Help Hisham's Family Evacuate Gaza

Dear friends, kind strangers and brothers & sisters in humanity,

My name is Hisham Qannita from the Gaza Strip, Palestine. A son of a refugee mother and a Gaza-citizen father. I am currently living in the UK and have recently graduated from St Andrews University and then Warwick University with an MLitt and MSc in business studies.

Today I am reaching out to you for aid to get my family together and reunite them in a safer place.

I never imagined a day would come when I would need to seek your support through this GoFundMe campaign to bring my family to safety. Coming from a dignified family, who spared no efforts to invest in me and my siblings to grant us a better tomorrow, it pains me to be put in such a situation and to be doing this. And I wish none of you ever has to experience a similar situation!

Little have I thought that my family, in a number of days, would lose everything they have been building for us, not to mention the starvation, humiliation and displacement that they have to live every single moment in every single day in a place we always called home.

I have left Gaza in 2018 and ever since I did not get the chance to see my family. We lost our home and all our memories with it, as did my three sisters, while one lost her husband. Now I am being haunted by the imminent possibility that at any point I would lose them all without getting the opportunity to say a last goodbye. In a world where saying a last goodbye to a family member has become a luxury, I urge you to help me get my family outside of Gaza to have a better future instead.

Who is it for?

Initially I was fundraising to get my mum and sister, who lost her husband and now is in the North of Gaza on her own carrying the responsibility of three kids and fighting two deaths: starvation and bombardments. As your generous support & donations have made what I once thought impossible a reality, I am seeking still to fundraise to my other three sisters with their children, who are left with nothing in Gaza, yet still burdened with their accountability of being parents to offer their kids a good life and education. Nevertheless, what is known as a basic right for humans has now become an elusive dream in the uninhabitable Gaza.

Throughout the 134 days of war, my mum never complained about it, she always said “All praises be to Allah, we’re blessed!” Yesterday, and for the first time, she asked “Hisham, can you get us out of here? We cannot take more than this.” Now, I feel a heightened sense of responsibility more than ever before. Being the free soul outside of Gaza, I do not want to carry the guilt with me that I could have done something, but I restrained. I will go ahead with this campaign, hoping that I can reach my target.

All donations will be dedicated to travel expenses, as a Palestinian adult is charged $5000 to evacuate Gaza, while $2500 for any child under the age of 16 years.

I do not want to be in a situation where I have to compromise any family member’s life just because of the mere fact that I cannot cover their evacuation expenses.

I am already grateful for your consideration and support - feeling indebted to humanity.

I do thank you for putting in the time and effort to listen to my story and the struggle of my people. This means the world to us.

Please consider supporting or sharing the link with your friends and network. Every little helps, however small.

Pictures of some of my nephews and nieces that you are helping are attached in the update section.

Regards,

Hisham Qannita