Urgent Aid for the AbuKhaled Family's Evacuation

About the AbuKhaleds: The AbuKhaleds are Palestinian family of 12 from Gaza City: Mahmoud, Eman, and their children, Mamoun, Shahd, Amira, Amir, Nawal, Sabrin, Sabrin’s husband Wael, and Sabrin and Wael’s children Mohammed and Youssef. Mahmoud and his family are long-time friends of a group of Islanders and Canadians, who met them through now deceased artist and poet Heather Spears. Since October, the family has been displaced four times, and their home has been cratered by an airstrike. They are now living in a tent in Khan Younis, hoping beyond hope to escape with their lives.

There is a severe lack of food, medical supplies, and clean water in Rafah. The threat of violence is constant: Eman’s sister and her four young children were all killed in July in an F-35 airstrike.

Please help the AbuKhaled family evacuate.

The only way out of Gaza that has been available to Palestinians is through the Egyptian border. During the time that the border was open, private companies are currently responsible for setting the price to over $5000 per individual to leave Gaza, which does not include food, medical expenses, or living expenses once they are in Egypt. Our fundraising goal is minimally $100,000 to get this family out.

We are asking our community to continue this legacy of compassion and connection, and help make an enormous difference in the lives of the AbuKhaled family.

Who We Are: We are a group of Americans and Canadians working to help the Abukahled family. In October, 1990, writer and artist Heather Spears met Mahmoud AbuKhaled, a Palestinian ambulance driver who responded to the Al-Aqsa mosque massacre in Jerusalem. Heather asked if she could draw and interview Mahmoud while he was working at the hospital treating victims. While working together, Mahmoud shared stories with Heather about his family, his life, and the Palestinian struggle. The conversations with the thoughtful, kind, and sharp Mahmoud sparked a friendship that would last their lifetimes.

Heather brought Mahmoud’s story to her community of Islanders and Canadians, who continued to support him as he married Eman, their family grew, and circumstances changed. The group would communicate regularly with the family, sending aid and gifts and receiving stories and photographs of the AbuKhaled family over the years. This group has expanded to include members of the San Juan Social Justice Collective.

How the funds will be spent and distributed: Fund raised will be used to pay to evacuate the Abukhaleds when the border opens, and to provide the family with money for food as they wait to escape.