A Tent Is Not a Home — Help My Family Survive

My name is Ramzi, and I’m a Palestinian living in Belgium. While I am here, working a full-time job and doing everything I can, my mind and heart are with my family in Gaza—what remains of them.

I have lost over 200 members of my extended family.

Let that sink in: two hundred people—my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins—gone.

Buried under rubble. Disappeared in explosions. Starved. Burned. Erased.

Those who survived are now living in a thin tent, barely standing, barely protecting them from the blazing heat of the Gaza summer, or the freezing winds and floods that winter brings. When it rains, the tent floods. When it's hot, it’s unbearable. There’s no privacy. No safety. No comfort. Just existence.

What Is Life Like for Them Now?

They wake up each morning not knowing if they’ll survive the day.

There is no fridge, no stove, no running water.

There is no meat, no fresh vegetables.

Only canned food—often expired, and barely enough for a meal.

They cook on open fires with scraps of wood they collect from the ruins of homes. There is no gas, no electricity, and very little clean water. Children sleep on the bare ground, often soaked and shivering. The air smells of smoke, of waste, of trauma. This is not just poverty—it is a manufactured catastrophe.

And yet, they carry on. With resilience I can’t begin to describe.

Why I’m Asking for Help

I’ve been sending money every month from my salary in Belgium. I’ve stretched myself as far as I can. But it’s no longer enough.

Since Israel is blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, the cost of everything has skyrocketed:

Renting a half-destroyed apartment costs over $1,000 a month

1kg of wheat is over $15

1 kg of sugar is over $70

Medicine, diapers, even water—are luxuries

They don’t ask for luxuries. They ask for a door that locks. A mattress. A warm blanket. A quiet night without shelling. A bowl of food that doesn’t come from a tin.

Through this campaign, my goal is to cover their rent for an entire year, while also sending them monthly support from my own pocket to help them cope with the extremely high cost of living.

What Your Support Will Do

Every single dollar raised will go directly to my family. It will help them:

Move out of the tent into a real, safe shelter

Buy fresh food, water, and basic groceries

Get medicine, clothes, and hygiene essentials

Provide wood and fuel to cook and stay warm

Support babies and elderly who are most at risk

This is not charity. This is a lifeline. A chance for them to live with dignity, not despair.

Even if you can’t help, you can share this story. You can help amplify their voices. Their suffering should not go unseen.

This Is Personal

I write this not as a stranger asking for donations.

I write this as a son, a brother, a grandchild, a cousin—a human being whose family is trapped under war, and who cannot save them alone.

From the bottom of my heart,

Thank you for reading. Thank you for standing with us.

❤️

Ramzi