Hello! My name is Maria Gray, and I am a poet and writer living in New York. I am making this fundraiser to assist the Abu Harb family in their struggle to survive the ongoing genocide in Palestine. More specifically, we need to get Ahmed Abdel Wahab Mohamed Abu Harb, the father, a new tent. He is separated from the rest of his family—Ansam and the children have evacuated to Egypt, and Ahmed is still in Gaza alone. He did not have enough money to evacuate himself along with his wife and children. Two of the four children are in fragile medical states—their son lost his hearing due to the genocide, and his sister has cerebral palsy. I have been in touch with Ansam regularly since the summertime, and I can vouch for the truthfulness of this family's claims. They are lovely people in an impossible situation, and it is my hope that we can come together and support them.

I am starting this campaign with a goal of $7500, but will likely adjust it as time goes on due to the exorbitant prices and lack of income sources in the Strip. All funds will be transparently declared and transferred to the Abu Harb family via PayPal. Thank you in advance for your support of Ansam, Ahmed, and their children. Every donation and every share matters more than you think. I encourage you to share this fundraiser with your friends and family and check out lifeline4gaza.com to take more families' lifelines out of stagnation! Please do not hesitate to message me with any questions.

My Instagram is @gariamray. Ansam can be found at @ansam_family.

(A previous version of this appeal said they have two children. This is incorrect, they have four children, two of whom are physically disabled.)

From Ahmed:

My name is Ahmed Abu Harb, a father of four children. For a year and a half, I have been separated from my wife and kids. My little daughter is in a very difficult health condition, and my son lost his hearing during the war. With great difficulty, I managed to send them with their mother to Egypt for treatment, but I could not travel with them because I did not have enough money. Since that day, I have been stuck alone in Gaza.

Life here is extremely harsh. My tent has been torn after repeated displacement, and the prices of food and water are unbearably high. Yet the greatest pain I carry is inside: despair has broken my heart because I have been away from my children for a year and a half. I miss them every moment and can only pray that God will reunite us soon.

I am in urgent need of a new tent for shelter, food and clean water to survive, and money to send to my family in Egypt so my children can continue their treatment. Every donation, no matter how small, helps me endure, supports my children’s medical care, and brings me one step closer to holding them again after this long separation.