Support Yazan's Journey of Hope and Resilience

This fundraiser is for the evacuation of Yazan, his mother, and brother from Gaza.

Hello Friends, my name is Christen Napier and I live in the United States. I am here to help organize this fundraiser for my dear friend Yazan Altalatine and his family, who have been displaced multiple times in the Gaza Strip since their home was destroyed by the occupation forces. They left with only the clothes they were wearing, and continued to live in tents with the minimum of supplies.

Before the bombardment, Yazan worked as a graphic designer and was also the leader of the famous dance troupe in Palestine, Kofia Band. His workplace and dance studio are now in shambles.

During the recent ceasefire, Yazan and his family acquired a small apartment that all of them now share together. With your help, Yazan would like to leave the Gaza Strip and evacuate with his mother Raja and his brother Ahmed.

I have gotten to know Yazan closely over the last year, and he truly amazes me. Because even though he has gone through such hardship, he continues to uplift those around him. Not only has he risked his life to help his family, also he and the remaining members of Kofia Band entertain the children at the camps with dance performances, lessons, and games. His homeland is being decimated around him, yet he continues to dance and bring joy and hope to his people. Wherever he goes, he would like to continue to share the Palestinian culture and traditions with others, and teach and perform Palestinian Dabke. Please help Yazan continue to help and inspire others.

Any donation amount will bring Yazan and his family closer to reaching their goal. And if you are unable to donate, please share this fundraiser with others, and follow Yazan's social media pages where you can learn more about him. Sincere gratitude... <3

Yazan on Instagram

Yazan on TikTok

A Message from Yazan:

“I am Yazan Al-Talatin, director of the Keffiyeh Palestinian Arts Band from Gaza. My father’s name is Muhammad and my mother’s name is Raja. My father met my mother in 1980, they got married, and they had my older brother Darwish, who is 41 years old, then they had my sister Hadit, who is 40 years old, then brother Muhannad, who is 37 years old, then Ahmed and Mahmoud, the twins, who are 28 years old, and I am the youngest, 26 years old. My father died in 2012 at the age of 58 years.

Before October 7, I was living my best life. I was working in graphic design for a major company and was responsible for the publications department. I was in charge of my band, which was the Palestinian Keffiyeh Dabke Band. My band was famous in the Gaza Strip. The band was founded on November 1, 2017. The Zionist occupation completely destroyed the band's tools, equipment, clothing, and headquarters, and all of them became under rubble.

When the war started, we were in our dear home, full of our beautiful memories. On the seventh day of the war, Israel informed us of the immediate evacuation of the Gaza Strip to the south. We evacuated Gaza immediately without taking anything with us and hid in a canvas tent in a place like the desert. There was no electricity. Or water and food. We suffered, suffered, and suffered a lot.

We stayed in the southern region (Khan Yunis) for about a month and a half. My mother started cooking on firewood because there was no gas, and she started washing clothes by hand. We would go far away so we could fill water for washing, and it was difficult when we got drinking water. We sleep on the floor because there are no mattresses, and we get sick due to lack of food.

Next we were in the city of Rafah suffering from indiscriminate bombing of civilians and innocent people, and here we are suffering from high prices due to the lack of goods. We suffered from widespread diseases, including Hepatitis C, due to drinking unsafe water. Due to the high prices of goods and the significant increase in prices, we ate one snack a day, and we remained hungry. Sometimes we did not eat because we did not have money.

When the indiscriminate bombing began in the east of the city of Rafah, the Israeli army informed us to evacuate to the western area and began a ground entry into the east of the city of Rafah. They demolished houses and canvas tents and vandalized the infrastructure, and there was no shelter. We went to west Rafah, and then two weeks later, the Israeli army informed us to evacuate from west Rafah because it would be a dangerous combat zone, and indiscriminate bombing also began. We fled as refugees to the Deir al-Balah area, believing that it was safe, but it was not. There is no safety in any area in the Gaza Strip.

Now, a year and a half after the genocidal war began, I am 26 years old, my brother Ahmed is 28 years old, and my mother is 66 years old. The war has torn our hearts and tortured us. It is very painful. It is really difficult to live in an unsafe place like the forest. There is nothing. There is no food, no drink, no potable water, diseases are widespread, there is no place to rest, and everything is painful here.

Crossing the border requires $5,000 per person, unfortunately, and my plan so far is to reside in Egypt because it is the closest to us, but after that I do not know anything, and I do not know what we will do in our lives and in our coming future. I certainly wouldn't mind us leaving together.

I have the ability to train a large number of people in Palestinian Dabke, which is the Palestinian heritage. I would like to create a full team for Palestinian Dabke until it becomes professional so that we can perform at parties and in public places among people. Spreading the Palestinian cause and teaching more about Palestine and its heritage, this is a dream for me. I hope so, so I can live a safe life."

~ Yazan

The funds raised will be used for the following purposes:

Thank you again for your generous support! <3

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Novedades:

Nos sumamos desde Argentina, para difundir e imprimir afiches y volantes en Córdoba. Si eres de cualquier otra ciudad o país, por favor, pídenos el archivo, nos encantaría que pegues en tu lugar de trabajo, universidad o cualquier sitio que puedas en tu ciudad. 

En Argentina ofrecemos una alternativa de pago, aunque realmente queremos invitarte a hacer tu donación a GoFundMe, que es totalmente transparente, pero si no estás familiarizado aún con envíos al exterior, creamos para vos la cuenta de MercadoPago: "Yazan.Kofia"

Para solicitar transparencia, puedes escribirme a Christen aqui or o al IG: GirasolMonge, que es amiga nuestra y de Yazan, y quien nos está ayudando a diseñar e imprimir este pedido de ayuda. Enviaremos imágenes de los movimientos.

¡Gracias!