Liri Albag Reflects on Life and Recovery Nearly Two Years After Captivity
Liri Albag reflects on her life nearly two years after returning from Hamas captivity, describing the ongoing psychological struggle, recovery, and adjustment to a new daily routine.
One year and nine months have passed since the cameras stopped rolling on the national event of the return of the hostages, and only then did the real reality begin in the Albag family home. At first, everything felt like a miracle, a kind of strange detachment protecting against the pain and allowing joy simply for life itself. But as time passes and life around continues on its course, memories begin to surface and fears that found a place to hide in captivity start to coming out.
"I feel like I am on a speeding roller coaster, sometimes up and down. In the first half-year there was euphoria, but over time things began to sink in and the realization of everything I went through hit me," Liri shares. This sentence accurately describes the stage where the struggle changes its face. It is no longer the struggle to survive the next day facing terrorists in a tunnel, but the struggle to get used again to silence, street noises, and thoughts surfacing at night, she tells in an interview with 'Isha'.
Inside the home in Yarhiv, the entire family is learning to navigate around the new routine. On one hand, there is an intense desire to catch up on everything, go out, fall in love, and reclaim the lost years. On the other hand, there are days when every small trigger can flood everything back. The caution of the parents, the patience of the partner, and the close bond with the other girls who were there with her are what keep the course stable even when the roller coaster rises and falls rapidly.
