Photo: Instagram page of Michal Bouganim Shir Georgy, whose first name means “song” in Hebrew, was from this electronic music festival in the desert, where more than 250 people were killed in a Hamas offensive.
The day after the funeral of Shir Georgy, the 4th of 5 Canadian victims identified so far in the war raging between Israel and Hamas, despair and incomprehension continue to haunt those close to him. Despite their immense pain, some of them wanted to pay tribute to this young woman of 22 years, “whom everyone loved and who loved everyone.”
“She was like a flower , like an angel. She helped everyone and always had a smile,” tells Devoirin impeccable French Valérie Dahan-Menasof, cousin of Shir Georgy's mother, live from Miami, where she now lives. Ms. Dahan-Menasof's family and that of Shir's mother are very close, having both moved to Montreal in the mid-1980s. Shir was born while her parents had returned to Israel, but she has a Canadian passport and came to visit the country several times.
After her military service, Shir wanted to discover the world. She had spent six months in South America, notably in Brazil, and had made a short detour to Miami, before returning home.
“Shir had her life ahead of her, she had plans to get married and study. We talked about all this during his stay here. “It's so difficult to know that she's no longer here,” said Ms. Dahan-Menasof, choking back a sob.
Shir Georgy, whose first name means “song” in Hebrew, was this electronic music festival in the desert, where more than 250 people were killed in a Hamas offensive about a week ago. “Her mother spoke to her at 8 a.m. [the day after the massacre] and told her not to worry, that she was safe with a police officer. »
The family was able to see a video where Shir and around twenty people had taken refuge in a medical clinic. “Three girls who came out alive said they heard terrorists and saw through the window that they were killing everyone. »
The body of young Shir Hanna Georgy was found next to Kibbutz Be'eri, near the border with Gaza. On Saturday night, his father was informed that the DNA sample he had provided matched human remains recovered in that area. He was later able to confirm his daughter's identity at the morgue.
“It's terrible to say, but it's almost a comfort that she wasn't kidnapped and “she died like that,” said Valérie Dahan-Menasof, her voice breaking with emotion. “It's very difficult for her mother and grandmother, who were very close to her,” she added, adding that the immediate family currently has a lot of support.
Poignant funerals
The funeral, broadcast on Zoom, took place on Saturday afternoon and the young Canadian-Israeli, who has two younger brothers, was buried in the cemetery of her town, Rishon Lezion, not far from Tel Aviv. In a poignant ceremony of prayers and songs, a crowd of relatives and representatives of the army bid him a final farewell. “She was very popular, but there were people from everywhere who wanted to pay tribute to her because she sacrificed her body for the country. Because that’s what she did,” underlined Valérie Dahan-Menasof,specifying that Shir had obtained a rank in the army. “She was strong and had character. The army was grateful to him. »
Recently, the young woman organized her mother's 50th birthday party. “She was giving so much of herself, getting nothing at all. She was a beautiful person,” Ms. Dahan-Menasof said. “Shir will never be forgotten. » Like a song that stays in the head and the heart.