Faces of The Fellowship: Miryam

The Fellowship  |  October 13, 2021

Loneliness has always haunted 85-year-old Miryam. “I don’t want to keep on living,” she told Fellowship volunteers who came with food and care. “I’m dying of loneliness.”

Only 13 when her home country of Morocco — already an unfriendly place for Jews like Miryam — fell under Nazi control, she remembers running. “The Nazis made us run. We didn’t know where we should be running, but we ran.”

As Miryam ran, a Nazi soldier struck a blow to her face, robbing the young girl of her eyesight. Alone in a Nazi-occupied country where those of the Jewish faith faced persecution at best, and death at worst, Miryam and her siblings nearly starved. Only when the Allies retook Morocco did the children find relief.

Two years later, Miryam made aliyah (immigrated) to the new state of Israel. She met and married a lone soldier, and the couple raised three sons. But life would not remain happy. Her loneliness returned.

Tragedy took two of Miryam’s sons, while the third is disabled, leaving her all alone. And tragically, surgery failed to improve the aging woman’s eyes, leaving her completely blind.

But Miryam isn’t really alone. She can count on you and faithful Fellowship friends for care, food, and support. “I only eat whatever The Fellowship sends me,” she says. And she’s comforted knowing she will receive ongoing food support for the rest of her life, all thanks to you!

Your gift today can provide nourishment and alleviate loneliness for an elderly Holocaust survivor like Miryam.