Help a Father Reunite with His Family Stuck in Gaza

Co-organized

AbdulHamid Z S Ghannam and Gunnhildur Thorkelsdottir are organizing this fundraiser.

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My name is Abdul, and I’m from Gaza.

In 2016, I became a father for the first time, a life changing moment filled with love and hope. But it also came with challenges I wasn’t prepared for. My daughter, Rania, was born with Cerebral Palsy, and providing her with the care she needs has been a hard battle in a place where medical resources are so limited and now nearly impossible to access.

In early 2023, I was forced to make the hardest decision of my life. To leave my family behind and search for a better chance for my daughter to live a decent life, and for the rest of my family to have a brighter future. I fled Gaza, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I’ve repeated those words to myself every day since I left, but the decision has haunted me ever since.

I could never have imagined the pain and suffering they would endure while I was away. Watching from afar as your family struggles is a pain I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Knowing my wife and three children, my 9 year old daughter Rania, my 7 year old daughter Sidra and my 2 year old son Ziad are stuck in Gaza, struggling every day to survive, fills me with helplessness. Rania, especially, needs urgent medical care now more than ever, and every day I feel the weight of not being there as their father when they need me the most.

I hope that I will finally see a way out of this darkness.

At the start of this year, 2025, I was granted residency in Belgium. This feels like the first light in a long, dark tunnel, and I hope it marks the beginning of a better life for my children.

My deepest hope is for the borders to open soon so my family can travel to Cairo for the medical help Rania desperately needs.

That’s why I’m asking for your support. I am running this campaign with the support of my dear friend Gunnhildur Þorkelsdóttir. She has worked with refugees for many years and just last year helped my sister Samah reunite with her husband in Iceland.

What the Money Will Be Used For

The cost of getting my wife and children across the border into Cairo is $12,500. As I have now obtained my Belgian residency I can finally go myself to Cairo to register my family. While the most urgent need is to get Rania out of Gaza for medical treatment my entire family is in need of support. If we are able to cross without paying this full amount, the remaining funds will be used to provide my family with basic necessities like food, medical care, and shelter, and to work toward reuniting us in Belgium.

Your support, whether through a donation or sharing this campaign, can make an incredible difference. Please help me bring my family to safety and reunite us once and for all.

My wife and three children that need to get to Cairo for treatment

The oldest daughter, Rania, who is now 9 years old and has suffered from brain atrophy since birth. (Medical report below.)
My daughter Sidra, who is 7 years old.
My lovely Ziad, 2 year old who was two months old when I left Gaza, and I could not get enough of touching and hugging him.