The Kallos Family Book 2022

52 • THE KALLOS FAMILY
From left:
Hagit, Elza
and Tiki at the
author’s home
in Melbourne,
October 2017.
PHOTO PROVIDED
BY HAGIT BAR-ON.
I want to thank her for all her support and
unconditional love. Her wartime experiences
and losses were brutal and harsh but she
never lost her ability to love.
COVID-19 lockdown also stopped me from going
to Netanya to celebrate Barbara’s ninety-fifth
birthday, which was on 26 August 2021. Her
daughter Hagit also could not go from Sydney
to celebrate with her mother. At the time of
writing, Hagit had been unable to be with her
three adult children in Israel for two years, nor
with her sister, brother-in-law and numerous
nieces and nephews.
In January 2022 Barbara caught COVID-19.
She survived but for months suffered from long
COVID, which included fatigue and pain, which
meant she was too unwell to discuss the draft
with me on Skype, so the completion of this
Kallos family story was delayed.
I want to honour and express my gratitude
to Barbara for all the information she has given
me, not just about her family and her life, but
also general historical information. Doing so
was often very stressful for her – and me – as it
bought up such painful emotions and memories.
Barbara’s astounding memory for names, places
and events is enviable.