I had such a big, beautiful, close and connected family..now everyone is either an orphan or a widow.  

Palestinia who has lost everything but the clothes on her back. At one moment I had it all; a beautiful marriage, a home close to my family, a new job, the warmth of my brother’s embrace…but then suddenly, it was all gone, and I have spent these unending days searching left and right for what i’ve lost.  

I remember searching through the thick smoke of all the falling bombs and fired bullets, trying to find my brother underneath the rubble. My eyes burning from the white phosphorus in the air, I wondered if i could live without him. I know now that I cannot. 

I lost him and many others, I lost myself even. I frequently sift my mind now to try and find the soft smiles of my nephews, how it felt to be held by my grandparents, the feeling of my home when all my aunties and uncles gathered in it, the sounds of their names. They flicker through the fog of my mind like sunlight seeping through tree leaves when you’re driving in a fast car. As quick as they come is as quick as they go when bombs are continuously dropping around you, when danger is constantly near.  

When the attacks first started, I quickly evacuated to my sisters’ house. Our hearts were stricken with fear, there was panic and death everywhere, this was unlike any other attack before. My sister’s house was bombed shortly after we came, so we fled to my grandmothers’ and there was no safe haven to find there either. My uncles’ house was our last resort, and when it was bombed we had nowhere to go. We lived on the streets, and the warplanes became our roof.  

My father and I were able to evaucuate a month ago because of our dual citizenship. We are in Egypt now and it is very hard because we have nothing at all, but I don’t even care because I just want the family I have left to live. They were not put on the list because they do not have other citizenships, so they must pay but the cost to evacuate is extremely expensive. It is $5000 per adult and $2500 per child and my family has tried selling what they have but it is not enough, we have lost everything to the bombings. There is 9 of them there in total including a 2 year old who is dying of malnutrition and a 53 year old whose bones are weak from constantly fleeing.  

I was ready to give up on this gofundme, but I felt hope from seeing kind hearted people all over the world speaking up for Palestine, and helping those in need…I feel strength for the first time. My wish is to evacuate my family, I just want to see and hold them, I do not want to lose anymore so I ask, please help me, please help us. I have hope in you, I know with your kind help it can be done. Thank you so much.