Living with Rockets: Leaving Sderot

The Biton family have lived in Sderot for almost 25 years. Both Debby and her husband were born in Sderot and have three children, Mor, Ziv, and Noa. The family has experienced two kassam rocket attacks on their home in the past seven years of rocket fire from Gaza. The door to the entrance of their house still has holes from the shrapnel of a rocket which exploded one year ago in their yard.

"Our home is no longer the center of our family life," says Debby. "My children cannot live with this rocket terror, so two have moved away to maintain a sense of normalcy." Morr, 22, is the oldest of the three children. She  moved away a year ago to Ashkelon and studies at a college there. Her younger sister, Ziv, 18, has moved to Jerusalem to complete her high school studies and matriculation exams. For Ziv, life in Sderot was especially difficult, due to the fact that she is partially blind.

It became clear to Ziv that she must move out of Sderot when a rocket hit the school yard of her high school in eleventh grade. Because of her vision impairment, Ziv had difficultly locating the bomb shelter as her fellow students ran to safety when the red alert sounded. The fifteen seconds one has to escape to shelter once a rocket is launched from Gaza, is insufficient for those physically handicapped or visually impaired.

Although she was not injured, Ziv knew that she could not continue another year studying in Sderot. "The tension and uncertainty of living with the kassam terror was too much for me," says Ziv. "I am not strong enough for this kind of life." Ziv says that she often fainted during the rocket attacks and would sometimes go into shock when the red alerts sounded.

In Jerusalem, Ziv is finishing her high school year in a mechina program and also committing herself to a year of National Service in Beit HaNasi. Although she no longer lives in Sderot, she still dreams of the red alerts and the booms of the rockets. "The rocket terror hasn’t left me yet," says Ziv. "I feel good in Jerusalem, more safe and secure, but the trauma of what I've left behind is still with me. I am constantly reliving the rocket reality in my head."

Ziv also worries about her family that she has left behind in Sderot. "I miss my family and my friends. It wasn't easy for me to leave everything behind and start a new a life in a new city on my own. Every time, I hear of a rocket attack on Sderot, I pray that my parents and little sister, Noa, are safe."

The kassam rockets may have forced Ziv out of her hometown, but she does not blame anyone including the government for the situation. "The rocket situation is beyond anyone's hands," says Ziv. "I only hope that my parents move to a safer city soon, so that I can feel at peace visiting my family at home."