Help Mervat and Her Family Evacuate Gaza

My name is Mervat, a 48-year-old lawyer dedicated to human rights since graduating in 2000. Over the years, I've actively advocated for women's rights, facilitated the transfer of the sick from Gaza for treatment, assisted victims of torture and arbitrary detention, and provided legal training to hundreds of lawyers to enhance their understanding of human rights.

My husband Wael and I have five children, who are our greatest concern. My eldest son, Tayseer, 24, resides outside Gaza, while my eldest daughter, Shahd, 22, dreams of completing her studies in Physical Therapy. She was in her fourth and final year at the Islamic University, awaiting graduation and the start of her professional life before the war began. She remains determined to complete her education and become a physical therapist.

Layali, 17, aspires to become a psychologist, showcasing her innate ability to connect with others and her care for her friends.

Saif El-Din, 21, has yet to commence higher education, while my youngest, Shihab El-Din, 12, is in sixth grade. He loves his school and continues to go there even though it has turned into a shelter for displaced people.

My family and I live in Rafah and have lived through the ongoing wars in the Gaza Strip. In the 2014 war, my family and I miraculously escaped death, as bombing hit close to our house. Below are photographs of the bombings next to our home in 2014:

My husband, Wael, 50, suffers from high blood pressure, and the unavailability of his daily medication poses a grave risk to his health and life.

During the war, my 80-year-old father suffered a stroke. The hospital couldn’t offer him any proper medical care due to the overwhelming number of the killed and the wounded that were reaching the hospital and lack of resources. We couldn’t find the medicine he needed and we had to stay by his bedside waiting for him to die, enduring a lot of psychological pain, as he died slowly, while we were unable to provide him with help and assistance and enable him to have his right to treatment and die in peace.

We live under the constant fear and anxiety that our area will be targeted again as it had in 2014. Now more than ever, Rafah feels unsafe with Israel’s threat to invade and destroy it.

My children are now afraid that our house will be bombed or that they will get sick and their fate will be like what happened to their grandfather. The reality is very difficult and bitter. Whoever does not die from the bombing will die from the lack of medicines and medical services and the lack of capacity in hospitals. Recently, hunger became a pressing concern.

I hesitated greatly in making the decision to leave the Gaza Strip for six months, but the situation became unbearable. Death was lurking around my children, their future was destroyed, and I became required to protect them.

I appeal for assistance, a helping hand to forge a new beginning, free from the shadows of war and uncertainty. My youngest son, aged 12, has witnessed five wars in Gaza; it's time to help us build a brighter future, free from the ravages of war.

Natalia is the person organizing this fundraiser for her friend Mervat and her family to evacuate Gaza. Exiting Gaza is extremely difficult, and the Egyptian organization facilitating travel comes with a substantial cost. Currently, they are requesting $5,000 per adult and $2,500 per child. Your support would enable the evacuation of this family from Gaza, offering them the safety and stability they desperately need. Once in Egypt, the funds would support the family in securing accommodation, clothes, medicine, food, and other essentials.

All funds will be transferred to Natalia in Los Angeles who will be responsible for transferring the funds to Mervat in Egypt. Natalia has already been able to use GoFundMe as a way to help another family evacuate Gaza through the Egyptian organization that Mervat will also be using. Your donations make a huge impact, thank you so much for taking the time to read Mervat's story and choosing to donate and share.