Waed's family needs help

I'm Inge Neefs and I'm looking to collect money for a Palestinian family that is dear to me. When I was in Gaza, about twelve years ago, I regularly visited the Abu Rjila family in Faraheen, a small village close to Khan Younes. The family had already lost quite a bit. Jaber, the father, had always been a farmer, until 2008, when the Israeli army began demolishing the farm with tanks, while the family was residing inside. Laila, the brave, mother of six, risked her life and stood in front of the tanks. The family evacuated the house, but the house was destroyed. Reason: it was too close to the border.

I went around with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) because Jaber kept farming his land and was well connected to other farmers in the same area that undertook the hazardous task of farming land close to the border. Without warning many have been shot by the Israeli army. Allegedly, there's a buffer zone, that isn't demarcated, it stretched up to 300 meter from the border, but people have been killed for being 'too close' at more than 1.5 km.

With ISM we supported farmers when going about their activities, using our western privilege to ward off the trigger-happiness of soldiers on the other side, using our outreach to report on human rights violations. Jaber connected us to those farmers and often invited us to his home, for food, for laughs. His children were always around, eager to learn a bit of English, to shoot pictures, to have their pictures taken, to talk, to toy around.

Today, Waed, one of the youngest daughters, has reached out. They are desperate, for hope, for food. I, in my turn, am reaching out to you to help me support them. Here's Waed's message:

"Hello everyone ,

I hope this message passes to all the people of humanity. My name is Waed Abu Rjila, a 22-year-old dentistry student and I'm writing from Gaza, the most dangerous place in the world.

I’m writing with sadness.

Yet again, our lives have been completely destroyed. I was born in 2001 and so far I have lived through six wars. All of them were awful.

Until 2008 our home was 300 m from the border. Until Israeli tanks arrived and began uprooting our very home, my father's farm. We almost lost our lives. My mother saved us by standing in front of those tanks. It was a horrible scene. For the following three years, I received treatment, but I never fully recovered from the shock and panic I experienced then.

Only the International Solidarity Movement stood with us and supported us morally, and psychologically. Thank you very much.

In 2011, the next war began and we lived through the worst: our house was burnt. In 2014 , we were displaced from our homes and took refuge in UN shelters for 52 days. We were living in difficult circumstances. We lost all of our income.

Despite it all, my parents harness steadfastness. They have worked tirelessly and sacrificed themselves over and over to get us the best possible education. They are both so tired, but we've been well educated.

My older sister is a teacher, my brother is an engineer, as are two of my other sisters. My youngest sister, Yara, has just begun her first year of medicine.

All of our dreams are shattered. We've been displaced over and over, more than ten times since October, just to find safety. We only have a tent on the beach, no food, no drink, no medicine, no life.

I am turning to you, good people around the world, to help me save my family in our darkest hour. Every donation, no matter how small, provides us with a flicker of hope. If you cannot contribute, I simply ask that you share my story and message with the world to help us survive, to support our journey for safety.

Best regards

Waed Abu Rjeela