A Lifeline for Mahmoud's Family

Letter from my friend, Mahmoud Shakshak, 01/22/2024

Hello everyone, I need you to help my family escape a genocide against Palestinians and televised massacres. My name is Mahmoud, and I'm from the Gaza Strip, Palestine. I am a university student in İstanbul, Türkiye, raising this fundraiser to help get my beloved family out of Gaza.

The current situation as of date: My parents and two unmarried siblings are together in Khan Younis. My two married siblings, their spouses, and my four nephews (the youngest was born in the middle of the war) evacuated their home to the south, where they sought safety for their children in UN tents. After 100 days of miraculously cheating death, my parents had to leave our home in Khan Younis City and go south to Rafah City. Rafah was too crowded, and my family had to go back to the danger zone in Khan Younis. Their immediate area is a target for Israeli airstrikes; the hospital near them has already been hit. The building we live in is partially damaged from the blast force of missiles hitting the surrounding area. It could collapse, and it's not safe. They also lack adequate food and water and cannot seek proper health and emergency care.

I have not been able to contact my parents for two days. I last spoke to my brother, Mohammed, three weeks ago. My pain is nothing compared to others, yet I never thought I could go through so much and lose This number of people and things close to my heart.

This is my beloved family who you would be helping:

My parents:

Father: Sadi (retired). He's 65 years old.

Mother: Amna (housewife). She's 57 years old.

Mohammed and his family:

Father: Mohammed, my elder brother. (33 years old).

Wife: Hanan, my sister-in-law. (33 years old).

Son: Sadi Jr. My nephew. (6 years old).

Son: Ahmad. My nephew. (5 years old).

Son: Mohammed Jr. My nephew. (101 days old).

passed away in 2021 due to COVID-19)

Walaa And Her Family:

Mother: Walaa, my elder sister. Computer engineer. Housewife (35 years old).

Father: Muhannad, my brother-in-law. Social worker. (36 years old).

Son: Bashar, my nephew. Student (8 years old).

(Bashar at his 1st grade graduation ceremony)

My unmarried siblings:

Brother: Raed. Writer and storyteller. (27 years old).

Sister: Zeena. Student. (15 years old).

(Raed and Zeena enjoying Gaza beach with baba and mama)

How is your support going to be used?

Most of the support will be used to pay for special permits on the Egyptian borders. Unfortunately, the cost for that rises by the hour, starting at 500 USD per person at the beginning and ending at 11,000 USD per person. If children do not need permits to cross the borders, the cost will be 88,000 USD.

The rest of your support will be used to bring them to Türkiye. It is expected to be divided as follows:

A. The Sini: Transportation from the Rafah border to Cairo. Cars that cross the Sini desert between the two cities control the prices and charges for passengers escaping the war. It should not cost more than 2,000 USD.

B. Travel fees, such as flight tickets and visas, should cost around 4,000 USD for my family.

C. Upon arrival: Unfortunately, my sister and I cannot host all of my family in our rented apartment in Istanbul. I will have to find a suitable, prominent enough place to rent for the three families so they can settle in.

Medical exams are necessary, especially for my 3-month-old nephew and parents.

These should cost around 6,000 USD.

Making the total cost of saving my family 100,000 USD.

How Can You Support Us?

If you cannot donate, the next best thing you could do for us is share this with your friends and community. I want my family out of harm's way, and we would greatly appreciate any help we can get!

Thank you all so very much,

Mahmoud Shakshak