Save Zain from Genocide

My name is Asmaa Abudayya, I am the mother of a sweet and innocent 6-year-old kid called Zain. We are Palestinians from the north of the Gaza Strip, currently displaced in the south of Gaza, in Rafah. Before war broke out, my husband, my son and I were living a humble but good life, we had recently been able to move to our own little apartment, Zain had started his first year in primary school and was so excited about it, and I had finally found a job after more than 10 years of looking for one.

Then, the war happened.

At first we thought that it would be like the other wars we had survived but as the attacks became more and more violent and the number of martyrs kept increasing beyond any expectations we realized our lives were never going to be the same. We were forced to leave our home only carrying with us our IDs and with the fear that we would never go back. We stayed with some family members that lived closer to the south before finally making the hard decision of moving to Rafah, the place that Israel kept on saying that was the safest.

During this time in Rafah we heard news that said that the building where our home was located had been completely destroyed and with it all our most precious belongings and the hopes of having a normal life. We also heard that the houses of our close family members had also been destroyed by the army. We became refugees once again in our own land.

The living conditions here in Rafah are very harsh, the scarcity of all products has made the prices skyrocket, the water we drink is contaminated due to the lack of bottled water because of the inhumane blockade, my little boy cannot even go to school and Israel does not stop bombing us here as well. The street where we are staying has already been targeted several times by the warplanes and we are afraid next time it could be us.

These recent weeks there have been more and more talks about an impeding invasion of Rafah by the Israeli army. We have heard of all the terrible stories from people arriving Rafah fleeing from the atrocities committed by the soldiers and we fear the same is going to happen here. It is a matter of time.

This is the reason why we have decided to ask for your help to be able to evacuate us as well as my little brother and my parents. The funds we are hoping you can help us raise are to be distributed as follows:

The total is USD 42,100.

Every donation, regardless of its size, would be highly appreciated and would be in solidarity with me and my family.

***

My name is Abel Abudayya. I am Asmaa’s brother. I live in Basel, Switzerland.

As Asmaa does not have the necessary means to launch a fundraising campaign from Gaza, I created this fundraiser on her behalf with her approval.

The money raised in this campaign will go exclusively to Asmaa and her family.

Warm regards

Abel