Natmar talks about her many names and their meanings. She describes her family tree, her village, her house, and its contents. As a child, she used to help her mother with household tasks such as cleaning, bringing water, cooking, and helping with her younger siblings. When her parents went to events and were away from home, sometimes for an entire week, she would take on the role of the mother and running the house. Her mother taught her to do all the housework, embroidery, and weaving household vessels from reeds.

Natmar talks about the communal feeling and mutual assistance within the community and the family. She explains about the “Debiat” custom, whereby the men worked together on a different person’s field each time, and the women spun cotton threads together. This communal work was usually accompanied by singing.

Natmar talks about the manifestations of racism toward the Jews from their Christian neighbors, which were often caused by disputes about who owned land. Natmar’s father served as a mediator and as defense counsel for Jews in court. She talks at length about his accomplishments. She explains that during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, Jews were not allowed to own land and had to rent land from Christians as well as pay taxes to the authorities.

When she was five, Natmar’s father taught her and her siblings to read and write. He used to test them on their progress. When a school was opened by the ORT organization, Natmar was sent to study there. At first, they learned under a tree. Only when she completed third grade was the school building fully constructed. Natmar describes the daily routine in the school, the discipline, and the syllabus.

Natmar explains that children were not usually sent to high school. Boys returned home to help support the family and girls usually got married. Several people asked for Natmar’s hand in marriage, but her parents insisted she first complete her schooling.

She began seventh grade in the school in the village of Azezo, where she rented an apartment with her brother. Natmar talks about her homesickness, being so far from home. In order to keep safe as a young girl, she only left her house when accompanied by others. In the school and in the village, she concealed her Jewish identity to prevent the teachers and other pupils from harassing her. She sometimes even had to go with them to church and to celebrations of the Christian festivals.

When the Derg party deposed Emperor Haile Selassie and seized power, there was a widespread feeling of uncertainty and impending danger. Natmar relates that in the tumultuous political environment it was impossible to trust anyone. Everyone belonged to different political parties, sometimes even people in the same family. Natmar joined the rebel organization EHAPA. She talks at length about the clandestine meetings, the code names they used, and the movement’s ideological platform.

When it rose to power, the Derg regime unleashed the “Red Terror”, which included imprisonment and execution of anyone suspected of not supporting its regime. Some of Natmar’s teachers and schoolmates disappeared. Some were found hanging in the marketplace. During raids on the area, Natmar and her friends used to hide in the forest for days on end until the danger passed.

The Derg enacted a reform that included mandatory universal education. Natmar, who was in eleventh grade, was recruited for national service as a teacher. She was sent to teach in Wokan in the province of Gondar. She taught four families at a time, stayed with them, and taught them to read and write. She submitted weekly reports to the local council documenting her progress. Natmar describes these studies and the ideology behind her job.

She completed this work after six months. Natmar returned to her village of Tsada and had to decide what to do with her life. She accompanied her grandmother on her journey to Addis Ababa to meet her uncle, who was a soldier on leave. In Addis Ababa, Natmar began to work as a typist during the day and studied accounting in university in the evenings. Natmar describes the great differences between life in a village in the north of the country and life in the capital city.

As there were no diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Israel, Natmar knew that her only chance to immigrate to Israel was through a scholarship. A relative who lived in Israel managed to obtain a scholarship for her at Tel Aviv University. In this way, Natmar managed to leave the country and immigrate to Israel.