Evacuated naturopathy expert now treating others
Living through the events of October 7 in the southern kibbutz of Ein Hashlosha, which lies on the road between Nir Oz and Kissufim, was like being in a movie for kibbutz member Adi Peri. She lay on the floor in her bomb shelter for hours as she listened to Hamas terrorists shooting and yelling in the houses around her, hoping they would not invade her home.
Peri was woken up at 6:30 a.m. by sirens that went on and on. “We couldn’t leave the bomb shelter. It was just constant Red Alerts and barrages. We didn’t understand what was happening. Then friends and family started to call me and tell me about the infiltration of terrorists in various places.”
Peri was at home alone, able to understand only some of what was going on through her phone, which gave only partial information, as the cellular reception wasn’t good in the closed shelter. “I started locking up the house, but it was hard because there were constant Red Alerts and barrages,” said Peri.
“The hours go by and you start hearing there are terrorists in the kibbutz. I kept my cool. I turned off the AC. I turned off the lights,” said Peri, noting that it was all about getting things done without becoming hysterical.
“You start hearing a ton of shots and a ton of yelling. I laid in the dark all those hours in the shelter. You really hope that they don’t come in. They kept coming and going. Things are quiet and
then loud and then quiet and then loud,” described Peri.
“I tried to find solutions to secure the door of the shelter to keep them from coming in,” Peri added, saying that she tried to tie it shut a few different ways, all the while hoping they would not enter her house.
“It was a miracle that they did not come into my home, even though they easily could have. They went into the homes of all of my neighbors. I live in the neighborhood that was most badly hurt on the Kibbutz. In some of my neighbors’ houses, they killed people, in some, they burned things, and in some, they threw grenades.
“They disconnected my [cooking] gas balloons and
put them at my front door to try to blow them up, but my neighbor saw this from far away and shot at them,” she said. “In hindsight, we realized they were trying to blow up all the houses with the gas balloons.”
Thankfully, Peri was unhurt in the attack on Ein Hashlosha in which four of its residents were killed, but her business and livelihood have been badly harmed, she said. After the attack, Peri was evacuated to Eilat with her community.
When they arrived in Eilat, Peri, who is an expert in naturopathy, quickly felt the need to treat people. “I felt that it was my calling since I had lived,” she said.
She began volunteering the day after arriving in Eilat, treating other evacuees and Eilat locals.
Before the attack, Peri ran a clinic for alternative medicine from her home in the kibbutz, including naturopathy, massage, and natural pharmacy services. She also taught Israeli folk dancing.
Since October 7, Peri says she hasn’t been able to make a living because of her situation as an evacuee. She cannot fit her business in the hotel room that she also must live in, and feels she is in a state of limbo.
“In the last few months, I haven’t been making a living,” said Peri. “There is no income and I also feel I am not doing anything. I am far from my family and from everything. I have no control,” she said.
One type of work that Peri has been able to do and enjoy since October 7 is leading naturopathy workshops for companies.
“I was invited to a hi-tech company to give a workshop on natural pharmacy,” said Peri, saying that she also gave a lecture on the healing properties of some plants. “I had a good time. This is something I want to do,” Peri stated.
She is also considering looking for work as an employee rather than a freelancer so that she can find more stability. Her community was moved from Eilat to Netivot, where she hopes to find clients in the area or travel to other cities to do workshops.