"If she were white, they would have found her": The Kassau family opens up

One picture of a smiling girl with braids has become a symbol of endless pain over the last two years. Haymonot Kassau was only 9 when she disappeared. She was not just a picture on a sign; she was a child with dreams of being a doctor, a girl who loved sports and friends. Today, as we mark over 900 days since her disappearance, her father, Tesfaye Kassau (with the assistance of translator Dr. Shula Mola), and her older sister Yeros Kassau arrived at the studio.

Tesfaye, tell me about Haymonot. Who is the girl behind the picture?

Tesfaye: "Haymonot is a very fast, sharp girl. She loves to laugh, loves friends and sports. She had a special connection to me, a special love for her father. When we would ask her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she always said she wanted to be a doctor, she wanted to be a doctor."

I want to go back with you to the day she disappeared. Where were you?

Tesfaye: "I was not in the country that day, I was in Ethiopia. I returned to the news that she had disappeared, and it was a total shock."

Looking back, is there anything you think should have been done differently in the first hours and days?

Tesfaye: "Yes. For two months, the police focused only inside the absorption center. They searched in refrigerators, they searched within the family. It causes me great sorrow. In those critical hours, they should have closed roads, blocked the area, and conducted a widespread search throughout the city and the surroundings. They did not notify all the stations, they simply locked onto the absorption center while she may have already been taken out of there."

In all the time that has passed, was there a moment when you received information or news that made you think that here, maybe this time they are getting closer to her?

Tesfaye: "They promised us that they were building a team of six people whose mission this would be. But in practice? We don't really know what is happening. They tell us they are not finding anything, and worse - they barely update us. We are left in the dark."

You met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January. He promised to leave no stone unturned. What has happened since?

Tesfaye: "He promised that he would personally get involved in the matter. But since that meeting, eight months ago, there has been no contact from his office. No one called, no one updated."

The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, also promised that the Shin Bet would get involved. Did that happen?

Tesfaye: "He said he would ask for the Shin Bet to get involved. If the Shin Bet had gotten involved with its technological capabilities, they would have found her long ago. The recent cases we have seen, like the four-year-old boy who was found within hours, prove that when there is a will - the state knows how to find anyone."

There are those who claim that the fact that you live in Safed and not in the center area, and the fact that you are of Ethiopian descent, did not create a widespread public echo and therefore the affair is not in the headlines. Do you think that if you lived in the center of the country and were not of Ethiopian descent, the state would have treated the affair differently?

Tesfaye: "Unequivocally. The authorities do not see Haymonot as an equal citizen. I know that if she were a 'French' (white) girl, they would have found her. Because we are new immigrants, because she is black and comes from Ethiopia - the state does not treat it with the same urgency."

What does life at home look like since the disappearance?

Tesfaye: "You can't call it life. Her siblings ask hard questions: 'Who took her? A Jew or an Arab?'. The children are afraid to go out of the house. We eat, breathe, move - but our heart is not there. Everything has changed."

Yeros, you are her older sister. You enlisted for national service amidst all this pain. How do you manage to function?

Yeros: "It's not simple. It was important for me to contribute to my country, but on the other side, my heart is torn. Sometimes I ask myself why I am contributing to a country that treats us like this? These were two and a half years of double struggle - both to serve and to search for my sister. I stopped my life at 18. While my friends are out and enjoying themselves, I am dealing with investigation files and searches."

What would you like to say to the decision-makers, the authorities, the government?

Yeros: "I want to appeal to the head of the Shin Bet, David Zini - you have the power to return my sister to me. We didn't ask for something we don't deserve. 904 days she is not home. We saw other cases that were solved within two days because there was a will. When there is no will - they don't do it. I want to ask them: what do we need to do so that you have the will to return her home?"

Tesfaye, if there is a person who knows what happened to Haymonot, knows where she is, or holds even a small detail that could help find her, and he is hearing you now, what do you want to say to him?

Tesfaye: "We promised a million shekels to whoever finds her, we will collect the money from the public, from the people. We are also appealing to whoever might be holding her - come to us in secret, you will receive the money, just return the child. And if the money is not the issue, I ask this person to think about the day when he will stand before God. What will he say?"

If Haymonot is hearing you now, what is your message to her?

Tesfaye: "I want to tell her that I pray and cry every day. My heart is with her. One day we will meet and talk about everything."

Yeros: "Haymi (Haymonot's nickname), we are turning the world upside down for you. Don't think that we have forgotten you or that we don't love you. We are waiting for you to continue living. Don't be afraid of the dark, God is watching over you."

Tesfaye, do you believe she will return?

Tesfaye: "One hundred percent. I believe in it with all my heart."