Shira Migdal, a civilian pedicurist, was recruited under Order 8 to treat the feet of fighters who removed their shoes for the first time after 30-40 days: "From the smell, my stomach went up and down"
Shira Migdal, 45, from Even Yehuda, a medical pedicurist by profession, hasn't rested for a moment. She arrives at the Gaza Strip border and receives fighters returning from the Strip for foot and face treatments after long weeks without showering, removing their shoes, and returning sooty from the battlefield.
"After October 7th, I went crazy: 'I need to do more'" She tells Srugim about how it began: "On October 7th, after the initial shock, I realized flowers were needed for the many funerals taking place in my area. I brought a car full of flowers, stood at the entrance to the Even Yehuda cemetery. There were funerals here for victims from the Nova party from the Death Pillbox, and also kibbutz members who temporarily buried their loved ones here. I made wreaths and stood at the cemetery entrance, but I went crazy thinking I needed to do more."
"Then I started receiving evacuees at my clinic. They were terrified. I found them clothes, took care of them, sat with them, hugged them - it was terrible. After a month, we started hearing about foot problems among fighters because they hadn't removed their shoes at all. I set out, posted that I was going south, people donated boxes of creams, and I arrived at the border to give fighters professional pedicures."
"They removed socks for the first time after a month" Shira describes meeting the fighters: "They sat and told me about what they saw in the kibbutzim and Gaza. I sat like a mother for them and we talked. The soldiers were in difficult emotional states. I would sit with them until morning. There was a lone soldier I took under my wing - he proposed to his girlfriend. I bought him clothes, brought him everything he needed. I became attached to these soldiers."
Shira says part of the treatment was healing their souls from the horrors they saw, confronting the truth face-to-face. She arrived in the south when everything was very fresh, still in a state of war.
The 'Fighters in Pink' are actually Shira and her daughter, who is responsible for facial treatments for the fighters: "They hadn't removed their shoes or showered for a month. I would remove their socks for the first time and from the smell, my stomach would rise and fall. Some wanted to take their socks home - I explained to them that from here it goes to the trash. My daughter cleans their faces of all the black from the war."
Shira tells of a Maglan fighter she treated who told her everything he saw. The fighter fell in battle, and Shira visited his parents with a large picture of him: "They sat with me for 40 minutes. I was very worried about what they would say, but they wanted to hear everything. I left feeling so strengthened - it was a very moving moment."
Shira was recruited under Order 8 with the religious women's recruitment to the IDF. Due to logistical conditions, Shira returned as a volunteer and receives fighters leaving Gaza on concentrated days. She is looking for a unit that will accept them again under Order 8 and provide lodging.
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