Escaping Gaza: From Hell to Toronto

My name is Jessica. I am a Palestinian born and raised in Gaza. after surviving four wars, I eventually left Gaza in 2019 to Canada with my direct family, leaving behind other family members who are now living under the ongoing war, attempting and fighting to survive every day. 

 My family members are my 85-year-old grandmother, my uncle, his wife, and my four beautiful cousins, who are 24, 22, 18, and 13.  

 

I am reaching out for support to get my family members out of Gaza. They’ve endured unimaginable horrors and hardships. Every day that they remain in Gaza is a terrifying reality of them not surviving the subsequent bombing. They have been asked to evacuate multiple times throughout the past three months, and their lives are threatened daily, especially as Israel is trying to eradicate all Christians from Gaza.  

It is worth mentioning that their home and my grandmother’s home have been completely destroyed, reduced to utter ruin and nonexistence. They fled to The Holy Family Catholic Church, located in the North of Gaza, where there is no access to clean water, food, electricity, internet, or medical care. They have remained in the Church for three months now only with the clothes on their backs, unable to shower or move.  

They are witnessing destruction and death all around them. Israeli snipers recently killed two women and injured eight people before their eyes in the church. They have been terrified every day, sleeping when possible, only to wake up to the sight of Israeli snipers and tanks surrounding the Church’s compound, with death staring them in the face, fearing to move in and outside of the Church. 

 In addition to all the emotional and psychological toll they are experiencing and may never recover from, they have also been hearing non-stop shelling, day and night, for the past three months. They have been exposed to white phosphorus being dropped down on them and had to care for those who were injured. They have lost every last thing they own. Gaza has become an unliveable place for them, especially for my sick grandmother, who needs round-the-clock care and especially after bombing the shelter she was staying at in the Holy Family Church.  

I’m reaching out to raise funds that will allow them to escape these disastrous conditions. The goal is to get them out of Gaza and bring them to Canada, where my family and my aunt’s family currently resides, away from imminent danger. My grandmother would finally reunite with her two daughters after long years of separation, and they will be providing her with the medical care she needs. My cousins will be able to study, make friends, and live in peace for the first time in their lives, and they will understand that a woman can live freely. These four young women have only seen death and destruction since they were born.  

Unfortunately, during these challenging times, the Egyptian government is charging more than $7,000 PER PERSON to be allowed to leave Gaza only to cross the Egyptian borders! And I can only imagine this price going up.  

The funds raised will not only help them cross the border but also contribute to issuing their new passports and sustaining them during their travels to buy food, water, clothes, temporary shelter, and plane tickets.

 I humbly ask you to help me help my family get to safety. I also wish you stand with them in the darkest time of their lives by sharing this link around and amplifying my family’s story. 

 With hope and gratitude always, 

 Jessica