A Mother’s Plea: Help Rana’s Family Survive In Gaza

My name is Rana Saad Al-Saifi. I’m 30 years old from Gaza. I studied accounting. I’m married and have three children: Layan, who is 4 years old; Misk, who is 3; and Ayman, who is 1. When the war started, we were displaced from our home. It’s been nothing but suffering with my two children, while I was pregnant with my third, Ayman. My husband, my children, and I fled to the south amidst the bombing and destruction, and the exhaustion was indescribable.

A week into the war, a piece of land next to the house we had taken refuge in was bombed. In that moment, we didn’t even know what had happened—we were paralyzed by fear and shock. I felt like I had lost one of my children. We couldn’t recognize one another through the ash, smoke, dust, and rubble that covered our faces. We were searching for shelter, but there was none. We didn’t know what to do.

A day later, we managed to return to the north of Gaza, but we couldn’t go back to our home because it wasn’t allowed. After a month of bombing, hunger, and hardship, we were finally able to return to our shelter. We stayed there for a while, but then the place was threatened with bombing, and we were displaced again—while I was still pregnant.

Throughout this time, we suffered from famine—my husband, my children, and I. Then came the month of my son’s birth, bringing with it the agony of childbirth under the harshest conditions—no food, no safety.

The pain came in the middle of the night. My husband and I walked to the hospital under the sounds of warplanes, in the darkness, with my labor pains, the barking of dogs, no food, and overwhelming fear. By morning, I gave birth to my precious son. Then I had to search for milk for him, but I couldn’t find any—it was too expensive. Same for diapers. It was extremely difficult.

Now, I have three young children, and I can’t provide them with food, water, or safety. Yes, this is real suffering. There was a sudden, intense bombing near the place we were staying, so we returned to our home. But just a week later, a house next to ours was hit. The explosion was so powerful that our house collapsed. We lost half our family—my husband’s father, his brother, and his nephew. Those were incredibly painful times. And even after they passed, nothing has been harder than what we’ve endured during this war.

To this day, my children are still traumatized from that strike. We were displaced again because of the destruction of our home. We continue to suffer from fear, and from the lack of food and water for our children and ourselves. We don’t have proper clothing or shelter.

We stayed with relatives for a long time. Then we were able to repair our house just enough to live in it again, because it’s too hard to live away from home. We sat with our children in an indescribable tragedy. We try to survive and adapt to this genocide, but it’s so difficult.

My daughters, Layan and Misk, go to a learning center, and I’m constantly terrified I might lose them at any moment—may God protect them. We carry our lives in our hands, waiting to die at any moment.

War, children, famine, genocide, displacement, bombing, the absence of shelter, and constant fear—we are dying a slow death.

I hope you can help my children so I can buy them food and water and provide them with a simple, safe home.

I hope this hardship ends, and that we can settle somewhere to live a dignified life.

*** This fundraiser is being organized by Emma Chatman in United States (Warren, Ohio). I am helping my friend Rana Saad Al-Saifi raise money for living expenses for her family. She will be the beneficiary of these funds which will be used for basic necessities such as food, personal care items, cleaning supplies, clothing, and shelter. It may also be used on medical care and transportation in the event evacuation becomes necessary. Once donations are received, they will be deposited into my personal checking account at Navy FCU and then transferred to Rana via a secure wire transfer to her account at the Bank of Palestine.