving in the military and is stationed near the West Bank. It is part of a “fighting” unit of the border army.
“Devoured by Pain”
“As a mother, I am full of fear,” she admits. This is not what we want for our children, normally we are there to protect them and here they are protecting us, this is not entirely normal. But that’s the way it is, we have no choice.”
Since Saturday, the family has only left the apartment to buy essentials and help pack boxes for the soldiers at the front. The need is also immense, notes the Quebecer.
“It is very difficult to live with the fact that we are all affected. It’s a bit like Quebec (…) in terms of community. Everyone knows a little about everyone. We can all put ourselves in our neighbor’s shoes. Everything is close for us.”
After four days of “war,” the head of Israel missions at the Advisory Center for Jewish and Israeli Relations in Canada still doesn’t understand what’s happening.
“I am not pro-military, not a warmonger. But what we are seeing is not war, it is simply despicable, she emphasizes. And barbarism is really the extra element that we never had. The warnings, the missiles, we know it. But this, this barbarism, this savagery…” she breathes without finishing her sentence.
Despite everything, the mother has no intention of leaving the country.
“I have no plans to leave this place, it is my home. There is no question that barbarians (…) will prevent me from being free and making my decisions. “It’s unthinkable,” she swears.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.