Help My Family Evacuate Gaza & Start A New Life
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Hello,
My name is Adham Mousa, a Palestinian from Gaza, a Green Card holder and residing in the United States since 2014. Meanwhile, my parents - Basem and Imtithal - and younger siblings – Karam, Aseel, Ranim, Nour and Mohammed – are living in Gaza Strip.
I am writing this after lots of thought and hesitation, but the urgency to rescue my family and secure their future is greater than my confliction. I am desperately seeking your support to help me extract my family from Gaza and set them up in a place where they can start a safe life for the first time ever; a feeling I did not understand until I was 16 when I was granted a scholarship by the Horizon Foundation to study at Eton College in the UK. I remember my initial thought when I first walked around Eton College’s campus in 2012, “Oh, one can walk around any time without fearing being shot, bombed or prisoned.” However, the feeling of being safe has been haunting me since then as it felt unfair for me to feel safe while my family felt otherwise.
From 2012 until 2022, I worked tirelessly on making a better person of myself with one goal in mind, making my family’s life better, and eventually sponsor them to come to the US to live with me once I become a citizen in 2027. In 2022, things started to look up for me as I was able to go see my family in Gaza for the first time in 10 years immediately after obtaining my Green Card. I made it a surprise and here’s the video showing our first meeting:
Unfortunately, with the recent aggression on Gaza, my progression to better my family’s life has become impossible to navigate. Today, I find myself confronted with the task of rebuilding their lives entirely. A lot of emotions and thoughts accompany me every day. I feel scared, anxious, and helpless. I don’t know if I can have my family back and I don’t know if the mental and physical trauma they have endured is something that can be fully corrected, but I am trying. I was born to a man of honor and a woman of purity and seeing them both collapsing right in front of my eyes is tormenting. Seeing my siblings’ focus switch from education and work to collecting wood and carrying buckets of water is heartbreaking.
- Basem: my father was a Financial Business Consultant. His office was bombed.
- Imtithal: I don’t think words can adequately describe how kind, thoughtful and generous my mom is. I’ve only known my mom to be a mother, and she excelled at being so. Her house, kitchen, and home that she had put together for us was bombed. 24 years of memories were put to ashes.
- Karam: my brother was the Director of Control and Audit at University of Palestine and was pursuing his PhD at Al-Azhar University and both were bombed.
- Aseel: my sister, a journalist, witnessed the loss of her colleagues who were killed while fulfilling their duty to convey the truth to world. She writes articles for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Al-Jazeera English, and Middle East Eye.
- Ranim: a recent college graduate who was undergoing training in accounting to start her career. The training center was bombed.
- Nour and Mohammed (17 and 14): The destructive acts have halted the educational pursuits of my youngest siblings. Nour aspired to complete her last year of high school and join the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Azhar University. Mohammed was on the verge of finishing 9th grade and applying for scholarships to pursue his secondary studies outside the Gaza Strip, mirroring my own journey. I completed my secondary education in the UK and the Netherlands, and I earned a degree in Math and Economics in the USA.
Initially, I had contemplated purchasing a larger house for my family in Gaza, but given the current situation there, they’re left with no home, no hospitals, no sense of life, scarce resources, and an uncertain future. My focus now is to provide them with a decent life elsewhere.
Current Plan:
- Extract family from Gaza
- Reside shortly in Egypt.
- Apply for Turkish VISA and obtain residency there.
- Live in Türkiye for a minimum of 5 years until I’m allowed to sponsor my family to come live with me in the US (this will take 5-10 years from now)
While in Türkiye:
- Apply for Turkish residency.
- Find a house.
- Learn Turkish.
- Father, Karam, Aseel and Ranim explore job opportunities, and Karam resumes his PhD.
- Nour and Mohammed resume their education.
- In 2027, once I am a US citizen, I will submit applications for my family to live in the US, Green Card.
Long Term Possibilities:
- Despite the siege over Gaza since 2006, it's our home and we love it.
- Current events made living there impossible, and the next 10 years there unlivable.
- Depending on future circumstances, my family's long-term goal is to one day return home.
This will cost a minimum of $450,000. The largest portion of the funds will go towards obtaining Turkish residency, housing, and education. I will allocate the $150,000 I have saved over the years (personal and retirement savings) to purchase a larger house in Gaza towards this mission instead, as well as any remaining expenses. I will continue supporting my family financially while in Türkiye every month.
Your support is instrumental in helping me execute this plan and secure a second chance at life for my family.
Remaining support needed: $300,000
- It requires about $50,000 to leave Gaza for 7 people.
- Obtaining citizenship/residency and housing in Türkiye costs a minimum of $400,000, in addition to lawyer and legal fees.*
- Until they obtain residency in Türkiye, accommodation, travel, food and other remaining expenses will be covered by me ($3,000 x 6 months = $18,000 minimum).
Thank you very much,
Adham Mousa
*Ref: Citizenship in Turkey
For updates on the situation in Gaza, I share news on:
Organizer
Adham Mousa
Organizer
Raleigh, NC