Help Abdul Jawad Family Escape Gaza's War

Help Abdul Jawad Family Evacuate Gaza to the UAE

This is Omar Abdaljawwad, a Palestinian computer science student who is trying to help his elderly parents evacuate Gaza to the UAE, the country where I was born, grew up, and received most of my education. Today, I am publishing this campaign to seek your support that would help us travel to the UAE.

Being the youngest son of the family and the only one who is living with his parents made me responsible for many duties and tasks to do and perform for the past 6 years. The existing war in Gaza pushed me to be responsible for extra tasks such as evacuating my 76-year-old sick dad and 64-year-old mom from 2 partially bombed houses and finding some places and shelters to escape from the random airstrikes. These were not easy at all, especially when we are talking about an old dad who needs wheelchair assistance to move due to his suffering from chronic diabetes mellitus complications, hypertension, and heart muscle insufficiency.

The War in Gaza

After about 340 days of war on Gaza, over 150 thousand civilians have been killed or injured, and over 2 million have been displaced from their homes to live in streets’ corners and public spaces. Furthermore, over 70% of the city buildings have been totally or partially destroyed, including 28 out of 36 hospitals and healthcare centers and almost all the universities and educational institutions’ campuses.

Talking on behalf of my family, we have been pushed to change our place of accommodation 5 times since October 2023. We left our nice and warm apartment on the 36th day of the war due to crazy airstrikes targeting our building. Since that moment, we have lost about 20 relatives and hundreds of friends.

Abdaljawwad Family

As mentioned, I was born and grew up in the safe environment of the UAE, and I always feel linked to its emirates. I was planning to complete my studies in computer science and continue my master's degree at the University of Dubai. Last August, I was offered a very good job as an events organizer in Dubai. However, all these plans have turned into hopeless dreams since the date of 10/07/2023 (when the war started).

My dad, Mohammed

He is a retired English teacher who worked in different public and private schools in the UAE for over 30 years. Besides that, he worked as a private tutor in the human development field for over 5 years. After his retirement, he decided to continue a peaceful life in Gaza (the city he loves the most), though he is now suffering a lot due to medication shortages and having no adequate facilities in the local hospitals and healthcare centers. For him, as a known case of diabetes mellitus patient for the past 20 years, it is not tolerable to receive partial doses of his drugs, which has affected his peripheral nerves and weakened his muscles.

From July to October 2023, he struggled with the severe disease of acute ischemic stroke that made him unable to carry a glass of water by limiting his movement and speaking abilities. It was a blessed miracle to have him partially recover by the beginning of the war.

One day I asked my dad, “Are you annoyed from being a patient of diabetes, hypertension, weak heart muscle, peripheral neuropathy, and other medical conditions that I don't even know their names?” He answered that taking many medication tablets a day is very satisfying for him as long as he is in a calm and warm room watching the news. The daily routine that he can’t follow now due to the totally damaged networks, infrastructure, and connections to the world.

My Mom, Fatima

She is a housewife who is professional in preparing Palestinian traditional dishes, especially in familial events, ceremonies, and weddings. I always notice her taking notes for the next recipe from YouTube channels. One day, I asked her, “Haven’t you memorized all the Palestinian recipes as a 64-year-old housewife?” She kicked me out of her kitchen saying that I am interrupting her session! Now, I am hesitant to tell her that the kitchen has been turned to ashes after bombing the whole building. Normally, she does not receive bad news without affecting her well-being, maybe because of her hypertension for the past 30 years. From the moment I received this news, I dreamed of telling her, “Mom, we have successfully collected the needed funds to travel to the UAE,” and that would be a good bridge to tell her such heartbreaking news.

Losing our only apartment

On the 4th of November 2023, at 02:00 am, I woke up staring at a huge ball of fire outside my room’s window. With a very loud voice from my nephew (Baraa), “Move, move, move, evacuate the building now, leave all your personal stuff, and we’ll meet each other 500 meters away from the building!” I left my room in a hurry looking for my dad, but I could not find him. My parents, two sisters, and their families, a total of 10 people, left the apartment in less than 5 minutes. I couldn’t see any of them on the stairs due to the crazy dust that is actually the stones of the 7th and 8th floors of the building that have been completely wiped off in that airstrike.

In a state of shock, I reached the street watching tens of families evacuating our building with their injured children. At that moment, I noticed Baraa holding my dad on his back and running away from the building along with the other family members who were forced to live at our apartment in this war.

All our dreams, future plans, and personal stuff have been wiped off along with our nice apartment. Now the only thing that links us to life is our unforgettable moments in the UAE where we lived peacefully. Hopefully, we can make it to the UAE with your kind support and generous donations.

I believe that my parents will find a welcoming environment amongst loving relatives where my brother’s, aunts’, and uncles’ families are. In the meantime, I will find my way in completing my studies and working in a sustainable way.

Funds Breakdown

In order to facilitate my family’s evacuation from Gaza to the UAE, I am setting up a GoFundMe campaign to raise $31,873. Here is the breakdown of the funds:

A total of $1,773 will be used to cover GoFundMe’s transaction fees (2.9% plus $0.30 per donation).

A total of $18,000 has been allocated to cover expenses associated with obtaining permits to leave Gaza, at the Egypt-Gaza border. This amount breaks down to $6,000 per person including my family.

It is estimated that $3,100 will be sufficient to cover our basic needs in Egypt including accommodation, food, transportation, and other essentials.

The visa issuing costs and flight tickets from Cairo to the UAE will be $3,000.

$6,000 will be the cost of living one month in the UAE for a 3-member family.

Conclusion

Be sure that every donation no matter how small it is may save our lives. So please consider donating $50, $100, or any other amount that you think this family deserves. Your donation will get us closer to our target and hope. The funds raised will be used transparently and efficiently to ensure that every dollar is spent on ensuring this family’s safety. Your time and support are highly appreciated, we as a family thank you for the consideration of donating to and sharing this campaign that may provide our safety.

Sincerely,

Omar,

I am organizing this campaign on behalf of Abdaljawwad family to help them evacuate Gaza as soon as possible, as I will be sending all the funds collected to Abdaljawwad family outside GoFundMe, this is to ensure that every single dollar gathered will be used transparently to help them escape from death to life.

Mahmoud,