Written by Racheli Mees
Translated and edited by Juliana Brown
Hadar Becher, 13 years old, is making her way through the medical staff in her wheelchair. The applause shakes the corridor and also her heart. She's finally being released from the hospital! Hadar smiles a shy smile towards the staff who are all lined up in her honour. Her leg, which is in a full cast, reminds her of what happened only a week ago.
On that day, when the terrorists invaded her kibbutz, Kibbutz Be'eri, they attacked the safe room where Hadar and her family had taken refuge. Avida, Hadar's father, bravely held the door against the terrorists trying to break in. During the struggle, the members of the family were injured.
Hadar was lightly injured, but when she saw her family members who had been hurt, she knew she needed to act and called MADA (Magen David Adom). "You have to get here! We've all been injured by gunshots and we need to be rescued!" She sent the operator the house location so that she could direct the rescue forces to them. Despite the fact that she was also in pain from her injuries, she made an effort to bandage her father's leg, which had been hit in the shooting. Like a lioness, she tried to save the rest of the injured family members. She was on three phone lines at once, as the terrorists tried to burst into the safe room.
When she agonizingly realized that her brother and father had been killed, she noticed that her father was beginning to close his eyes and lose consciousness. Hadar, who up to that point hadn't stopped trying to manage the rescue efforts, felt a wave of fear and decided that there was no way she was willing to lose the most precious thing left to her. She screamed: "You're not leaving us alone! You aren't leaving me!"
And she didn't lose him, or her hope. When the two of them reached the hospital, she felt a smile, despite what everything she had been through.
Everyone who sees Hadar is amazed that despite her pain she's still smiling. At moments like that she looks at her father, who smiles back proudly, and answers: "We always raised her to be happy and optimistic, and that's how I hope my family and I remain. I know that in the end we'll win."
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