Here is a poem I wrote while I was away in Israel, after meeting the soldiers.
The Knock On Your Door by: Justine Frankel
He carries his gun,
So strong and so proud,
While way back at home,
She's crying out loud.
He fights for his country,
Does what he thinks is right,
While she's awake worried,
All day and all night.
His head is now shaved,
All he hears is her voice,
Saying "Wish you didn't have to go,
I wish you had a choice".
He had said his goodbye,
Just two months ago,
And that she'd be better off,
If she just let him go.
She clings to his picture,
In her shaking hands,
He's out there somewhere,
Crawling in foreign sands.
She can't let him go,
She's under his spells,
He's running for his life,
Avoiding dropping shells.
More months go bye,
Their hearts feel sore,
All she really wants,
Is his knock on her door.
"I miss you, I need you",
She writes him that day,
He writes back "one month more,
And I'll be home to stay"
That knock on her door,
Came a day early by two,
They handed her his chains,
And a letter marked "To You"
"The decision was hard,
To leave a world that had you,
My love, we were strong,
And that will always be true.
"My country, they needed me,
But you needed me more,
I'm sorry I'm not there,
To knock on your door.
"I thought about you each day,
Dream't about you each night,
But it had been time,
To make my final plight.
"So wipe off those tears,
Please baby, don't cry,
From your fallen soldier,
I love you, goodbye".
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
a world's away
So, about two weeks ago, I got back from the greatest place I've ever been. I went on a taglit birthright experience, and I got to see Israel from a point of view that I don't think a lot of people would understand. We took hikes, but it wasnt all sweat and nice views, we learnt about the people who've walked these woods, these paths, before us, thousands of years ago. We learnt about war and peace and love and hate. About people coming together, and people ripping apart.
while I was away, I wrote every day, multiple times a day, about my experiences, about things we just did and are going to do. I wrote a lot about the wonderful people I met, and the experiences I got to live. The part that inspired me the most was my Mifgash (hebrew word for Encounter) with the Israeli youth in the army.
If you didn't know this, at 18 years old, Israeli's are enlisted in the IDF and have to serve their country. Boys for three years, and girls for two (and i emphasize BOYS & GIRLS not MEN & WOMEN cause they are so young). They undergo certain tests to place them in a good spot or something suited for them, and then they have training, and service. To me, as noble as it is, Its gotta be damn scary. When I was 18, I was smoking weed and skipping class, and they, they don't have those choices.
In the IDF, you have a lot of strict rules. For men, if your beard isn't for a religious or medical (?) condition, you cannot keep it long. If you put two fingers together around the base of your hair and its longer than your fingers, gotta cut your hair. you have to keep a dogtag in your boot and on you at all times. and thats just what i've learnt, there are so many more. For women? Hair always tied up and out of face, nail polish ONLY if its light light pink or white, no makeup, no jewlery. Nobody can bring their phones to work and have to be careful, no drinking or smoking, or else military prison (and your time in prison isnt a part of your service, so you still have to complete the time you spent in prison, in the military). If you even hold hands, you can get in a lot of trouble.
Theres just an explanation of what I know, so far... And the crazy thing is? when we first started talking, we as a group were all uneasy and felt a little odd, but honestly as soon as they changed out of their uniforms, we almost didn't recognize them as soldiers, they dressed and acted just like us, a bunch of savages (in a good way), fun to be around, to party with, jam with, hangout and talk with. The relationships we formed with these young soldiers are unbreakable. They literally, are, just, like, us. Most of them were even younger than I was, although I believe two of them were my age.
learning about their experiences and jobs (well, what they can tell us) is amazing. they make terrrrribleeeee wage, like equivalent to 300 or 400$ canadian a month. But they all do it together, and they serve their country together. What surprised me the MOST, was the first day we met them, we asked all of them "when is your service done, and are you excited to be done?" and they ALLLLL said YESSSS. they all can't wait to be done with the army. One of them even hated the army, hated the wars and the killing. She couldn't stand her job, and how it was taken so lightly. But its true, its scary. You never know when something bad could happen when you're surrounded by countries that hate you and each other.
We got five days with them, aand thats all it took, we all fell in love with the soldiers because of how great they were. All super nice, super fun and have a lot of the same interests. I got to know two a lot better than the other six, and I gotta say, I don't ever want that relationship to end. They are beautiful people, inside and ESPECIALLY OUTSIDE HOT DAMN ISRAELI'S ARE HOT (sry hahaha). I'm just lucky to have met them. They changed my perspective on how israelis are and how soldiers are, how we all assumed they would be aggressive and angry-ish and strong willed, they'd be more serious or more cheesy, when they were just like us. I wonder what they thought of Canadians before meeting us, probably nothing, its only the canadians and americans who expect worse of everyone they meet :p
One thing that I deemed really important though, its our Medic (wont mention names), he spoke to the group after the Israelis left us. He was a little peeved because the way THOSE soldiers spoke about it, it seemed like all the soldiers are mad that they're in the army, and resent the rule that they had to be, and cant wait to leave and such. He wanted us to know (he had been in the army- in special forces - fucking badassssss) that not everyone feels the same. He was excited and felt proud to be enlisted in the IDF, and he, along with many others, didn't leave after his service was finished. Sometimes you gain a sort of nobility and pride in what you do, and he was so proud to serve, and he knew he could leave when he wanted, but he felt that wasn't right to do, nor did he want to do it. Which brings up a good point, that not everyone feels it's "forced" upon them, more that its an honor they get to receive.
Another little anecdote is one of the soldiers that I got close to, we were walking together the last day we'd get to spend together, and I was feeling very sad that they were leaving the next day. And I asked him are you sad to be leaving us? did you have fun on your taglit trip? all that stuff, and he loved the group and had an amazing time, but he was half looking forward to going back, because he felt a guilt for leaving his base and his fellow soldiers. could you believe that? after like a year of service, they give this guy pretty much five days off (they only get 15 days off in the year) to hangout, meet new people, learn about a new culture, and he took it (of course) but he felt bad. He knew there were things going on that he could be helping with, but instead he was here enjoying himself. That has gotta be heavy on the heart, feeeling guilty cause you're having fun and your mates aren't.
All in all, I'll keep writing about my experiences as I re-read my travel journal, but this was one I needed to write about, maybe because I felt so strongly, or maybe because I just wanted to share and bring awareness to anyone who reads this particular post. but it was important to me to say it. and next up, I wrote a poem while i was away, and I wanted to share it with you guys; so i'll write it up in my next post. :) xo
while I was away, I wrote every day, multiple times a day, about my experiences, about things we just did and are going to do. I wrote a lot about the wonderful people I met, and the experiences I got to live. The part that inspired me the most was my Mifgash (hebrew word for Encounter) with the Israeli youth in the army.
If you didn't know this, at 18 years old, Israeli's are enlisted in the IDF and have to serve their country. Boys for three years, and girls for two (and i emphasize BOYS & GIRLS not MEN & WOMEN cause they are so young). They undergo certain tests to place them in a good spot or something suited for them, and then they have training, and service. To me, as noble as it is, Its gotta be damn scary. When I was 18, I was smoking weed and skipping class, and they, they don't have those choices.
In the IDF, you have a lot of strict rules. For men, if your beard isn't for a religious or medical (?) condition, you cannot keep it long. If you put two fingers together around the base of your hair and its longer than your fingers, gotta cut your hair. you have to keep a dogtag in your boot and on you at all times. and thats just what i've learnt, there are so many more. For women? Hair always tied up and out of face, nail polish ONLY if its light light pink or white, no makeup, no jewlery. Nobody can bring their phones to work and have to be careful, no drinking or smoking, or else military prison (and your time in prison isnt a part of your service, so you still have to complete the time you spent in prison, in the military). If you even hold hands, you can get in a lot of trouble.
Theres just an explanation of what I know, so far... And the crazy thing is? when we first started talking, we as a group were all uneasy and felt a little odd, but honestly as soon as they changed out of their uniforms, we almost didn't recognize them as soldiers, they dressed and acted just like us, a bunch of savages (in a good way), fun to be around, to party with, jam with, hangout and talk with. The relationships we formed with these young soldiers are unbreakable. They literally, are, just, like, us. Most of them were even younger than I was, although I believe two of them were my age.
learning about their experiences and jobs (well, what they can tell us) is amazing. they make terrrrribleeeee wage, like equivalent to 300 or 400$ canadian a month. But they all do it together, and they serve their country together. What surprised me the MOST, was the first day we met them, we asked all of them "when is your service done, and are you excited to be done?" and they ALLLLL said YESSSS. they all can't wait to be done with the army. One of them even hated the army, hated the wars and the killing. She couldn't stand her job, and how it was taken so lightly. But its true, its scary. You never know when something bad could happen when you're surrounded by countries that hate you and each other.
We got five days with them, aand thats all it took, we all fell in love with the soldiers because of how great they were. All super nice, super fun and have a lot of the same interests. I got to know two a lot better than the other six, and I gotta say, I don't ever want that relationship to end. They are beautiful people, inside and ESPECIALLY OUTSIDE HOT DAMN ISRAELI'S ARE HOT (sry hahaha). I'm just lucky to have met them. They changed my perspective on how israelis are and how soldiers are, how we all assumed they would be aggressive and angry-ish and strong willed, they'd be more serious or more cheesy, when they were just like us. I wonder what they thought of Canadians before meeting us, probably nothing, its only the canadians and americans who expect worse of everyone they meet :p
One thing that I deemed really important though, its our Medic (wont mention names), he spoke to the group after the Israelis left us. He was a little peeved because the way THOSE soldiers spoke about it, it seemed like all the soldiers are mad that they're in the army, and resent the rule that they had to be, and cant wait to leave and such. He wanted us to know (he had been in the army- in special forces - fucking badassssss) that not everyone feels the same. He was excited and felt proud to be enlisted in the IDF, and he, along with many others, didn't leave after his service was finished. Sometimes you gain a sort of nobility and pride in what you do, and he was so proud to serve, and he knew he could leave when he wanted, but he felt that wasn't right to do, nor did he want to do it. Which brings up a good point, that not everyone feels it's "forced" upon them, more that its an honor they get to receive.
Another little anecdote is one of the soldiers that I got close to, we were walking together the last day we'd get to spend together, and I was feeling very sad that they were leaving the next day. And I asked him are you sad to be leaving us? did you have fun on your taglit trip? all that stuff, and he loved the group and had an amazing time, but he was half looking forward to going back, because he felt a guilt for leaving his base and his fellow soldiers. could you believe that? after like a year of service, they give this guy pretty much five days off (they only get 15 days off in the year) to hangout, meet new people, learn about a new culture, and he took it (of course) but he felt bad. He knew there were things going on that he could be helping with, but instead he was here enjoying himself. That has gotta be heavy on the heart, feeeling guilty cause you're having fun and your mates aren't.
All in all, I'll keep writing about my experiences as I re-read my travel journal, but this was one I needed to write about, maybe because I felt so strongly, or maybe because I just wanted to share and bring awareness to anyone who reads this particular post. but it was important to me to say it. and next up, I wrote a poem while i was away, and I wanted to share it with you guys; so i'll write it up in my next post. :) xo
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