She knew that I understood what no one else in the room could understand. Bar-On also brought another volunteer, a midwife whose husband was killed in the 1997 helicopter tragedy. She will help Novesche's widow Irina, who is three months pregnant, through her pregnancy and birth. The remainder comes from the Ministry of Absorption and the Jewish Agency. Bar-On prefers to emphasize the positive aspects of her work, but acknowledges that often, ICMC has to step in because Israeli social welfare institutions are insensitive to the unique needs of the immigrants and are bound by inflexible policies or bureaucratic technicalities.
Marina answers for all three women.
We live here now. Once we lost our loved ones, we became part of this country. I live here, in pain and in happiness. I couldn't live anywhere else. My husband died here.