Amber

My name is Amber, and I’m opening up this fundraiser for my friend, Bessan QDeh, in hopes of raising funds to cover her travel costs. Bessan is a young woman living in Gaza. She is an extremely hard worker, and is constantly supporting her family, community, all while continuing her studies in English. She graduated from the University of Palestine with a degree in law, and dreams of perusing higher education and starting a career. I first met Bessan while my fundraising TikTok account, @watermelondove, was young. Later, we became friends after she offered to help me facilitate my general aid campaign for people in Gaza. Bessan is extremely kind-hearted and caring, and wishes to help everyone around her in Gaza. Thanks to her hard work, dozens of families in need have been helped. She is truly a rock to her family, and a light in her community. Personally, she is a dear friend; we share many similarities, and one day I truly hope we can meet in person. However, due to the horrific and illegal occupation of Gaza, Bessan’s life has been severely impacted. She has been cruelly separated from her husband, who is currently in the UK, who she misses and loves dearly. Her home was destroyed, and life became incredibly hard. Her mother suffers from medical issues, and Bessan’s health has been impacted as well. All of Gaza’s infrastructure has either been damaged or completely destroyed - this has left the streets unclean, has made safe housing and food extremely expensive, and made medical costs high. Considering this, I am opening a separate fundraiser to collect funds for Bessan’s evacuation from Gaza. Currently, since the economy in Gaza has been shattered, prices continue to stay high or grow. It’s difficult to determine which funds from her regular fundraiser should be used for her evacuation, rather than supporting her own family’s needs. The estimated cost of evacuating an adult from Gaza is around $12,000 USD. The cost is extremely high, since the borders of Gaza continue to be under strict restriction, and the ways in which you can cross the borders are extremely limited. Some travel agencies have been able to coordinate evacuations with the occupation, but the prices they charge are virtually unattainable for Palestinians in Gaza. The goal of this fundraiser is $10,000; $3,000 of the amount was raised for her by her husband, $9,000 is the remaining amount for Bessan’s travel costs, $1,000 is the estimated cost of fees for this amount - GoFundMe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per donation. Additionally, my bank charges $45 per international wire. Transfers will be made via international bank wire from my account (Bank of America) to Bessan’s account (Bank of Palestine; physical branches in Gaza has been destroyed, but electronic banking has remained available, since the bank also operates in the West Bank.) If you have any questions, please email me at watermelondove (g-✉︎ address) or send me a message on TikTok @watermelondove — I’m happy to send receipts or any more clarifying information! Bessan would also be happy to talk to you personally, and I can send her WhatsApp number by request. Thank you for reading her story. Please help Bessan escape Gaza, reunite with her husband, and finally have the chance to live her life freely and happily. She wants to continue her education, build a bright future for herself, and be with the one she loves — please, help Bessan live the life that was taken from her by the occupation. Every single contribution is extremely appreciated, and no amount is too little. If all of us give a little, we can give an incredible chance to Bessan. ㅤ♡