Let My Boys Live in Peace, Safety and Dignity

My name is Duaa Ahmed, I am from Gaza, Palestine. I was recently evacuated to Ireland, to pursue my Master’s degree in Education, a dream I fought for with everything I had.

To achieve this I worked tirelessly, spending countless nights preparing scholarship applications, determined to create a better life for myself and my children. I walked great distances, to find internet access, so I could apply to the universities associated with the scholarships. Eventually, I was blessed with an opportunity to study in Ireland, a chance to turn hope into action.

To take this opportunity, I had to make the most heartbreaking decision of my life-leaving my two young sons and my husband behind in Gaza.

In the last two years, we’ve lived through unimaginable horror. Our home, the place that held our lives, our memories, was reduced to rubble. Everything we had was gone. After this my family and I spent endless nights under heavy bombardment, surrounded by fear and destruction. Tanks stood in front of whatever place we had been to find shelter. We were humiliated by the IDF time and time again. We survived multiple bombings, even crawling out from under the rubble, never knowing if we’d see another sunrise.

My boys witnessed scenes no child should ever see. They saw dead bodies left in the streets. Bombed out buildings. We went days without food, eating grass and wild plants just to stay alive. My heart shattered every time I heard my sons cry from hunger, knowing I had nothing to give them. Since then, they have not had a peaceful night’s sleep.

Before the genocide, I worked as an UNRWA English teacher, teaching children who, despite living through pain and loss, still carried sparks of hope in their eyes. I have lost many of these beloved students, innocent children who were killed in the most horrific ways. Their absence haunts me every day.

Now, my family is displaced in the south of Gaza, living in a tent that cannot protect them from the cold, the rain, or the coming winter. They still go days without proper food, lacking decent clothes, or regular bedding. The sand beneath them is their floor.

As the main provider for my family, it breaks my heart to know that they are enduring such inhumane conditions while I am safe far away from the depravity. I came here to build a better future, but it isn’t complete unless they are all with me, living a normal life.

To get my family out of this horror requires resources that I do not possess. That is why I am here asking for help so they can join me in safety.