Help to Bring my Family to Safety out of Gaza War

Naim Aburaddi is organizing this fundraiser.

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Friends,

First and foremost, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your invaluable support in helping my family and me navigate through challenging times like these {Jazzakum Allah Khair}.

I am writing this letter with tears as I honestly never thought I would be doing a campaign like this. But it is a matter of life or death. My family has been displaced since October 7th in Gaza. Our house in Gaza was fully destroyed by Israeli bulldozers (As you will see in the pictures). After more than 140 days of this war, the situation is getting worse and worse. My family is struggling with finding a safe place, reliable food, and medication (for my diabetic father). So, I am here seeking your help to get my family out of the war zone and to safety. In the next paragraphs, I will go into more detail about my family, myself, why I am doing this campaign now, and what we need.

About my family:

I have a family of 7; my parents, three brothers, and one sister. While my sister and two of my brothers live in Istanbul, my parents and youngest brother, Saad, still live in Gaza. Since I left Gaza in 2014, I have never been able to go back. I always wanted to see my family, friends, relatives, and the places I miss but could not. I had the chance to see my mom, sister, and two of my brothers in Istanbul for a few days in 2021. While my sister and two of my brothers decided to stay in Istanbul, my mother had to return to Gaza to stay with my dad and youngest brother who insisted on staying in Gaza. Despite the tough conditions, they wanted to preserve their home in Gaza. They were trying to make a life out of nothing. “How can I leave our house that I waited for over 25 years to build!” my dad’s response to me when I asked him to leave Gaza and stay in Turkey in 2021. But that beautiful house is gone now… it was not just a house. It was a home filled with love, happiness, beautiful memories, and big dreams. I know it is going to be tough for them to leave Gaza, but there is nothing left. All that I want now is to get them into a safe place.

About me:

My name is NAIM ABURADDI. I am a student working on my Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder. I left Gaza in 2014 after finishing high school as I got 99.4% in the High School Standardized Exam and ranked the third top student in Palestine. As a result, I was awarded the Palestinian Presidential scholarship. My story at that time was featured by different media outlets including Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and BBC. I was able to leave Gaza after I was awarded the Turkish Governmental Scholarship. I did my BA in journalism at Istanbul University with the hope of utilizing media and technology to empower my people and shed light on their suffering. In 2019, I got admitted to the master’s program in Communication Studies at California State University, San Bernardino which I finished with getting awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student on the college level. I left Gaza seeking education as I believe it is the best way to bring awareness to what the people of Gaza have had to endure and change our community to a better place.

Why am I doing this campaign?

Although I have been trying to hold up and focus on my education, my brain cannot function and continue my life while my family is under constant attack and could be killed at any moment. While the whole world is watching in silence what is going on in Gaza, I cannot stay silent and witness the starvation of my family and losing them.

Our Destroyed House, Gaza

What do we need?

To get my family out of Gaza, we need to pay $5000 per person to the Egyptian groups who control the Rafah crossing. It used to be 10000$ as it was investigated by The Guardian and other international media outlets. The situation is urgent and what we need right now is to get them into Egypt and from there to Turkey where they can start a new safe life and reunite with my brothers and sister.

To break the money down,

Approx. $15,000 is needed to cover the costs of permits required for my parents and brother to cross the Rafah crossing. ($5000 per person).
Approx. $2000-$3000 to support my family in Gaza while we are working on this campaign and get them registered which may take around a month or more.
Approx. $10,000 for 6 months of living expenses just until they can get back on their feet (this will include renting a place, furniture, transportation, life expenses, etc.).
Approx. $20,000 to cover their journey to Turkey. This will include (visa fees, flight tickets, and renting a place in Istanbul for at least a year,.etc)
Approx. $3000 to cover this website transactions fee which is (2.9% + $0.30) + sending the money to Egypt and Turkey which will cost (around 2. 25 % as the Western Union Website shows). I will receive the money and cover the mentioned expenses on behalf of my family.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your time and consideration mean everything to me and my people right now. Your help could save my whole family and I cannot find enough words to express how grateful I am for you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.