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Hello, I am Mohammed AbuSaid, I live with my wife Ola and children in West Midlands, UK. We are originally from Gaza Strip.
I am organising this fundraiser to help my Sister in Gaza, the sole survivor of Israeli bombardment that killed almost my entire immediate family to leave Gaza for treatment and to help the rest of my family and my wife’s family to survive the on going disastrous and catastrophic situation in Gaza.
During the ongoing war on Gaza and in one of the air strikes that targeted a five-story residential building in Al-Nusairat Camp, I have tragically lost almost my entire immediate family, twenty three (23) members of them- my dear father and mother, my brother and five of my sisters, innocent in their youth, my brother in-law, my sister in-law and twelve (12) children, beloved nephews and nieces have been cruelly snatched away from this world, the youngest was Ibrahim, four months old. My brothers and sisters with their spouses and children were all gathered in this flat thinking it is a safe place to move to. Our family house and flat, two sisters’ houses, and my brother’s house were destroyed during this war. Pictures show members of my family I lost in this war and the building that was flattened where my family where gathering.
The following first link is a recorded interview with my sister Eman days before she was killed in this this merciless aggression with her husband and two children, the second link is a published article about my sister Eman and my family and the situation in Gaza.
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/29/1215931157/a-gaza-woman-describes-trying-to-keep-her-family-safe-and-alive
My sister Taqwa is the only one who survived the bombardment amongst my immediate family and was pulled from under the rubble, she lost her six children, her world, once filled with the laughter of her children, is now silent. To add to this horror, she and all patients and medical staff were forced by the Israeli army to vacate Al-Shifa hospital whilst she was treated.
Taqwa was severely injured and went into a coma for two weeks and had several surgeries. Now she has burns all over her body and is suffering from hearing difficulties and needs another surgery to save her hearing. Taqwa is displaced in a school and is living a nightmare now, and we have to help her to leave Gaza as soon as possible so she can receive the necessary medical treatment and care which are not available in Gaza’s hospitals currently because of collapsed hospitals and health system as a result of the ongoing aggression. I have another brother and sister who live outside Gaza, and we are all longing to meet Taqwa and believe this will greatly help her mental health condition after this tragic loss and horror she went through.
As normal cross-border travel from Gaza has been suspended since October 2023, the only way for Palestinians in Gaza to travel now is through coordination with the Egyptian Authorities. Unfortunately, the cost of this coordination is very high and unaffordable to ordinary people, some people had to pay up to US $8,000 per person to get this coordination arranged and have their names added to the travel list to cross Rafah crossing border. In order for Taqwa to leave Gaza, she has to pay for the high cost of coordination.
My sister in-law (my brother’s widow) and her two children, are displaced and living in very difficult circumstances in Rafah, south of Gaza Strip, also the rest of my family and my wife’s family are displaced now and living in tents in Rafah. Most of them have their houses completly destroyed and they will need help and support to start re-buidling temporary shelters when the war is over.
Our elderly uncles and aunties, cousins and their families and children and my father in-law are experiencing very dire conditions with most of them have no warm clothes or blankets. They are crammed in poorly overcrowded tents that are randomly installed in camps for displaced people which are not suitable to accommodate people and lack basic sanitary facilities and doesn’t prevent rainwater, wind and cold getting into tents.
My uncle lost his wife, son, daughter and five grandchildren in another airstrike in February 2024. The following video is for my uncle carrying the body of his two years old grandson.
The humanitarian situation is disastrous, with scarcity of essential food and drinking water, and spread of diseases and lack of primary health care, etc. Furthermore, prices have increased sharply, including prices of food and vegetables, drinking water, warm clothes and material used to build tents. For example the price of 1 kg of white flour in Gaza now is more than 100 Shekle (about £22) which is about 50 times its price before the war.
My Auntie and sister and many others in Gaza city ran out of any white flour since at least 8 weeks ago and are relying now on making bread using animals feed and become desperate to consume it despite being not suitable for human consumption in normal conditions, even animals feed is getting scarce and very expensive to buy as well. Many of them risk their lives and go for long trips to dangerous areas to collect wildly grown green leaves that could be eatable.
Latest reports from Gaza confirm that people are already dying from hunger-related causes.
With no salaries are paid and no other sources of income, our people are struggling to survive, feed themselves and stay warm, they are relying on support and aid donated to help them survive and feed their children during these difficult times.
We have already sent some payments to some family members in Gaza and we realised how that made them happy and helped them buying food, water, clothes and basic items, but they and many others keep desperately asking if we could continue to help, and this is why we have decided to organise this fundraiser to help our families and contribute towards their survival and determination not to be silenced.
The voices of my immediate family may have been silenced, but we determine to save the rest of our families and people. I am reaching out to you with great urgency and desperation and believe that your support will help my sister Taqwa to leave Gaza safely and receive medical treatment and mental support, and help the rest of our families who are staying to survive and get sheltred. I am very grateful to your generosity and compassion. Please sahre this link with your friends and family.
We will keep you updated on amounts we send and will endeavour to share photos and receipts. Below are some receipts of payments I sent to family in Gaza in February and March 2024.
Thank you,
Mohammed
