*UPDATE: I just had to change the goal amount from 20,000 AUD to

30,157. This is because today I got to know that the fee to evacuate to Egypt is 20,000 USD/my family of 4, not Australian dollars like the GFM is set. Since 20 AUD ~ 13.25 USD, the amount in AUD is larger than 20,000. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

I’m Saleh Abu Sultan, my friend Helmy from Gaza is trying to raise funds to evacuate his family from Gaza.

Hello, my name is Helmy Al-Swaisi. I’m 21 years old and I’m a student at Faculty of Dental and Oral Surgery, University of Palestine. I’m writing this story from my tent while my tears are flowing.

There are 4 members in my family. We used to live together happily, we had a roof over our heads, clean water to drink, and food to eat. I was able to study hard and chase my dream. Then suddenly, we were forced to leave everything and my city was bombed to dust. It was so sudden that we couldn’t prepare anything, so now we are left with no money savings, no minimum life necessities like clean water to drink or cook, no food, no necessary medicine,...

At least 35,800 people were killed, more than 80,000 were injured, many were forced to join camps and tortured inhumanely, and people keep dying every day still. For months we have been living in extreme fear and anxiety. We can never know if tomorrow, or in an hour, we can always be the next victims. Our lives are destroyed completely, we cannot even dream about being able to return to our home. No words can ever describe this situation.

I believe that just like any other human being, me and my family, we deserve to live a life. A normal life of working, studying, cooking, going to bed without terrifying fears that we can be bombed or killed when we are sleeping, such normal life is a true luxury for us now. Our suffering has been going on and we have no clue when it will end, it’s hard to keep being strong and hopeful. A friend told me: “When I see photos and videos about the genocide, I cry but when I turn off my phone, I’m back to my normal life. But for you and your family, even when you turn off your phone, the reality remains the same, cruel and dangerous, not a slight idea when this all will end. I’m so sad for you. I admire your resilience.”

We have a strong desire to work and study, to contribute our lives to this world instead of living fearfully with frightening starvation, unsanitary conditions due to no clean water or medicine, and hearing screams, bombs, drone sounds 24/7. My parents comfort me that we are still fortunate enough to be alive. But I want to seek help because being alive is so extremely fragile too. We have no choice but to cross the Rafah border with Egypt, all other ways are closed now. This is the only way to keep our lives. $5000/person, so $20,000/my family of 4 is a huge amount of money for us, but this is the very only hope. It scares me that now, Palestinians’ lives are being monetized, you can only be alive if you have money.

Therefore, my family and I are truly grateful for your help. 5 euros, 10 dollars, any amount can help save our lives. Your contribution can decide life or death for us. We have nothing to rely on except for your kindness. Please help us.

This was once our cosy home. We have 4 people living together like any other family. Now it’s bombed and destroyed, we don’t even know if there’s a chance to return here, to our normal life before. Our dream now is just to be able to evacuate and stay alive.

For other people, it’s easy to go get water from the tap or kitchen, but for us, it’s much more difficult. We don’t have water every day, each time we do, it’s not enough to drink, let alone cooking, bathing, washing clothes, brushing our teeth…

We must rely on our phones to keep in touch with the outside world and ask for help. But charging our phones is not simple. We have to go to a hospital to ask to do so, and we have to save battery for at least a day until we can charge again. It’s also a struggle to have internet. The connection is very weak and usually we have to risk our life even more to go further to get internet.

This was my university before, University of Palestine. It was very beautiful with trees and classrooms, filled with ambitious students. I was one of them.

This is my university now, the last time I saw it. No more exciting lectures, no students or teachers. Everything just disappeared in the wreckage, no trace of education or even life.

This is me as a student at UP. I’m very proud of my university and I’m extremely passionate about my major. I study hard and got good results too. It would be my dream to continue my education and be a helpful part for society, even when right now everything is crushed.

This is my room before and now. My room had a bed where I slept when I was still able to sleep without extreme anxiety of being killed. There was also my desk, where I studied for hours and put my dream and future in. It doesn’t exist anymore but I still try to keep my hope and strength.

Thank you for standing with us and helping us. We are always wholeheartedly grateful for you and your support.