Evacuate from Gaza to Safety: Poet Haia & Family

The Hands of Time Stop In My Homeland

Life pulses beyond the borders.

Day by day, the gap widens.

Life roars outside as death surrounds

from every direction. You run

with your family and your tent

in all directions. While people outside

chase their dreams. You race

against time to secure water, food

for the day. While they run to offer

to keep warm the ones who kill us.

You stop running. Only to realize

a year has passed. Without a home

without a university, without work, Without

a city, without life. You realize time is

stealing you away, While you stand helpless

unable to move. You stop to watch your life

dreams vanish before your eyes, powerless.

While the hands of time outside keep turning

Travelers pass by, and journeys continue,

While you remain frozen in your halted time.

Death tightens its grip—sometimes you escape,

Other times, you're struck under fire.

Your crime? That you are free.

Your crime? That you love your homeland.

-Haia, Nov 2024

Haia is a 22 year old student and poet currently in Gaza.

This crowdfunder is to urgently support the cost of basic subsistance (as aid has been halted from entry as of March 2nd 2025) and the cost of safe passage to Egypt for her sister and her niece as a priority, as well as herself and the rest of the family, as detailed below.

Upon reaching the initial 50k target, (by request in the comments please) donators will be sent a specially curated pdf pamphlet of poems by Haia edited by Sunnah Khan as a thanks.

Family:

Haia (Student and writer), age 22

Amani (Sister and Business Administrator), age 29

Aleen (Niece), age 7

Maha (Mother and grandmother), age 49

Amira (Student and content creator), age 18

Abdullah (Student), age 21

Maryam (Older sister) age 32, her husband Aasim 37 and their children Amjad 7 and Asma 8

Where will the funds go?:

The cost of evacuation rises by the hour. It started at $500 per person, and now it is $5,000 per adult and $2500 for kids under 16 years old

(based on HALA travel agency’s fees https://www.facebook.com/HalaTravel.EG?mibextid=ZbWKwL ).

Money raised will go towards the costs of evacuation. We are raising in two stages:

Stage 1:

$ 5000 to evacuate Haia

$7500 to evacuate Amani and Aleen

$2500 for transportation, food, rent and associated expenses

Stage 2:

$20,000 to evacuate Amera, Maha and Abdullah

$15,000 for transportation, food, rent and associated expenses

Who are we?

This fundraiser is being pushed by the award winning poet Sunnah Khan sunnahkhan.com and is facilitated by Aliya Lahiri and Hannah Yassine based in the UK.

Haia's words as of Jan 2025 from her manuscript:

Dear friends

I hope you believe in the strength that lies within you—a strength as vast as the ocean in its storm, as fierce as the winds in their fury. Perhaps we are a blend of both, carrying within us a tremendous energy waiting for the right circumstances to rise, much like clouds that take time to release their rain.

Pain often feels like punishment, but in truth, it is a path toward growth and the refining of our souls. Solitude, though heavy, teaches us resilience and strength. Life, despite its harsh face, does not break us; it reshapes us, molding us into powerful warriors capable of confronting what once seemed insurmountable.

The challenges we mistake for dead ends are often the first steps of a new foundation. Every hardship teaches us patience, and with patience comes a deeper understanding of life and of ourselves.

I used to think life was breaking me, but in reality, it was rebuilding me—quietly, patiently, piece by piece. It taught me to be like the ocean: when to be calm, when to surge forward, and where to go.

As this new year begins, always remember: your past does not strip you of your right to live a life filled with beauty and peace. Your strength has never abandoned you; it’s simply waiting for you to rediscover it.

May each year find you stronger, closer to yourself, and more at peace with the journey that has shaped you into who you are today.

- Haia, January 2025

Haia's Sister & Neice, Amani & Aileen:

Amani and Aleen are part of a close and supportive family network. Grandmother Maha, Haia, Abdullah (the man of the house at only 21) and the youngest of the siblings is Amira.

After losing their dear father to cancer 10 years ago, this family always looked after each other through everything but they need help.

The house before it was demolished:

After:

What can you do

1. Donate - even a small amount, if every person visiting gave a small contribution, we would meet the target easily

2. Share - please share this fundraiser with your family and friends

3. Follow on insta - it may seem like a small thing, but online media presence can help our stories reach, follow Haia on @dear.anam.cara

4. Solidarity - Please write words of solidarity and state if you would like to recieve Haia's poetry pamphlet

This page will be updated to let you know when evacuations have been made and how the situation is changing in terms of costs.