Help Marah support her community with basic needs

My name is Samir Akacha, I am a podcast producer living in Marseille, France. I’m helping Marah Mahdi, a journalist friend in Gaza, who decided to support 255 families in her camp with emergency packages containing food, medicine, hygiene and basic supplies with tents to go through the winter. A first PayPal transfer was successfully made and this is how Marah will receive the donations. Please find below her message to you. You can follow her here: https://www.instagram.com/marah.jamal99/

Hello, my name is Marah which means “Joy”. I used to have a joyful life. I am 24. I am a journalist.

My life has turned upside down since October 7th. I used to have a routine. I used to wake up early after having enough sleep. I used to get out of the bed and put my slippers on, brush my teeth, have a shower, brush my hair, head to the gym, have my breakfast and go to work. After that, I used to go to my own educational center that I launched one year and a half ago. I used to join my family as they used to gather almost daily to share our daily tiny details. I used to read a book after lunch with a cup of tea as my nephews and nieces are listening to me reading out loud and laughing for the jokes I used to make. I used to have a balanced dinner with my dad and have a night talk with my sisters and mum while I was having my skin care routine before I sleep. In other words, I had a life.

We are 11 family members, I am number 7. We used to live in our little house that consisted of 3 bedrooms, a salon, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a 5-metre square balcony. I have 5 sisters; Fatina 35, she’s the oldest, an engineer, married to Ahmed 39, has 2 sons; Karim 13, an artist and Khalid 9, a football player, as she has a daughter, Dalia 4, she’s the prettiest girl in our family; the blond Cinderella. My second sister is Hiba 34, an accountant, she’s the most sensitive girl in my family, married to Ahmed 35. She has 2 sons; Mohammed 6, he’s the smart kid, and Majd 5, he’s the most energetic child that you might ever see but he suffers from asthma as I do, as she has 2 daughters; Taima 9, she loves Dabka, and Tala 3, she’s the nicest ever. Then I have my brother Mohammed 32, an accountant. He’s the funniest in our family. He’s married to Rozan 22. He has a son; Jamal 5, he’s very talkative, and Elaf 1, she has turned into her first year during the war as her birthday is December 8th. She also had her first step during the war in the refugee camp. After Mohammed, I have my sister Hadil 31, she’s the wisest and the most friendly. She’s married to Mahmoud 29, he’s a good guy as he used to adore his house, he used to think that his house is his own kingdom. She has 2 sons; Hallam which means the most patient, he’s 5, and Yousef 3. As she has a daughter Married 7, my little Marry gets scared so easily. Then I have my brother Ibrahim 29, a dentist, he studied abroad in Egypt. He was looking for an apartment to rent to start his own clinic with his best friend. Just few days before October 7th, he found one near our house in our neighborhood; Al-karama. He paid all what he saved during his career life. Then My brother Marwan comes, he’s 26, a lawyer. He has just graduated from university.

Then me, I studied English literature, worked as an online teacher and then established my own center also near my house, then I had another job in journalism since I am a good opponent; this is what my dr. Refaat thought about me, so I started working as a freelancer journalist. After me, there is my sis Farah which means happiness, she’s 22, a computer engineer in her senior year, she had plans of training at a company to get better although she was a very distinguished student but she’s very ambitious. Last but not least is my sister Raghad 19. She is in her sophomore year of studying multimedia.

My parents are the sweetest parents ever, my supportive dad; Jamal, who turned 60 in the third day of the war. My mum is Asmaa, 51, she’s a school teacher with master’s degree.

After October 7th, we left our house for safety reasons. There was a lot of bombing in our neighborhood. That night was very scary. Nevertheless, none of us thought that we might lose the house. We sought refuge to my brother’s house in Al-Nasser st, however that night the whole neighborhood was informed to get displaced preparing the area to be bombed. 5 minutes after the call that we received at 2 after midnight.

We miraculously managed to save our lives, id cards and some money. Since the second day of the war, there was a crisis of transportation due to the lack of fuel. And we lost my Mohammed brother’s house. Then we evacuated to my grandparents’ house in Jabalia camp. The journey that used to take 30 minutes by car, had took 7 minutes by an old fashioned car that her driver offered help to us after seeing us running to save our lives. Since the second day, we were very devastated by our loss, however we could hardly trap our tears in our eyes. But if the horrific news started to leak, they flood.

During my father’s birthday; October 10th, we were informed that we lost our house in Al-Karam, Northern Gaza, along with my brother’s clinic that he didn’t get any chance to open. A day after, my sister’s house; Hadil , which is near the universities block in Gaza, was totally bombed as she hardly managed to leave with her 2 sons and daughter. She miraculously could go to her father’s in law house in Shuja’ia.

Later, Jabalia was exposed to almost dozens massacres. As UNRWA has abandoned the people that sought refuge to their schools in Northern Gaza. Moreover, we kept getting those records to evacuate to the south claiming that the south is safer than the north. As we had nothing to lose anymore. We lost our home, my brother’s home, my sister’s home, also my centre, our dreams. There is nothing left but our lives. Moreover, starvation started to spread over the camp for Israel has already besieged Gaza.

On October 12th, We went to the south, my family, Mohammed’s family and Fatina’s family. However, Hiba and Hadil remained with their families in Gaza.

For sure as many other families that already lost their homes, money and maybe their beloved ones, we sought refuge at the Red Crescent center in Khan Younis, there was almost 17000 persons. We refuged to the playground, which was made of metal flakes. As that large number of people used to use the same bathrooms, so we had to look for other way to survive for my dad has a chronic cardiac disease.

We found a room to rent with a bathroom, 12 persons of my family, we used to sleep in 13-meter square for 60 days. As we never knew any news about my sisters in Gaza. During the ceasefire, we knew that our sister’s in law house was bombed, even the whole neighborhood. As my sister hadil and her family again miraculously could leave as they got hurt all of them. And Hiba’s house was bombed as well and her all kids are hurt. We also knew that my cousin and his all family was killed. And my uncle dr. Basil was killed along with more than 100 family members.

Just after the ceasefire was broken, the house that we rented the room in, was damaged affected by the bombing of their neighbors house. Once more, we lost everything and could barely run with our lives. I lost hearing in my left ear and never been the same again. We sought refuge in Rafah, in a tent, accompanied with other family so we are 21 persons that sleep in 15-meter tent made of plastic.

We cannot find food and we cannot buy food for that there’s no money after 3 months of spending all what we had. And of course there is no work. We are so unlucky for never drinking a drinkable water for over than 90 days. We eat once every 3 days. And the share of each one of us is a quarter loaf of bread. Sometimes with fake thyme and sometimes alone. I lost 11 kilos since the war has started. So as my other family members.

They say that after all these days of besieging the strip, everything is crazily expensive and of course the aids are not enough for all these homeless people. So help me to help my community, to send money to my sisters in Gaza so they can feed themselves. Help us to buy our basic needs as food and drinkable water. I also need medication for my father, and all of us has got sick for the lack of food and lack of water.

So we are homeless, thirsty, hungry, dirty and broke.

I need 255000$ to help 250 families of my community to get a better tent and eat better food as they have to drink better water.

And I hope that you might be able to donate for my sisters in the besieged Gaza so they can eat properly after months of starvation.

Help me and help my community to at least live these better.

During old times, I and my family used to help other families to survive, I hope that life rewards us and helps us now.