Get 5 year old Marlin out of Gaza and back to Mum

Dear friends,

Thank you so much to all of you who have supported me so far in raising the funds for my application to the Home Office to bring my daughter Marlin from Gaza to join me in the UK.

I have submitted the application with your help. However, time is now running very short. If I can’t get Marlin out of Gaza before the end of the month (when my visa changes from student to graduate) I won’t be able to bring her to the UK.

To get her here in time, Marlin and my mother now need to get urgent permission to cross the border into Egypt. Unfortunately, this is a considerable expense – currently up to $10,000 per person, and the amount is increasing daily.

I’m sure you are already aware of the devastating situation in Gaza, with more than 30,000 dead or missing and 1.7 million people displaced into a situation of hunger, cold and disease.

Marlin and her grandmother are now in a shelter in Rafah. Our home in Gaza City has been bombed and completely destroyed. I speak to Marlin on the phone and she talks about how she misses school and play and having good food to eat. She says she dreams about me crying. She asks me if I wake up from the noise of the bombs like she does.

I would give anything to be with my daughter. I would be so grateful if you would consider helping once again.

Israa - 15/01/24

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My name is Israa, from Gaza. A year ago I got the opportunity of a lifetime to take up a Master's scholarship at the University of St Andrews. But it meant doing the hardest thing I ever had to do - leaving my five year old daughter with her grandmother for a year. But then the war happened. Marlin and my family are now trapped alongside more than a million others in southern Gaza, with food and water running out, victims of Israel's genocidal campaign. Bringing Marlin over is now a matter of urgency. I've found an amazing lawyer who is prepared to help, but still need £1500 to pay for an expedited visa. This could literally save my little girl's life. Can you help?

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More information about the campaign:

Who am I and how do I know Israa?

I'm Gilbert Ramsay, a friend of Israa's. I'm also a former trustee of STEPS, the charity which provided Israa's scholarship to study at the University of St Andrews.

Who is Israa?

Israa Aljaish is a recent Master's graduate of the University of St Andrews via a STEPS scholarship. She is currently working at the University in the Department of Anthropology.

What will we do with the money?

As stated above, funding will be used

1. To pay visa costs for Israa's daughter Marlin to leave Gaza and join her mother in the UK.

2. To pay travel costs to to bring her over and help get her settled.

3. To support Marlin and her grandmother in Gaza.