Maria dreams of seeing whales and Ilya wants world peace A glimpse into the world of the lonely soldiers in Haifa
They arrive in Israel as teenagers, some of them from countries where the political and economic situation does not allow them to see a stable and promising future. They come with a great love for the country and with a desire to enlist in the army and contribute their part, and in most cases they stay in the country and build a life for themselves far from their family and childhood friends. Get to know the lone soldiers of Haifa, who gather every Friday at the compound of "Yahed - the association for the lone soldier" to eat lunch, laugh, play music, and most of all - to enjoy an embracing and supportive family atmosphere.
Margarita Friesach
Margarita Friesach (19), immigrated to Israel from Russia through the "Naala" program about three years ago, and in about a month she will complete basic training in the border guard and become a full-fledged fighter. She studied at the "Khudori" school near Afula, "where Yitzhak Rabin studied," she notes proudly. "I finished school with full matriculation and then I enlisted in the army. The program was very helpful because I lived in a school with many friends - children like me who have no one in Israel. It was really fun." When she finished school, she decided to move with Maria, her best friend, to Haifa, after hearing that many lone soldiers were coming to the city. "In Haifa, everything is close, pleasant and convenient, and there is public transportation on Shabbat, and that's good too." Today, Margarita and Masha rent an apartment together, "and the whole class is in Haifa," she adds. "Sometimes we meet by chance at the central station, in all kinds of places in the city, which is nice." Margarita defines herself as a Zionist patriot, she loves the IDF, and wanted to be a fighter since she was 14 years old - something that made it easier for her parents to accept her desire to immigrate to Israel. They weren't surprised when she told them of her decision, and knew she was making the best choice for her. "I feel that I want to be here and give something to the country, so I am very happy that I got the position and that I will be a fighter in the MGB. I have little brothers in Russia, and I want them to make aliyah like me with the program when they grow up.'
Maria Reichel
Maria Reichel, Margarita's roommate, immigrated to Israel from Belarus. "Are you also in the MGB?" I ask her, and she answers with a smile - "Why, look at me, what MGB. Maria enlisted about two months ago, and arrived at the Mochave Alon base.
Margarita: It's very helpful to get straight to the Alon memorial, and get to know the concepts of the army there.'
Yaakov, who sits with Eitan for lunch, is also on his way to a position as a soldier in the Border Guard, says: "Mivah Alon is the largest base for recruits in the north, mainly new immigrants who do not know the language come there.
During the wall guard operation, Margarita was on operations in Ashdod on behalf of her position, "I was in the missiles, in the rush." For me it was something new. Every night there are alarms, and every little noise starts to sound like an alarm. I was a little stressed at first, but I got used to it. This is the job and I'm glad I got it.'
Maria: "I was under pressure because I was worried about Margarita. I kept wanting to know where she was and what was with her. I couldn't sleep, I kept thinking what was going on there.'
Margarita: "I'm really happy to have such a friend. It is very helpful that we have such a connection, despite the fact that we have been without our parents for a long time in a new country. Maybe it's hard to hear that we are alone, lone soldiers. But that's not true, there are always people who want to help us, and this is something that only exists in Israel.'
Maria: "When we finished school it was a bit difficult, we were alone, we didn't know anything. Margarita was in the army and I had to find an apartment and look for a job. Now, in the army, there is no time to think about it at all.'
what is your dream
Margarita: "To complete my apprenticeship and become a medic."
Maria: "To see whales in the wild, travel to where they are, dive and see them. To take a trip, but not for nothing, but to learn about cultures.'
Jacob: "To be a sub-champion until the age of 33."
Eduardo Adamski
Eduardo Adamski immigrated to Israel from Brazil in the show "Naala". "At first my mother didn't want me to come up, but she got used to the idea." He served in the Armored Corps, and today he is on discharge leave and found a job at a restaurant on the beach - "The shifts are very long, but I enjoy it, it's fun." He has already managed to move about six apartments since he arrived in Israel, and has lived in Modi'in, Eilat and Kibbutz Kinneret, among others, and today he Live in splendor with the company. "I love the country very much and do not see myself returning to Brazil," he says. "And I like the Kinneret region the most."
Ilya Afciori
Ilya Afciuri immigrated from Georgia due to a difficult financial situation his family found himself in. He came to the SLA program, and when he realized that he had the option of enlisting in the IDF, he was very happy - he had always been interested in martial arts and the army. Ilya enlisted in Golani and was released about a year ago, "just two weeks before the first closure," he recalled. "I lived in the area for three months with my mother and brother, then I found a job in security at Rambam and moved to Haifa with my girlfriend." He lives in Hadar, and enjoys the green surroundings and the "winds of the north," as he calls the Haifa mountain air, but he does not see himself remained in Israel for good - "my heart is still in Georgia". Ilya's brother was the first of the family to immigrate to Israel, in 2010, and Ilya followed him in 2015. A year and a month later, the mother of the two also arrived in Israel. The father remained in Georgia, and about a year and a half ago he passed away, shortly before Ilya's release from the army.
"I was in field week at the time. Normally I am not a veteran by any means, if I start something I finish it, but that week - this has not happened to me in the entire service - I did not feel well and asked to leave. The officer and MP arrived, I didn't understand what was happening, I thought they would tell me I could go out. When they said what they said I was shocked. I don't usually show emotion, I didn't cry, only in retrospect after a month or two I started to digest. If I replay our conversations, mine and my father's, then it's very strong, if I think about it, it's hard.'
During the "Guardian of the Walls" operation, while he was on duty at the Rambam, Ilya was exposed to the case of a car belonging to a young Arab couple, which was completely destroyed due to disturbances. "The front window was smashed, and the side windows were also completely broken, and after forty minutes the shift was over and I had to go home." The event left a deep impression on Ilya, and the tension in the air following the disturbances that plagued the streets of Haifa reminded him of his first years in Israel, the period of the Knife Intifada. "You have to be here all the time on standby, there is no choice. This is the hottest country in the Middle East, and I want to protect myself, my loved ones, and everyone around me.''
What is your dream?
"Financial freedom, and to reach peace." But the real dream is that there will be peace throughout the world, and every human being should contribute to this dream.''
Michael Nachtigal
Michael Nachtigal came to Israel from the Crimean Peninsula, through the Aliya Sela Masa program in Karmiel. After the program, he worked for six months in sales in Eilat, then moved to Haifa. "I have an older sister who immigrated to Israel a year after me, and my parents cannot come to Israel for family reasons. At first I didn't know Hebrew, I knew how to say maybe 'mother', 'father', 'cat'...I learned the language in the studio through the program." At the end of the program, when he had to choose whether to stay in Israel or not, Michael decided to stay and now he rents a room in a shared apartment in Haifa and serves as a combat supporter in the Navy. In about five months he will finish his service, and he is starting to think about the future in Israel. "I love the country. After I'm released, I want to go to university to study electronic engineering, finish a degree and start working." About the "Together" association, Michael says, "People come, play music, talk. It's a special place where I can meet people I don't see every day, they all come here and sit together.''
"Yhad" association - the association for the lone soldier, distributes lunch every Friday to individual soldiers, and the food left at the end of the day is distributed by the volunteers to non-profit organizations in the city, so that nothing is thrown away. In addition, the volunteers, about 70 in number, are responsible for collecting donations for the soldiers: bedding, furniture, clothes and electrical devices, and all of these are kept in an orderly manner in the association so that a soldier who needs something can come and take it. It should be noted that the association accepts anyone who is defined as a lone soldier for any reason. Ran Dansky, the CEO of the association, says: "Once a soldier came here and asked if he could talk to me privately, he told me that he came from an ultra-Orthodox family, the eldest of thirteen brothers. When his parents went on a mission abroad, he returned with a question, and when they returned to Israel, they threw him out of the house, sat on him, or something like that. He told me, 'The thing I miss most is family and Friday dinners.' I picked up the phone at that moment to my mother and told her, 'Mom, add a plate for dinner.'
The association was founded in 2009 by Ziona Axelrod. "Ziona would go to the checkpoints and intersections with other 'aunties,' and they would plow the land and distribute Shabbat food to the lone soldiers," says Dansky. "In 2012, she received an apartment in Hadar from the 'Bnei Brit Israel' association, and started looking for soldiers who needed a home."
Brigadier General Ami Morg, chairman of the association: "Ziona followed the line of adopting individual soldiers, that is, when a single soldier arrives, join him to the family." The problem was that the soldiers did not want to go to the families. They wanted to be together, and manage on their own.'
Ran Dansky: "When my family and I started working together and getting to know each other in depth, we decided to bring a team of volunteers to go to HaShomer and Movah Alon farms, the strongholds of the lone soldiers. Later we reached all the troops and at the end of each course we would open a table with refreshments for the soldiers. Little by little we grew, from ten soldiers, to twenty, to a hundred, to two hundred, and as of today, the soldiers already come here by word of mouth.'
Ami Morag: "We learned over time that what the guys need is not adoption but someone older next to them that they can consult with, save them from making mistakes, and while working it also became clear that the most difficult moment is not the moment of recruitment but the moment of release." Because after the incubator they had for three years where they got food and support and everything they lacked, now they are on the road and they have no one.
Ran Dansky: We accompany the guys during the service, after service, and also before service - from the moment they graduate until they enlist. There is between six months and a year when they have to manage on their own, and we are here for them as long as they need us.'
Where does the desire to fend for themselves come from?
Ami Morag: "What is hidden behind this is not only the desire for independence but also the mentality they bring with them from Eastern Europe. They don't trust anyone, they don't trust the authorities. They didn't trust us at first either.'
Ran Dansky: "In the beginning my father would ask why I don't bring the soldiers home for the holidays. I didn't imagine they wouldn't want to, but it really takes a long time for them to trust. Now every holiday soldiers come to our house, they are like my children and my parents are like grandchildren, and the bigger the table, the bigger my father's smile.'
Kirill Kartnik, the adviser to the deputy mayor of Haifa, also identifies with the feeling of independence that accompanies the first years in a new country. He arrived in Israel in 2009 from Ukraine, and dreamed of enlisting in the army. In the first year of his enlistment, he lived in the soldier's house, and never asked anyone for help. "In the soldier's house it happened several times that all my clothes were stolen, I would come to the room and find my closet empty. Today it's not like that, today soldiers have friends and they take care of each other, things have changed.'' After about a year in the soldier's home, he started looking for a room in his own apartment. "I was really independent, there were a few people along the way who thought about me but very little, and there were also some who tried to screw me over - in rent, for example. I learned to trust only myself. In the end I ended up with a very good woman, a bereaved mother who lost her son on the 13th cruise, she considered me and helped me, and we are still in touch today.'
Although the "Together" association has grown significantly since it was established, and today it provides services to dozens and hundreds of soldiers every week, but for Dansky this is just the beginning. "My dream and vision," he says, "is to build a house that is like a hotel, with about a hundred rooms, with a toilet, shower and kitchenette between every two rooms, a washing machine and a dryer on each floor - everything for the soldiers, so that they won't have to start looking for apartments with contracts and with guarantees. Every soldier will get a room like this, and on the lower floor there will be a kitchen and a dining room, and even those who don't live there can come and enjoy the piano, the guitar, the guys.'
Ran Dansky: "As of today, we number over 1500 soldiers, and every Friday between three and six new soldiers arrive here. We did weddings in the association, and we are happy that we already have grandchildren in the association. We are one big family.'
Ami: "As soon as they settle down and they don't come here anymore, we are not offended. This is a sign that we succeeded.'
Pride!!!!!