Hi, my name is Leigh from the USA. Please allow me to introduce my friend for whom I am helping to raise money: Hamid in Gaza.

(Hamid has been verified through rigorous methods, including the group, Mutual Aid for Palestine. Hamid is a real person, he does live in Gaza, what he says below is accurate. I will be collecting money on his behalf, which I will then be sending to him via IBAN.)

"Hello everyone, my name is Hamid Ahmed from the Gaza Strip.

I am 22 years old. I survived a lot of death. Like any youth I had ambitions and dreams, but the war came and all my dreams were turned into black.

My family and I of 8 people were displaced from our house and it was completely destroyed and rubble and now we live in a tent that lacks the lowest elements of life.

We live in a place full of animals and insects — we endure suffering in all its forms due to the spread of diseases, lack of food, and clean water.

My family includes my mother, my father, and my siblings. My mother is 49 years old, a chronic patient, and she takes treatment continuously and costs $ 20. My father is 51 years old, and he is also sick. I also have 2 brothers and 3 sisters.

Before the war, I was aspiring to travel and achieve my dreams. But because of the war, everything has been destroyed, including my dreams of what I want to do in my life.

My family feels hungry and cold and I am unable to meet their needs. This breaks my heart every day.

My family is in need of money for medicine for my parents, as well as food, water, mattresses, and nylon.

I am desperate to evacuate the Gaza Strip, as every day it is more difficult to obtain our basic needs to stay alive.

I want to help my family evacuate, too. My goal is to cross the Rafah Border and get to Italy, with the help of embassies.

I hope you who are reading this are able to help us.

Thank you so much. I am deeply grateful for your time and any donation you can offer to my family and me."

-Thank you,

Hamid