Hello, I’m Dima, a 25-year-old girl from Gaza, Palestine. I am my parents’ only child, and after I lost them, alone.

Living in Gaza means that everything can be taken from you in an instant. the moment you think that you’ve lived through bad things, something even worse shows up: I have experienced several wars, and each of them has left deep scars. During the 2014 war, my father was taken from me after he got imprisoned for 7 days, while me and my mum were locked in the bathroom of our house by IDF soldiers. When he came back and we were reunited, he was badly injured and passed away soon after.

Since then, it’s been only me and my loving mother, until one day for no reason she passed away in 2019, and I alone remained.

One day, I woke up alone, a lonesome girl lost in this big world, had to fight my grief, managed to stand on my own, graduated, found a job, and tried to build career, but living in a cage doesn’t give many opportunities.

On October 7th, everything I had built was destroyed, I was forced to evacuate the north of the Strip leaving behind all the memories I had from my parents. I fled from one place to another, trying to find safe harbour, when I learned that both my fathers’ and my own house were bombed. The memories I clung to were gone. Many a time have I yearned for death, and these thoughts came back running when I lost my friends, my belongings and my sanity in this war.

The cruelty of life has left me unsure of where I am headed. But I had to move on, to ensure myself a future in a more stable and safe place. With the little money I had left, I managed to evacuate to Egypt, where I am now safe, but also more alone and helpless than ever.

I have never asked anyone for help before, but this time the damage is too great.

This world is full of untold stories, and today I gathered my courage to tell you all mine, I am sharing my story with you, baring my tired soul, and asking for your support to survive these hard times.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for any help you can provide.