“URGENT: Help an Afro Arab woman not face homelessness”

Hi! I’m raising money for my friend who is unable to crowdfund from her own country due to privacy reasons and difficulties with launching GoFundMe.

A message from my dear friend who this money will be going towards:

“Assalamu Alaikum!

For those who may not know me, I go by "Bey," and today, I'm putting my pride aside to ask for help. This is something I never thought I’d do, but I’ve realized that sometimes we need to lean on our community to get through tough times.

I belong to several marginalized communities—I'm Black (Black American & West African), Arab (Lebanese), Queer, and Disabled (Autism & Bipolar Type 2). My life has been shaped by a deep sense of justice and a commitment to advocacy. I’ve always been driven to speak up for the voiceless and oppressed, whether through online activism or on-the-ground efforts.

For the past three years, I’ve been actively involved in movements like Black Lives Matter and Free Palestine here in my country. These causes are deeply personal to me—my jíddu (grandfather) is from South Lebanon, a region that has endured Israeli occupation and continues to be targeted by Israel. The struggle of Palestinians is therefore of my concern, just as the fight against racial injustice is central to my identity as a visibly Black person who has experienced racial profiling countless times.

This spring, I helped set up an encampment at my university to demand divestment from Israeli academic institutions. It was a powerful collective effort, bringing together Queers for Palestine, Latinos for Palestine, members of the Black Student Union, and many others. We created a community of mutual respect, knowledge-sharing, and solidarity. We also made sure to feed the less fortunate who visited our encampment and set up a climate-friendly recycling system to minimize our environmental impact.

Unfortunately, our peaceful encampment was violently raided by the police in the early hours of the morning because our university called the police on us. Many students were brutalized by the police, and between 30-40 of us were arrested. I felt immense guilt for being one of the few who wasn’t physically harmed, though I was subjected to racial profiling. Seeing my comrades brutalized was heartbreaking.

In the aftermath, I made it my mission to support those who were found guilty in the trials that followed. I successfully crowdfunded their legal fees, offered free legal advice, provided court preparation, and attended every trial. I also waited outside the police station for hours and days when people were released, ensuring that no one felt abandoned or alone.

However, my commitment to activism has come at a personal cost. The day of the raid was also the day of my labor law exam—an exam I missed, jeopardizing my ability to continue in my program and receive financial support from my school. Without passing this re-exam at the end of the month, I’ll lose my scholarship and my primary source of income, leaving me unable to pay rent or cover basic necessities.

My family is unable to support me due to severe hardships of their own. Lebanon is in the midst of a devastating economic crisis, and my jíddu and other relatives in South Lebanon are living under constant psychological warfare because of the Zionist entity. My relationship with my father is also strained due to his alcoholism and abusive behavior, making it impossible to seek his help. And my deceased mother’s maternal side of the family cut me off financially after my "arrest", believing that my activism has distracted me from my studies. I survived this summer on a scholarship fund I won but now that money has run out.

With no financial support system to rely on, I’m turning to my community for help. Your support will allow me to keep a roof over my head, pay for essentials like rent, food and medication, so I can strictly focus on passing my re-exam and not anxious about losing my apartment so that I can continue my education and also continue my activism, which I am deeply passionate about. I am also actively looking for jobs hoping to start in September. The goal is 1000 USD, 500 to pay my rent and the other 500 to survive on.”

How You Can Help:

Donate: Any amount you can spare will go directly towards covering Bey’s rent, bills, and basic living expenses, allowing her to concentrate on her re-exam and continue her work in the community.

Share: If you’re unable to donate, please consider sharing this campaign with others who might be able to help.

Support: Your words of encouragement mean the world to Bey right now. Your solidarity keeps her going in these tough times.

Supporting Bey means supporting someone who is committed to making a difference. It means ensuring that she can continue to fight for justice and contribute to the causes we all care about. Thank you for being part of our journey and for any help you can provide <3