SLA members on border after IDF withdrawal
Photo: Avihu Shapira
Abu Raad: Test of friendship
Photo: Mike Gordon
Dozens of SLA refugees flee to Israel
30 former SLA members find themselves threatened by Hizbullah following war, arrived in recent days to Lebanese-Israeli border requesting asylum
Exactly six years and three months have gone by since the IDF withdrew from southernLebanon. One
of the pictures etched in Israeli collective memory is the mass departure of dozens of families whose relatives were in the Southern Lebanese Army who arrived at the border crossings in Rosh Hanikra and Fatma Gate next to Metulla.
"You fear for your life," said one of the refugees. "The whole way to the Israeli border I protected my two brothers out of fear they would be hit by Hizbullah snipers. When I saw the IDF soldiers I was so excited because I understood that here in Israel I will be safer."
They left behind their relatives and their property in order to find asylum in Israel. Over the years, some of them have made their way back to Lebanon, back to friends and family left behind. The second Lebanon war was accompanied b a new wave of threats toward the refugees who had remained in Lebanon. Those who were Israel's brothers in arms for years are under threats on their lives by Hizbullah.
Reunited
Hagai Einav
After being threatented by Hizbullah, Lebanese woman approaches Israel-Lebanon border with three children, tells IDF soldiers she wishes to reunite with her husband, a former SLA soldier who lives in Israel
About 30 refugees arrived from Lebanon to Israel since the ceasefire. The first were Dalita Dahar and her three children, who asked to be reunited with their father, Wallab Mara'I, living today in Netanya. He hadn't seen his family since the IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The family reunion was possible only after many hours of interrogation the women and children went through.
In hindsight, it turns out that the arrival of Dahar and her children was only the first sign of a wave of former SLA families to come after them. Following the Dahar family, a number of families from the village of Qaliya, next to Metulla, arrived at the border. Following instructions of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, the families were temporarily transferred to a military facility where they were given aid as they awaited the decision of the political establishment about their status in Israel.
'Additional budget is needed'
Among the refugees who arrived at the border in the past few days was a former SLA man who was wounded by Hizbullah 10 years ago when they hid an explosive in his belongings. Ever since, he has been confined to a wheelchair. "Hizbullah is just waiting for the moment we return. They will liquidate us one by one," he said. Another refugee worriedly added, "I hope the Israeli government won't abandon us and will remember the days in which we jointly defended the northern border."
Marlan Abu Raad from Maalot, one of the heads of the Association for the Southern Lebanese Community in Israel, says that throughout the weekend the association tried to find a solution to the distress of the refugee confined to a wheelchair.
"It is a difficult story which tests the years-long friendship between native southern Lebanese, the IDF, and the Israeli government. The man received aid from the Red Cross who brought him close to the border, and now, like the rest of the refugees, he is at the mercy of the Defense Ministry and the Israeli government. I am calling the government not to abandon the former SLA members who are in real danger," Abu Raad said.
"We, as an association operating many years from within and for the benefit of southern Lebanon, are happy to be of assistance to all those involved in aiding and locating family members and in initial absorption. But, to this end, additional budget is needed to rehabilitate the families and to absorb them into Israeli society," she added.
Abu Raad, as do the rest of the SLA members living in the north, sees each and every day how the Israeli government helps absorb immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and America. She hopes that SLA members who helped defend the northern border will receive similar treatment.
