Beneath the Ruins of Memory

In the heart of Gaza, our life was simple — filled with love and laughter despite all the hardships.

My brother Siraj and I, Ribhi Banar, spent our days helping our father with his small projects, and every evening we returned to a warm home, filled with the smell of my mother’s cooking and our laughter echoing through the walls.

But in a single moment… everything disappeared.

That day will never be forgotten — the sky rained fire, and the ground trembled beneath our feet.

The sound of rockets tore through the silence, and when we returned after the bombing, we found no home… only rubble, dust, and the scent of fading memories.

My father stood silently before the ruins, his eyes lost in emptiness, as if all his dreams had been buried there — his projects, his work, the effort of years.

My mother held Siraj and me close, trying to hide her fear behind a trembling smile, while we tried to understand… how could a home simply vanish?

Those nights, we slept in a school that had turned into a shelter.

Every evening, Siraj would say to me:

“We’ll rebuild everything, even if it’s just one stone at a time.”

And I believed him, because in his voice lived determination and hope.

As the days passed, we started again.

My father gathered what little he had left and rebuilt his work from scratch.

Siraj never stopped dreaming — he wanted to become an engineer, to rebuild our home more beautiful than ever before.

Today, when I look at the photo of our old house, I don’t feel only sadness… I feel pride.

Because the war destroyed our walls, but not our hearts.

We are the children of Gaza — torn down a thousand times, yet we rise stronger every time.

With the help of my friend lujain, i created this fundraiser to try to collect funds to help us rebuild our home and lives. Your donations will be our lifeline in such an unstable and fragile time, until we get back on our feet.

The funds will be sent through paypal inshalla and then spent on our sustenance.

Thank you