Mirjam, her husband Rajmond, and their three children arrived in Nahal Oz in 2018. They were determined to make a life for themselves in the kibbutz, having left The Netherlands amidst the rise in antisemitism. She even started writing a book about their experiences. On Saturday, Mirjam woke up early but decided to skip her run. With the sound of Red Alert, the couple split - Rajmond and the daughter in one safe room and Mirjam and the two boys in another. They mistook a lull in the explosions for the end of the emergency, but soon, messages on the WhatsApp group instructed everyone to lock themselves in, as there were terrorists in the kibbutz. The family (and dog) huddled in a small bedroom, hoping for help to arrive. Mirjam tried to keep up with the flood of WhatsApp messages in Hebrew but couldn't completely grasp what was happening, even when her son showed her a Hamas video taken from inside the home of one of the kibbutz families.
After 9 hours with no food and water, soldiers came to check on them, but weary of terrorists posing as IDF, they initially refused to open. They were finally evacuated with the rest of the community hours later. Months after October 7, Mirjam is unemployed. Her husband, determined to return to Nahal Oz, has returned to work at the kibbutz's dairy factory. Despite the uncertain future, the family has decided to stay in Israel instead of returning to the Netherlands. Mirjam hopes to add some positive chapters to her book.