Emergency: Help Aya and her family evacuate Gaza

Hello friends,

I am writing this message with great urgency, as time is truly of the essence in this situation. My name is Abby, and I live in Montana, thousands of miles away from the situation in Gaza, where my friend Aya and her family have been living through a terrifying ordeal since the beginning of October. I am starting this fundraiser to help them raise the necessary funds to evacuate.

My friend Aya Zaqout is a 23 year old dentist and artist from Gaza city. She graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry a few months ago, and started training for specialization in various clinics in the city. She’s also an incredible artist, and always says that she is an artist before a dentist. Her artistic passion has focused on Mandala art and Stippling art, which are really unique and special. We became friends through our shared appreciation for art.

In the last few months, the university where Aya studied and graduated from has been destroyed, along with the cafes where she used to draw and study with friends, and countless homes and other businesses. Her family does not know the status of their home, as they left on November 8th and have been in the south ever since. They were forced to evacuate on foot, taking with them only what they could carry, leaving behind a lifetime of personal items, photos, memories.

After being displaced to Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, they lived a month of unspeakable suffering. Updates I received from Aya described overcrowding, a severe lack of basic resources, and how the cost of goods has doubled. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the south, which is supposed to be "safe", is not safe at all. After a month of displacement came the order to evacuate Khan Yunis, instructing civilians to go to Rafah, another area called “safe” but that is, in reality, as dangerous as anywhere else in Gaza. I am desperately worried for the safety of my dear friend and her family.

Aya asked me for help to fundraise to get her family out of Gaza to join her Father in the UAE, where he works and has been since the start of the war. This is an expensive and difficult process. To exit the besieged Gaza strip, they must go through Rafah crossing in Egypt. Coordination for this costs nearly $10,000 per person, an incredibly steep cost but as the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, it is the necessary price to pay for the safety of my friend and her family.

I have started this GoFundMe campaign to raise $64,000 to help cover what it will cost for Aya’s family to evacuate. Here is a breakdown of the funds:

Describing Aya’s life as an artist and dentist is beautiful, but unfortunately the circumstances in Gaza necessitate that she and her family leave their home to ensure their safety. The family includes Aya, her four sisters, brother, niece, and mother. Sarah is 26 and has a two year old daughter named Alma. Mohammed is 25 and an engineer. Marah is 17, and was finishing her last year of school and planning for university. Asma’a, 15, and Bara’a, 14, are the babies of the family, affectionately known as the twins due to their closeness in age. Aya describes her mother as her friend and favorite person in her whole life.

So, friends and family, I’m asking for your help: please share this campaign widely, donate if you can, and keep Aya and her family in your prayers. Every dollar helps and anything you can do is greatly appreciated.

Love,

Abby

Images: Aya at her graduation last year, Aya's neice Alma, Aya and her mom at her graduation.