Help a peace activist save her family in Gaza!

Update to all of Fatma’s supporters:

We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the unending support that Fatma and her family have received from people all over the world: rich, poor, students, doctors, professors, blue collar workers, rabbis, priests, and so many others.

Your support, not only financial, but the steady stream of care being shown for Fatma and her family during this trying time have helped so much, emotionally, mentally, and of course, materially.

When we started this GoFundMe, Fatma’s family was in a very different situation. We were hoping to be able to raise enough money to get her family to leave Gaza and to at least partially rebuild some of their homes that have been destroyed. This, of course, in addition to providing for the basic every days needs faced, especially during war time.

Since the beginning of the war, all of Fatma’s family members have been displaced. Many have been injured, and her nephew, Hamed, was killed and his body rendered unrecognizable. Only after he was missing for two weeks was he found. His horse stayed at his side even after he was killed, which ultimately helped in identifying him.

There is also some sweet news from her family: since the start of the war, with God’s help, 5 babies have been born into her family.

Our current goal now is to continue to raise money for their physical wellbeing, to provide for those who are injured to be evacuated and to ensure that everyone else gets all of the food and medical care that they need.

If you have any questions you can reach out.

Thank you so much for your support and for the outpouring of care and kindness that Fatma and her family have seen from so many strangers

_____________________________________________________

I am Fatima from Gaza, and I have been a peace activist since 2015.

While in Gaza, in addition to my peacebuilding activities, I studied social work and volunteered with the Red Crescent and youth organizations.

I have worked with Women Wage Peace (Vivian Silver, Roni Kedar, Orna Ashkenazi , Rozara and others), Combatants for Peace (Avner, Yonatan, Itamar and others), and other grassroots organizations, all of whom can vouch for me.

I have continued these activities even after leaving Gaza and am now married and have two children. Until recently, I was almost entirely focused on building a beautiful future for them, but now their future no longer occupies my mind. Instead, all I can think about is my family in Gaza, which numbers 62 people-- my parents, brothers, sisters, and their spouses and children.

In this photo is my niece, Wafaa, who had her leg amputated without anesthesia. She has suffered so much. In the photo, she is being held by my sister in law, Samia. Her sister Taghreed is sitting to her right, covering her ears. Taghreed is a newlywed and became a widow during this war.

All of my extended family members are currently in tents for the displaced, where there is no clothing, food, drink, or medicine for my sick parents. There have been no necessities for life since the seventh of October until today.

Many of my family members were injured when the Baptist hospital they were initially displaced to was bombed. Some of them had some of their limbs amputated without anesthesia, like my niece, Wafaa (in the photo above), and my brother (her father), Sa'eed, who was injured in the back by shrapnel, rendering him unable to move.

This is in addition to psychological problems from which they may all never recover, especially children.

I spend much time thinking about them and how I can help them.

Of my parents, 14 brothers and sisters, their spouses, and their children, I am the only family member who has left Gaza. They all are relying on me and I am their only hope.

I have given them everything I had, even my wedding ring, which I sold in order to send them its value in cash. Some friends have given me donations personally since the beginning of the war, and I transferred them all to them so that they could obtain what would guarantee their survival, “even if it was just a little.” But now I no longer have anything and have not received any new assistance to offer them. Also, the aid that reaches Gaza is insufficient and sometimes not distributed fairly, which increases their suffering and worries me even more.

Since the start of the war, one of my sisters and one of my sisters in law have given birth under dire conditions. My sister Dalal is a newlywed and is also about to give birth to her first child.

My niece, Lina, after the explosion in the hospital

For them to stay in Gaza will mean increasing their exposure to danger, whether this danger is due to weapons, the absence of medical care, or due to the famine that will occur soon. We should not forget that we are now in the winter season, which may increase the chance of some of them dying from the cold due to the great shortage of basic necessities.

Despite all this, there is the opportunity for them to move to Egypt, but the costs are very high, about $6,000- $7,000 per person, and until that time they need donations to live and stay alive. I made this fundraiser for $500,000 because that is the cost for everyone to cross the border to safety, in addition to some necessary provisions that they will purchase until they are approved to cross into Egypt.

Every donor has the right to see where his or her donations go, and I am fully prepared to provide any proof of the credibility of my words at any time and in any form. A detailed plan of how contributions will be spent can be found here .

I humbly ask you to help me help my family reach safety. I also ask you to share the story and stand with us in the most difficult times of our lives. Do not feel that your donation, even if it is small, is of no benefit. With your donation, you can revive a person’s life again.

Some comments: