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Help our family leave Gaza

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Hello,
My name is Maria and I am from Eugene, Oregon. I met my husband Mohammed Albarqouni while vacationing in Spain in 2017. When we met, and he told me where he was from, I remember asking him, “what’s Gaza like?” and his enthusiastic reply of “it’s beautiful!”
In the past few months, the beautiful city that held all of his childhood memories has been almost completely demolished, and my in-laws who live there: Samir, Fadi, Haneen and Diana, together with my nephew Yousef, are in need of help.


Left to right: Haneen, Fadi, Nisma, Yousef, Samir, Diana. In Istanbul January 2023

They have been homeless since October 12th when their home was destroyed and are sheltering in the border town of Rafah, Gaza.

The family home, after the bombing

Samir worked as a painter and coached youth sports classes. He is one of the most good natured people I've met, showing his generosity in the way he cares for his family and his non-stop work ethic.
Diana, married to Samir for the last 3 years, worked as a medical technician before becoming a full-time mom in 2021. When we met I was happy to be in her presence, her humor and good nature shining through every interaction.
Diana and Samir's son, Yousef, is 2 years old. When I met him in the beginning of 2023 he was just beginning to speak.

My daughter Eva and her cousin Yousef in Istanbul, January 2023

Yousef in Rafah, March 2024

Fadi, the eldest brother of the Albarqouni family, worked as an interior designer. His designs were located throughout Gaza in beautiful living rooms and offices. His creativity and art are a constant gift to the family.
Haneen, who is married to Fadi, worked as a fitness instructor. We had fun running through the parks of Istanbul together, getting creative with outdoor exercise equipment and our fitness routines in a new city.

Fadi and Haneen in Rafah, March 2024

I was able to meet my in-laws because everyone could travel to Turkey in 2023, where Mervat, my mother in-law, has been residing since 2020. We have 2 other siblings living in Istanbul- Samer, who moved to Istanbul in 2018, and Nisma, who arrived in 2020 alongside Mervat. Mervat was so happy to have all of her children with her, safe, in Turkey.
Despite the families gratitude for being able to stay together for a while, living alongside 7 adults and 1 child in a 2 bedroom apartment became too much for everyone, and in February of 2023, Fadi and Haneen decided to return to Gaza.
On top of the high cost of living, Turkey stopped accepting new immigrants for resident permits, and the cost of overstaying a tourist visa, coupled with the lack of affordable housing, made returning home the most viable option.
Samir, Yousef and Diana stayed a few months longer in Istanbul, with Samir finding employment with a Turkish construction company and the family just beginning to understand Turkish.
Despite their efforts to immigrate to Turkey, they lost hope of achieving residence permits and being able to afford rent on their own apartment, and eventually chose to head back to Gaza where they could live in their own home, without the daily fines for overstaying a visa.
Samir had hopes of obtaining an Israeli work permit, which he waited for on the lottery system for over three years- and thought that by returning to Gaza he would have a better chance of receiving the work permit and be able to provide a better life for his family.
Less than a year after arriving home, however, they lost their family house, where the Albarqouni siblings had grown up, along with all of their possessions, their income, their lifestyle, and their safety- and have been moving from shelter to shelter ever since.
The border between Egypt and Gaza is open for passage to Gazan residents who are able to get their name on a list which is published daily by an Egyptian travel company called Hala. Here's an article which explains the process: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-war-egypt-bribes-1.7152653
While this has always been the most common way of traveling out of Gaza, it was previously much cheaper to travel.

We are raising the funds to get Samir, Diana, Yousef, Haneen and Fadi’s names on Hala's list, which we think we can do once we hit $25k. Once they are able to cross into Egypt, we'll continue the fundraising in order to purchase 2 flats in Istanbul for them to live in. The Turkish government is currently granting permanent resident permits to owners of businesses or real estate (and their dependants), and we think this will be the most cost-effective and straightforward way to get our family housed, and into safe territory.

All funds will be deposited to my savings account. I'll be using wise.com to transfer the amount required for the border crossing to Samer's account, and Samer will travel from Istanbul to Eqypt to pay Hala for Samir, Diana, Yousef, Fadi, and Haneen's passage from Rafah to Cairo.
Once everybody gets safely to Egypt, we'll be focusing on fundraising to cover living costs in Egypt and purchasing the two flats in Istanbul. There will also be a few months delay before everyone can head to Istanbul, as Diana cannot enter Turkiye until September of 2024 due to overstaying the 2023 visitor visa, and Haneen needs to apply for a new passport with the Palestinian Authority from their embassy in Cairo, as her passport was lost while fleeing the bombing of the house. Mohammed, Eva and I will travel to Istanbul to find real estate for Fadi and Samir's families to purchase, once they arrive in Turkiye and we have the funds.
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Donations 

  • Hannah Ascough
    • $50
    • 11 d
  • Celia Mason
    • $25
    • 11 d
  • Mackenzie Schroeder
    • $15
    • 11 d
  • Ryann Tansey
    • $10
    • 11 d
  • Samira Al homsi
    • $50
    • 3 mos
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Organizer

Maria Albarqouni
Organizer
Eugene, OR

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