In the articles I read some striking language is used to describe the situation. Repeated terms are ones such as “abduction” , “kidnapping , and “disappeared”. The mothers of these children describe themselves as feeling as if something is “missing”. They all knew deep down their child was not dead. The journalists discuss the personal stories of families who lost children, those that were reunited due to the use of DNA sites, and accounts of what occurred politically. A repeated sentiment throughout the articles is a confusion of Jewish identity. A question that is asked by many is how could Jews do this to fellow Jews? The BBC article notes how it was discovered that experiments were occurring on Yemenite children, and that post-mortem examinations were carried out on children that were found to be buried in mass graves which goes against Jewish tradition. Some children were found to have had their hearts removed.
Something that I found striking was that when parents had the graves of their “dead” children exhumed they found either an empty grave or a child that did not have any genetic relation. Who’s children were filling these graves?
Another aspect of the articles that I found interesting was the political mis-steps that were taken. The articles noted how families would not receive death certificates of their very much alive children for years. One mother spoke about how she received draft notices for both of her twin daughters, even though one was presumed dead and that was one of the things that motivated her to find her daughter. The government orchestrated a mass abduction of children but didn’t make sure the draft notices were not sent out.
I am unsure of what to say about this period of time other then that it is deeply upsetting. The one thing that seems to be on the sides of these children and their families is the modern age and the technology that comes from it. The use of DNA ancestry sites were key components in reuniting these families, and without it who knows how any of these people who of found each other.
