Red South

This is the Shokeda Forest in southern Israel during peak wildflower season in late January 2015. 

In a regular year this would be the season we'd head down to the Otef (Gaza border) region of Israel with our children to visit the beautiful profusion of red crown anemone flowers that bloom in vast meadows and Mediterranea woodland this time of year.

Over the years this developed in to a festival celebrating the region's nature, agriculture and arts known as "Darom Adom" (red south), attracting thousands of visitors over a few winter weekends. We would always pick a midweek afternoon to take the children after school so that we could enjoy the flowers at a quieter time before the crowds came and on the way home we'd catch a light dinner in Netivot or Sderot or stop by the stunning Ora orchards in Kfar Maimon.

When I heard the news on October 7 one of the first thoughts that went through my mind was "Darom Adom" and how now all I could think of was a very different "red south", one of blood, ashes and destruction rather than red and black anemone flowers.

The flowers are blooming again in the October killing fields where Hamas terrorists butchered hundreds of Israelis in cold blood during their surprise invasion of Israel on that nightmarish Shabbat Simhat Torah.

The winter rains are healing the land, wildflowers and trees covering up the wounded ground, growing around the burnt out homes and barns, the damaged trees.

This winter though there are no day trippers in the Otef the only visitors to see the flowers are the soldiers and security forces stationed in the area, the few local residents who've returned to work their farms and other essential industries, the throngs of volunteers helping local agriculture and solidarity missions from around the world coming to bear witness to the atrocities of October 7th.

This years' anemones are living memorials to the 1200 Iives so brutally cut down that day and to the many others wounded in body and soul, raped, mutilated and burned and the hundreds kidnapped to Gaza to months of horrific captivity, may the 136 still held hostage be set free to come home safely and soon. 

Darom Adom

In a normal year this is the season when profusions of wild red crown anemones bloom in the meadows and woodland of Israel's Gaza border region.Some of the most stunning places to see them are Shokeda, Beeri and Reim. Places with very different associations since the Hamas invasion of Israel and massacre, rape, torture and kidnapping of Israeli civilians on October 7th.

Darom Adom - Red South used to be about these magnificent native wildflowers. Today seeing this photo I took near Beeri a few years ago all I can think of is a very different Red South, one of blood and burnt out buildings and cars, horrific atrocities against Israeli and foreign expat babies, children, elderly, women and men.

This year I look at this photo and think of the heartbreaking memorial at Reim to the hundreds massacred at the music festival, silent signposts with photos of the victims standing upright in the open field like the winter anemones now blooming in the region.

Maybe the anemones are reminding us that fields of bloom can once again become full of life.