Rebuilding 21-Year-Old Seraj's Life & Dreams

Meet Seraj!

[written by Sky, a FU4P team member]

I have been connected to Seraj Aburaida since January 18, 2024. When we were first connected, Seraj was staying in the camps in Khan Yunis but everything there was bombed. He has lost everything, again, except for the clothes off his back and his phone, and was displaced for the 3rd time to Ra Fah, so that is where he is now! He lives in a tent with his family of 9.

I videochatted with him to verify him, since he originally only posted censored photos for his safety. I saw the conditions he was living in and his sweet face! I have chatted with him everyday since. He is the most generous person I have ever met, he always shares any donation he gets with as many families around him as possible, even when me and the rest of his support team reminds him to save some for himself!

There have been many hard nights in Ra Fah, but his family is steadfast and doing as well as possible. the other night of my comrades complimented Seraj on the wonderful food his family makes with so little under such circumstances. He responded:

“We must always do something to change the mood, my sister, for fun or to change the atmosphere in which we constantly live!”

One of the most impactful ways that Seraj is changing the atmosphere in his Ra Fah camp is by giving to others. He completed 3 very successful mutual aid projects over Ramadan, in which he gave cash aid and fresh produce to his neighbors.

Our Current Goals and Priorities:

[written by Rebekah]

Seraj has been using your donations for months now to provide for his family and those around him. He's bought food, electricity, water, medicine, blankets, and other necessities. He has been tirelessly and selflessly serving his family and neighbors.

Seraj found out last week that his family home and his second story apartment were both partially demolished. Items have been stolen, all the windows were blown out, and rubble covered every surface. After cleaning the house as well as he was able to, he made a few decisions. Here are Seraj's current priorites:

1. Set his family up financially (estimated $5,000).

2. Evacuate himself to Egypt (estimated $5,000 plus money for necessary documentation).

3. Rebuild his family home and his apartment (estimated $10-20,000 for his apartment alone).

4. Eventually return to school to complete his degree and find a job.

Seraj's immediate needs are to secure his family financially to the best of his ability before he can evacuate. He told me this morning "I won't get out of here without securing my family! I will never go out...They are my family, sister! I can't leave them here in this black forest full of wolves."

We estimate that his family will need $5,000 to be set up for the next two months. During the Jenna side they have been spending over $1,500-$2,000 per month on necessities, and prices are still rising. Financial liquidity is worse than ever with middlemen taking high percentages off when Gah Zans get cash out.

After securing $5,000 for his family, Seraj hopes to evacuate to Egypt, where he has relatives to stay with. Being in Egypt will grant him constant access to the internet so that he can advocate for his family and try to get them all out. Once he's in Egypt, Seraj will also be safe from the constant threat of bombs and danger and be able to spend his efforts on collecting donations for his family, rather than survival.

Lastly, once a permanent ceasefire is in place, Seraj hopes to rebuild his family home and his apartment. He also hopes to complete his studies--he talks about this all the time. Things have been hard for so long, and we look forward to the day he's able to realize these dreams!

From Seraj in January 2024:

“Hello everyone,

I am Seraj, a 20 year old [now 21 as of March!] young man from Gah Zah. I lived with my parents and 5 siblings. Before the war in Ga Zah I was living my life like anyone else. My dream was to live in peace, in tranquility, to achieve my wishes and the wishes of my family, to seek a safe and wonderful future, to obtain a university degree, and to obtain a profession, a job!

But suddenly there was this day of disaster.

On the seventh day of October 2023 I was going out to university in the morning. I could not even imagine that the normal life we were living would change in the blink of an eye! As if we were in hell. I came home to see the news and unfortunately, everyone was surprised by this. The start of this war and what happened after the 7th of October till this day took away all of our dreams and wishes.

I had reached the third level in university and spent two full years studying. I specialized in the field of information technology, mobile programming branch. But now, I can not complete my studies. My university is destroyed and my MSI laptop is gone. I bought it for exactly $1,500 but it was there at the university, in the lab room (full of equipment) when the university was bombed. On Saturday I should have had a practical test on my laptop, but unfortunately I didn't have the chance to do the test.

Despite the fact that everything I worked for is gone now and we are unsure when this war will end and what will happen to us in the coming days and weeks, I keep dreaming. I always said: “You will not achieve your dreams if you do not dream”.

My dream now is to live through this war, then buy a new laptop and complete my studies.

It is really expensive but at least I can try.

[edit from Sky: he need to to focus on this as a dream goal to get him through this inhumane situation]

I hope you can help me regain my studies, my dream, and my future. Help me reach my goal please by donating to this campaign.

Don't leave me stuck like this! Please share this campaign with your family, friends, donate as much as you can, I really need your help. I would be forever grateful if you will help me to have a future. For my family, for me, for Gah Zah.

Thank you so much❤️

Seraj”

Stay connected:

- Follow Seraj’s new Instagram at @⁨Se3raj.0 (his previous 2 accounts were deleted), and if you ever can’t find the account, please report to instagram that they need to bring it back.

- Add Seraj on Whatsapp at +972 59-321-4359 to make sure you stay connected to him. Instagram has deleted his last 2 accounts, and is trying to censor Pal-eh-steinians on the ground showing the world the truth of what is happening to them.

Here is a photo of Seraj from when he was able to be a student:

Image Description: A beautiful portrait of Seraj bookended by Pal-eh-steinian flags. He is wearing a red sweater, backpack and jeans standing in front of a building with some vining shrubbery with red flowers. His face is obstructed for his safety.