<div>I would like to share the story of my friend Smahan. Today Smahan and her children have been torn from Hashem, beloved husband and father. Whilst Smahan and her children have escaped Gaza, Hashem is still there.
</div>
<div>Today, with this current unprecedented war, loss of life and famine, I am creating this GoFundMe on behalf of my friend Smahan and her family to help her. Hashem spent every penny he had to help get his wife and their three children across the Rafah border from Gaza into Egypt. This saved their lives. Tragically, Hashem was unable to join them. He did not have sufficient funds for himself and the fact that he only had Palestinian nationality, he was unable to get on a humanitarian list to escape the bombing in Gaza. Their separation was heart wrenching but Hashem found solace in the fact that his three small children and his beloved wife were safe. I would like to ask for your help to raise funds that could help him make the crossing, seek legal aid in Egypt, travel to reunite with his wife and children and provide the medical and psychological help his children desperately need to help heal the trauma they have suffered. Gazans are dying daily, through bombing, starvation or sickness. Hashem is one of 2.4 million in this predicament. But there is a way to help this man, who risked his life to save his children and his wife. Please help me save him so that he can be reunited with his wife and his three children, Katia (11yrs), Nabil (5yrs) and Linda (11months).
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This is their story.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/78946289_1710797603141147_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We are a family from Gaza. We lived a happy modest life, despite years of intermittent war, deprivation, and siege. Life in Gaza has always been about survival and making the best of a terrible situation. But we managed that. With the help of international aid agencies, Gazans were able to build schools, hospitals and make homes. Today, things are very different. This war is very different.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Today, my three children and I find ourselves separated from my husband, their father. Our little family has been torn apart. Like hundreds of thousands of Gazans, we are, indeed, war torn. There is no help. I am left with no choice but to rely on the generosity of strangers in the vain hope that it will reunite my family.
</div>
<div>I would like to tell you my story. I will deliberately remain silent on the political reasons for the war. There is enough information available to learn more about this. This is my story. It is the story of a small family trying to survive the horror of Gaza.
</div>
<div>I am originally from Morocco, and my husband is a Palestinian from Gaza. In 2010, my husband and I embarked on a challenging journey filled with countless emotions, from love and passion to exhaustion and tears. After investing a tremendous amount of effort, resources, and energy, we finally succeeded in moving together to Gaza, my husband’s home. It was a dream come true for us, as we had yearned to be together for a very long time. Our joy knew no bounds when we were blessed with three beautiful children, who brought immense happiness and meaning to our lives.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For 13 years we have not managed to leave Gaza, even for a holiday, for my parents to meet their grandchildren, or to visit family and friends. It proved too difficult. Every time we packed our bags and attempted to go on a holiday, we faced insurmountable obstacles and complications at the border, as virtually all Gazans prohibited from leaving. The options were limited and with three small children, it was never worth the risk. Every time, upon being turned back, we consoled ourselves in the fact that being together in our home with our happy, healthy children was enough for us and that what mattered most to us was being together.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/78946289_1710803061138660_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For over a decade, I have experienced terrifying aerial bombing and drones overhead and have witnessed first-hand the destruction of homes and lives in their hundreds and thousands. We have been very fortunate in that our home was spared every time. Gaza under siege meant that life was very difficult. Food items were scarce, jobs were few and far between, and essential services like water, electricity, gas and medicines were intermittent at best.
</div>
<div>Nevertheless, I learned the indomitable Gazan way and we made do. Neighbours supported each other and aid agencies provided life-saving essential services.
</div>
<div>But today things are different. This war is different. Now we have lost our warm home, our belongings, our dignity, and our togetherness, and our hope is in tatters.
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/78946289_171079796991980_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Our first child, Katia, is 11 years old. She has always wanted to be a video game programmer. Katia has always been an intelligent, caring child, praised by her teachers, and she has always had good grades. But since this war began, Katia’s personality has changed, especially after the horror she has experienced, running from bombardments, thirsting for water and hungry for food. Being displaced from one region to another, with the constant anxiety that she may not wake up the next day for fear of overnight bombing. We felt powerless and could only hold her tight at night. It was heartbreaking.
</div>
<div>My husband, Hashem, and I were extremely vigilant and cautious about her well-being, especially considering the critical stage of development she was in, being only 11. Despite our best efforts to prevent our children from seeing the disturbing scenes of bloodshed and dead bodies strewn outside, they had to face this fact daily. When ordered to move between shelters, we had to close the children’s eyes on our journey through the rubble, horror and mayhem. We would play a game of ‘Who can close their eyes for the longest?’
</div>
<div>However, on one of several occasions, the horror hit Katia hard. Katia witnessed her best friend and cousin being pulled out of the rubble, seriously injured, with shrapnel and impact injuries caused by an earlier explosion close to their shelter. The bomb had destroyed everything in all directions, hitting her cousin, her dad and her little brother; we had no free hands to close Katia’s eyes. The air seemed to tremble in the aftermath and chaos, as everyone was running in different directions. It felt like the Apocalypse, like we had come to the end.
</div>
<div>We now can't take these images away from her memories, the children wake her up most nights in a panic. We also couldn’t give her a good reason why we couldn't take her cat with us on our journey from north to south Gaza.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Nabil, our 5-year-old son, was a playful and mischievous child. He was diagnosed with mild delayed speech, and his dad and I tried very hard to help him overcome it. We noticed a remarkable improvement by his fourth birthday, where he went from saying one word at a time to forming complete sentences with clear sounds. His communication skills had improved significantly.
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/78946289_1710797296751300_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Unfortunately, today Nabil’s speech has deteriorated, and he has started pointing at things instead of saying them. The only word he manages to say now is ‘papa’. He needs to constantly be holding my hand or his dad’s, as he is severely traumatised by the terror he has experienced.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Linda, the youngest of the family, is only 11 months old. Throughout her entire two months experience of the sounds of war – the screaming of neighbours and the deafening sound of bombardments – she hadn't left her dad's arms even once, and when she finally came to me for a feed, it felt like a small victory. But that victory was short-lived because the day that broke our family was more powerful than our strength and beyond what we could withstand.
</div>
<div>It was the day when we had to leave without Hashem, my husband and father to my three small children.
</div>
<div>We had to say goodbye at the Rafah border. I and my children have Moroccan nationality, and after some pressure from the international community, some dual nationals have been able to buy their freedom and leave Gaza. My husband Hashem, being Palestinian, was not allowed to leave. So, we took the decision to tear our family apart as a last resort.
</div>
<div>Death is what likely awaits Gazan children if they remain in this tiny space, under constant bombardment and war. Today there is a famine in Gaza, and children are dying of thirst and hunger. It was a painful price to pay, but for the sake of the children’s lives, we had to break our family apart.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My children and I are now safely back in Morocco. But not a day goes by without us living the experiences of this horrific war. In addition to the trauma the children are now faced with, what truly breaks my heart is the constant tearful demands for their father. The children cry themselves to sleep every night. My daughter Katia asks me, ‘How is my daddy going to survive the bombs?’, and now that famine is prevalent and all over the news, she asks, ‘How will Daddy eat and get water?’
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Their dad was our guardian, protector, comforter, and motivator, as he led us, walking through the broken landscape that is Gaza, evading bombs, scavenging for food and water, and wiping the tears from my children’s faces in the face of the daily horror and misery they witnessed. We are lost without him.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This deeply personal story is a heartfelt plea to help us reunite our family and get Hashem, my husband and beloved father of our three children, to safety. Hashem’s one-and-only goal was to get the children to safety. He spent all the money he had to try to get us out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for all of us, as the fees were very high. That Hashem only has Palestinian nationality also did not help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Our family currently faces several challenges. Primarily we need help to raise funds to allow Hashem to buy his way out of Gaza and meet the associated costs of reuniting with us. This includes paying ‘border fees’, travel, and visa/legal costs. The children also need specialist psychological and educational support to help them overcome the trauma they have experienced.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It is very difficult for me to have to ask strangers for help, but I must do something to help reunite and heal my family. My husband, Hashem, did his part, now I must try to do mine.
</div>
<div>Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Any contribution, however small, will make a difference. My children and I are incredibly grateful for your generosity.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>You can follow or contact them on their social media 
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@katia_loveu?_t=8pwcyWj9muf&amp;_r=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.tiktok.com/</a>@katia_loveu?_t=8pwcyWj9muf&amp;_r=1</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083611642245&amp;mibextid=ZbWKwL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083611642245&amp;mibextid=ZbWKwL" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083611642245&amp;mibextid=ZbWKwL</a></a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/hashem.nabil.7?igsh=cXRrc2s1OWdmazBk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/hashem.nabil.7?utm_source=qr&amp;igsh=cXRrc2s1OWdmazBk" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.instagram.com/hashem.nabil.7?utm_source=qr&amp;igsh=cXRrc2s1OWdmazBk</a></a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>

Aaron Severson

Wakinyan Whitecalf

Lane Herman

Reunite a Family Torn Apart: A Daughter's Plea from Gaza

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Reunite a Family Torn Apart: A Daughter's Plea from Gaza

Still £35,981 to go. Help us build momentum.