From Deep Trauma, Unimaginable Loss, and Hopelessness to A Meaningful and Peaceful Life: Let’s Stand for The Orphans of October 7th
Author: Dr. Lior Aviman
Featured | News | Thought Leadership
Date: August 12, 2024
Last week, I met one of the orphans of October 7th.
There are no words to describe the heartbreak, shock, sense of emptiness, and loss of direction. Before me stood a young person who should have been celebrating life, making life plans, and fulfilling them, filled with hope and looking forward to a good and complete life.
At the age of 19, he experienced events that the human mind cannot and refuses to, comprehend. One parent was murdered in their home, another was kidnapped and later found to have been murdered, and two younger siblings were kidnapped and returned after fifty days as part of an agreement with the most ruthless murderers.
The kibbutz, the home where he lived and grew up for 19 years, was destroyed and burned to the ground.
“I lived in a protected bubble, a bubble where everything was safe and quiet. I had the usual plans of a young person in Israel— a year of service, enlistment in a combat unit, and a big trip around the world. Everything shattered into pieces,” he told me.
How can a person wake up in the morning and continue with their life after such an event? How do you find the strength to keep going and hope for better days?
As we spoke, I also thought about the dozens of orphans who have experienced such a terrible loss and need to continue with their lives and make plans for their future families and their own future while dealing with the difficult feelings of grief and orphanhood.
Orphanhood because of a terrorist attack is just as painful and difficult as any other kind of orphanhood. Still, it has its own unique characteristics that make it even more challenging for the orphan, adding complexity to the already difficult task of coping with the loss.
When a terrorist attack causes orphanhood, the loss is accompanied by additional feelings of fear, helplessness, and shock from the horrific event.
There are anxieties stemming from a lack of physical security, as well as intense feelings of guilt due to false thoughts of helplessness and the fact that, as an orphan, I survived while my beloved relatives were no longer with me.
Moreover, many orphans find themselves having to take on new roles within the family, such as caring for younger siblings or providing financial support. These roles can weigh heavily on them, adding feelings of burden and responsibility to their grief, further straining their mental state.
These complex feelings require long-term professional and personal support. Empathy and the ability of those around the orphan to understand and contain their emotions are essential, as is a long-term plan to help the orphan, as much as possible, to plan a life path so that orphanhood does not become an obstacle to their success.
You might be thinking cynically, “Easy to say.” That’s true. It is indeed easier to write an article or talk about orphanhood than to experience it and deal with it day by day, hour by hour.
But if we are people of kindness, and if none of the orphan’s difficult emotions are foreign to us, we have a duty to help them in every possible way, to plan comprehensive assistance, and to think long-term, not as a one-time intervention.
Based on professional literature in the field, Genesis Israel, also known as Friends for Life, has developed a long-term support and assistance program for orphans of terror victims (DORON GRANT FOR LIFE).
The program includes various layers of support and assistance. We are not interested in one-time interventions or donations to the many respected organizations. We are committed to genuine, long-term kindness that saves lives in a professional and sustained manner.
Our uniqueness lies in our ability to provide long-term support to the orphan at every stage of their life.
Our uniqueness lies in a professional program tailored personally to the orphan and their psychological, familial, emotional, and educational needs, with a focus on the long-term horizon of their integration into the business or high-tech world, the world of music or art, the legal or medical fields—according to their needs and talents.
The organizational backbone of Genesis is located in Miami and includes successful businesspeople, medical professionals, lawyers, tech and biotechnology experts—all committed to long-term support and continuous acts of kindness, as we have decided—until the orphan stands on their own feet and becomes a self-leader and community leader.
Emotional and psychological support, educational assistance, mentoring and guidance, legal support, professional training, family guidance—these and more, the people of Genesis wish and can provide with great love.
Meeting the orphan and hearing his harrowing story strengthened my belief that we must increase our efforts, be attentive and flexible, accurately identify needs, sometimes let the orphan think about what is right for them, and sometimes advise and guide them in a way that allows them to find hope despite the difficult experiences they have endured.
The conversation with the orphan I met at a café in Tel Aviv also reinforced my thoughts about kindness and mitzvot, which are a staple in Judaism.
Sensitivity to the weak and the willingness to help them as much as you can are ingrained in Jewish and Israeli culture and are one of the sources of strength for everyone living in Israel during these times and for all Jews around the world.
Fortunately, there are many who are willing to lend a hand, give a hug, be attentive, and mobilize in any way to help. I am fortunate that Genesis Israel is part of this family. I wish for all of us that we will always be on the giving side, and that if we find ourselves in need, there will be many who will be there for us.
This is the strength of a community, and it is also a measure of the strength of human society.
It is impossible not to recall the touching quote by Martin Luther King: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
Over the past 13 months, aid for those affected by the devastating October 7th attacks has poured into Israel in a variety of shapes and forms. Physical support, such as resources and donations, has been generously provided to alleviate the distress brought about by the gruesome assault. At the same time, millions around the world have contributed emotional support by keeping those afflicted in their thoughts, prayers, and blessings.
Ingenuity and innovation are flourishing throughout our society, encompassing everything from how multinationals build out their global operations to enhancing the comforts we can afford in our everyday lives. Whether the latest incorporation of AI has enhanced the production line or improved the fluidity of your digital assistant, the drive behind innovation has always been to create and apply solutions to meaningful problems.
For Genesis Club member Dave Wolf, providing the foundation for these disruptive technologies is key to solving previously insurmountable problems, influencing change in our lives, and shaping a better future. As co-founder and managing partner of Pollen Innovation Group, Dave focuses on nurturing brilliant entrepreneurs and impactful innovations that contribute to the well-being of our environment and humanity.
At the heart of this year’s Genesis Friends for Life Global Foundation’s One-Year Memorial Gala, Solange Pot, a celebrated writer and Holocaust educator, will unveil beautiful handcrafted Legacy Boxes—a tribute to resilience, memory, and interfaith understanding. Flying in from Belgium for the November 21 event in Miami, Solange will present the largest of these exquisite pieces for auction and another four to the Megera children, honoring their loss and the enduring strength of their family.
