My parents Hasan and Neomi Slayman immigrated to Israel from Yemen. When they boarded the plane in Hashed, they were told to get rid of all of their belongings. In Israel, they were housed in Ein Shemer, and after a while moved to Givat Koach where Rina was born. My mother was very young at the time - she was only fifteen. When Rina was one year and one month old, she began to feel ill and the doctor of the moshav said that she should be taken to hospital. We took her to the Beilinson hospital and my mother was told to go home since everything was fine. My mother visited her on a daily basis. On the third day, the nurse told her: “Your daughter is dead, go home.” My mum told her: “I want to see her.” The nurse shouted at her: “Go away! There is nothing to see! We buried her in a mass grave!” My mother went over to the window to have a look and try to find her daughter. The nurse walked out and shouted at her: “There is no girl anymore! Go home! Leave!”. Another nurse shouted at her: “You are all still young. You can make lots of children!” My mother hasn’t stopped talking about her ever since and my father was in agony until he died. I used to spend a lot of time talking to them.

Malka Shlomo