Emergency Evacuation from Gaza-Maram's Family

Alessandra Von Burg is organizing this fundraiser.

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A group of friends of Maram are working together to evacuate Maram, her Mother Noor, and her brothers Walid and Hamed from Rafah, on the Gaza/Egypt border.

Maram's aunt Nawal is in Cairo and is ready to apply for the travel documents. They need $20,000, for 4 visas at $5,000 each, plus $5,000 for food, medicine, and basic living needs.

Here is Maram's story:

Hi. This is Maram, a 30-year-old ambitious female from Gaza. I finished my BA in English language and literature from the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). I am also a Fulbright Foreign Teaching Assistant (FLTA) alumna of Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Nights of thinking and hesitating about taking this step was a cycle that I lived in the last couple of months before taking the decision to raise this fundraiser to support my family’s escape from the ongoing annihilation.

I used to happily live with my 70-year-old mother and two brothers in Gaza City. October 7th was a catastrophic day for my family and me. The first week of the war was hell on earth as we had to endure continuous fire belts and cruel bombardments. The 13th of October was the day when we were forced to flee our beloved home in Gaza to the south. We did not know that that day would be the last time we would see our beloved home as we later found out that it had been demolished and flattened to the ground. Our memories and belongings were all gone, and now we have nothing to return to. We headed to the south and took shelter at Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis (currently besieged by war tanks and snipers). Our stay was not easy, especially for my old mother, due to the overcrowdedness and lack of electricity and clean water. We had to stay in a small room along with three other displaced families. Consequently, my mother’s health conditions deteriorated.

Three months passed and the situation was getting fiercer and scarier day by day till January 13th. On that day we had to leave for another place of refuge looking for safety due to harsh shelling and bombardments over the hospital itself and its surroundings. This time we went to Rafah and settled in a small tent along with another family–something I had never expected would happen. I used to ask my Syrian friend, who escaped the war in Syria, how her relatives could live in a tent, and now I am living the same thing.

Every day is a challenge for us trying to secure food, clean water and above all medicine for my mother. Medicines for chronic diseases have been out of stock for months now, and we are concerned about our mother’s health. Since our childhood, our mother has been the head of the household and the breadwinner for our family. She has been supporting us all. In addition, my two brothers are healthcare workers whose lives are on the line due to the risks they take every single day to save other people’s lives. Our apartment that we lost was the only thing for us in Gaza, and sadly it was gone in a blink of an eye.

We aim to secure 25,000 USD out of this campaign where the money will support four of us to secure travel documents to evacuate Gaza, plus basic needs, which are currently extremely expensive and rare, We need to evacuate and seek hope outside the big prison that is Gaza.

The money you will generously give will provide a glimmer of hope for a family who has lost everything they own. The coordination through Egypt costs 5000 USD per person. Thus, 20,000 USD will be only the cost to cross a mere border. Other expenses will be essential for starting over from scratch.

Any donation, no matter how small, will make a significant difference to the safety and wellbeing of my family. Please consider joining us on this journey to restore hope for this family's life. Your generosity and compassion will be instrumental in helping us overcome the challenges we are facing.

Let's come together and show that even in the face of adversity, our collective kindness and help can make a significant impact.

With gratitude,

Maram

This is a picture of Maram's apartment, and their current living situation (below).