Help my Palestinian friends start a new life in the UAE!

Hi you! My name is Marie. I was born in Northern Germany and live in Berlin, where I work as a project manager, part time fitness coach and occasional writer. One of my biggest joys and privileges in life is traveling and I never stop being grateful for the opportunity to do it quite often. My biggest love and heartbreak is the Middle East. My most visited places are Israel & Palestine.

On one of my travels, spring 2022 in Palestine, I met a wonderful person on a shared taxi ride from Nablus to Ramallah. Even though we mostly communicated via translator app, there was an immediate energy, a bond between us. So I followed my gut feeling and visited him and his family only three days later in Halhul, which is a small town close to Hebron (a Palestinian city initially called "Al Khalil" in the occupied West Bank divided between Palestinians and Jewish settlers). It was my first time in Hebron/Al Khalil, Rawad picked me up by car, invited me for lunch and then to his house where I met his then still pregnant wife Bayan. They welcomed me with the greatest hospitality I had ever experienced (not a single moment passed with no drink or food offered and placed on the table for me) and even watched a video of their marraige together before they showed me around town.

We kept in touch and a year later I returned to Halhul to meet their lovely daughter Ayla. Bayan said it would be unusual for her to not cry when meeting a new person. Although I usually don't vibe with babies, there was this immediant bond again and I spent the night at their place. Back then Rawad worked in Tel Aviv, getting up at 4 AM every day to travel there 3 hours twice a day for a distance of less than 100 km - the usual struggle Palestinians working in Israel had to go through, spending hours daily in traffic jams and checkpoints. Rawad and Bayan had just bought their beautiful house and needed to pay off the loan. Rawad was the provider for the whole family.

Since the unspeakable happenings of October 7th 2023 the roads are closed for Palestinians and there is no work for them in Israel anymore. Needless to say that no work he could do in Palestine would ever pay enough to care for his family and his house. Now, one year later, Rawad's and Bayan's second daughter was born in perfect health. But the situation keeps getting worse and worse because there is just NO perspective, no future for them in Halhul. Both of them are well educated with no chance to truly take care of their little ones - or themselves. Rawad worries about the future, the health, the existence of his family. But it can't be found in their precious home or the beautiful mountains of Halhul. With a heavy heart he came to the conclusion that his family needs to leave.

They plan to live in the outskirts of Dubai as there are good work opportunities and the cost of living seems fair. However to leave Palestine, they need money. A visa for Dubai is 200 Dollars per person. That makes 800 for a family of four - and does not even cover the flight costs. So here I am making use of my privilege and asking for your help. I am trying to collect money to help my friends. Of course I am donating myself - the first 200 euros will be donated by me. Even the tiniest donation can make a difference and help my friends to leave their home - the place they grew up and are rooted in - and start a new life. If you want to help them get to the UAE and have the chance to create a better future, you can make a donation here. I already sent them money last year via WesternUnion and will do the same with the money collected here. All donations will go to the hands of Rawad Barbarawi and his wife Bayan. They will be forever grateful!