School Days and Friendly Kids

by Jerry Waxman

The kids went back to school a few days ago – September 1, to be exact. It’s easy to see how this changes the schedule of the whole town. Whether or not there are school kids in your household, there are several schools for different age ranges scattered around the city. That makes for certain surges of car traffic and foot traffic early in the morning and in the afternoon.

The excitement and noise level around my apartment has also changed. There are a few schools in the vicinity. It is not uncommon to see groups of teenage girls wandering around, in the park across the street, or just walking down the road. It is not uncommon to hear the shouts or just plain loud talking of Israeli kids when they play around in the area.

Today, I had occasion to see my friend, Pe-er, from India. (He and his family are from the lost tribe of Menashe – commonly called B’nei Menashe.) Unfortunately, his health has not been too great – keeping him from having a regular salaried job. Anyway, as we walked to the shuk (outdoor market), he told me he had to meet with a moadon, a clubhouse, where his boy will go after school every day. Cost of about $45 per month.

It seems that most, if not all the kids belong to a moadon. They have activities and things to keep them busy after school. Good idea, don’t you think?

As we walked to the shuk, we passed a school, where the kids were playing outside. Recess, I suppose. A group of girls – about 10 years old – yelled out their helloes to us from behind the fence. I asked them if they were in prison. They held onto the fence and said, “Yes.”

After another minute of small talk – even a few words in English (“Furu furu furu furu“) – Peer and I went on to the shuk.

I don’t know why, but it struck me as unusual that the kids would be so friendly with strangers passing by. But maybe it shouldn’t have. Sderot is still a small city, where people who’ve been here long enough know each other. And as long as there’s a fence separating the prisoners from the outside world, why not strike up a conversation.

My friend, David, was taking pictures of another school today. Someone in charge told him to stop taking pictures. I suppose it made someone nervous. And maybe they don’t want any type of suspicious activity while students are there. That would make sense, wouldn’t it. The students have already had years to deal with abnormal threats; maybe the sight of some stranger taking pictures of their building makes them nervous.

Another thing happened. After the shuk I walked home. On the way, I saw a man walking with his boy, who looked to me to be about 7 years old. As I was about to pass them, the boy turned to me, smiled, and said, “Shalom,” like I was an old friend. So I began talking with him like he was an old friend.

Turns out they are another Bnei Menashe family from the state of Manipul. They have just moved down from Maalot because there was no work there. Why they came to Sderot – where work is also hard to find – I don’t know. But I suspect he came because he has other Bnei Menashe friends here.

Well, that’s all there is to say today. The advent of a new school year changes the atmosphere. And Sderot is suddenly a lively place at certain intervals of the day. And when there is no apparent tension imposed from outside threats – the people, notably the kids, can be very friendly.

Tagged with: Bnei Menashe • friendly kids • school • school days

Filed under: About Israel • About Sderot

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