Help Monaliza’s family in Gaza to evacuate to safety

Dear friends and kind supporters,

We are urgently asking for your support to help our dear friend Monaliza Al Massri whose two children and disabled husband are currently stuck and unsafe in Gaza.

Monaliza (47) is an inspiring human rights lawyer who has dedicated her life to supporting disadvantaged women in Gaza. Two years ago she set up a social initiative to support women seeking divorce with legal advice, which was not without political risk. Due to the escalating threats that she faced in Gaza, in September 2022 she sought asylum in the Netherlands, not knowing that a year later her children would have to face destruction and hunger in a horrible war, while she continued to wait to receive her refugee documents in a system plagued with delays. We got to know her over the last year through the Buddy to Buddy refugee support project here in Wageningen in the Netherlands, and have been awed by her resilience, kind spirit and determination to stay positive even in the face of tragedy and uncertainty. You can read more about her story which was written up in the Dutch national newspaper de Volkskrant here.

However, Monaliza is now in critical need of our help as her two children (15 and 17) and her disabled husband are still trapped in Gaza, and are facing ever-increasing danger. At this point, they have already been displaced multiple times, have had near-miss bomb scares and face a daily struggle to secure food and water. Other close family members have now either left or been killed. Her husband - a former high school teacher - is unable to take care of the children as he has been receiving long-term nursing care due to stroke-induced paralysis. It is therefore urgent to find a way to get them out of Gaza and into Egypt, where they will wait to join Monaliza in the Netherlands.

It is possible but extremely expensive to be evacuated from Gaza, and Monaliza has agonized for a long time about the enormous sums involved. But it is not possible to delay any longer.

As you can see from Monaliza’s message below, any support you can give would be greatly appreciated - no amount is too small.

With our deepest gratitude,

Janneke and Christy

Message from Monaliza:

Dear friends,

My name is Monaliza and I want to express my sincere thanks to each of you for listening to my story and for showing so much support for me and family. I am anxiously trying to find a way to bring my two children and husband out of Gaza to live with me here in safety.

My husband has been hospitalized because of a stroke that left him paralysed on one side of his body. My daughter Hala is 15 years old, and she has already been displaced multiple times to escape bombing during the war. Over the last month, Hala has developed Hepatitis and is on an IV drip. She is now in Rafah and constantly asking me when she will be able to see me again, and it breaks my heart to speak to her and hear her desperation.

My son Ismail is 17 years old, soon to turn 18. He is currently in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza where every day is a struggle for survival as they must search for food and wood for cooking while simultaneously being surrounded by tanks and enduring constant bombardment. Ismail is doing his best to cope but as you can imagine, it is extremely challenging to process such horrors. He has been writing poems to document and process what he has witnessed. But he is quickly losing hope.

I feel so helpless in the face of all this but I truly appreciate each and every sign of support I have received, and am so grateful for any donation you feel able to give to help my family reach safety.

UPDATE FROM JANNEKE AND CHRISTY, 28 APRIL 2024:

We are so grateful for all your wonderful donations and in particular to one donor who made a phenomenally generous donation of over 18.000 euro. This means Monaliza is now able to put her family on the list to be evacuated and we are starting to organise the necessary arrangements. Unfortunately, in that process we have discovered that there are costs that we had not anticipated, including an outstanding bill to Anwar's hospital, transaction fees for getting the money to Egypt and tax related costs. We are therefore fundraising for an additional 4000 euro. We would be incredibly grateful for any help to cover these unforeseen costs.

Cost Breakdown:

Sub-total: € 25 400

GoFundMe fees: € 25400 x 2.9% = € 737

TOTAL: € 26 137

Note: If any of the funds are not needed (e.g. if Monaliza’s family visas are processed more quickly than projected), they will be donated to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to support other Gaza citizens in need.