Gush Katif missed by Residents of Moshav Beit Elazari near Rehovot

"Where did they come from? The Zakuto family lived for 20 years at Rafah Yam in Gush Katif - Avi, 49, his wife Nurit, 46, and their two children. They had a 150-square-meter home. "The house was full of warmth and love, and we always enjoyed returning there after a day's work. All our memories remained there. We miss Gush Katif like crazy, and sometimes we just want to hop into the car and drive there, but we can't. It's not like every other person who left a country and came to live here and can go back to their roots. We can't because we can't get in," Avi says.

Where are they today? They're living in a house they built while still in Gush Katif at Moshav Beit Elazari near Rehovot. The house is 170 square meters. "We have a beautiful garden and the house is spacious and lovely, but we still miss the Gush. Twenty years is a huge chunk of one's life; it's not two days," he says.

What did they do for a living then? Avi was in charge of maintenance work at the Hof Gaza Regional Council while Nurit ran the council head's bureau. Avi was also secretary general of Rafah Yam.

What are they doing today? Both of them are unemployed. "We look for work day and night, but we can't find anything. Beyond our problems with lack of income, there are other issues: It's not good for a person not to be working. It's unpleasant. And there are many people who were expelled from their homes and are in a similar position. How can I find work at 49?" Avi asks.

Compensation and the disengagement administration: They have received 75 percent of the compensation due to them by law. "We will probably get the rest in the next few days," Avi says. "But what we have received so far is nothing. You can't build a house with sums like these. We can't build a house in those parts of the country to which we were evacuated at the price we paid to build one in Gush Katif. People are still paying off mortgages on houses that were destroyed in the Gush."

How will they vote in the elections? Avi voted for the National Union in the last elections. This time he doesn't plan to vote at all. "I no longer believe politicians. The only thing that interests them is their own seat. The prime minister threw us to the dogs. No one really cares about our troubles.""

Source: Yuval Azoulay. The Evacuees / Zakuto Family / `We miss Gush Katif like crazy'. Haaretz.com (9 December 2005) [FullText]