Help evacuate the Eljamala family from Gaza

Hello, my name is Rasha Ramadan, I am a British Citizen residing in Glasgow. I am fundraising on behalf of my family (on my mother's side) who are trapped in Gaza.

This appeal is a last resort to rescue my family from Gaza to Egypt. We hoped and prayed that it would not come to this as we longed for an immediate ceasefire that would allow them to return to their homes and begin the rebuild. Since early October they have been evacuating from one place to another and currently are staying in Rafah, all living together. Every day we pray they survive another night of bombardment.

For the last 4 months, we have been supporting our family by directly transferring money to pay for food, medicines and anything they needed.

About my family:

My immediate family on my mother's side is made up of 13 members and this includes: my uncle (Hossam), his wife (Rolla), his grown up children are Hala (18 years old), Rahaf ( 19 years old) and Osama (21 years Old). My other uncle, his wife (Sahar) and their grown up children - Mohammad (34 years old), Areej (32 years old), and Ahmad (28 years). Areej is married to Bassem and have two young girls (Zain who is 5 and Leen who is 2 years old). My family are hardworking people who have achieved success in their professional lives. It is with a deep sorrow that they have been forced to leave their homes that they devoted their entire lives to build including my grandparents before them.

I want to share with you Areej's story of which I have translated it on her behalf:

"Hello, I am Areej, 32 years old, and this is my family. My husband, Bassem, and our two daughters, Zain, 5 and Leen, 2. We used to live a beautiful life in our warm home in Gaza City. Like any family in the world, we spent special times with each other in our home. Our daughter Zain had started kindergarten in September, which is also the month of her birthday and Leen too, we celebrated their birthday in kindergarten with the rest of their new friends. We added this as a special day to our memories like many other beautiful memories, and after less than a month passed, the nightmare came that changed our lives and turned them upside down. On October 7, 2023, the first day of the Gaza war, and from the first day, the barbaric bombing began everywhere, which increased day by day, and the nightmare began. Electricity was cut off from the beginning. A place where, after one week of fear, terror, and intense bombing, we were asked to leave our homes and our city and move to other governorates on the basis that they were safe areas. We moved in the hope of returning after a few days or even weeks, and we only carried with us our important papers, our mobile phone, and only a few items of clothing for each person. We left behind everything we owned, like every family from Gaza city did. We left and went to stay at my husband’s brother’s house. The truth was that there was no return. There is no safe place, so there was bombing in all the governorates to which we moved, and I lost my friends in the areas that were said to be safe, and the series of suffering was long, beginning with the lack of electricity and the gas outage. We started baking bread in clay ovens that we ignite by burning plastic and cardboard materials. Water was cut off and we began to struggle to obtain it. We began to drink contaminated water due to the lack of filtration and sterilization devices, and we suffered from diseases, especially my daughters with stomach pains. Medicines were quickly cut off from pharmacies, so we could not find a cure for them. Food began to gradually decrease from the market until many types became completely non-existent and we began to live on canned food and prices began to gradually rise insanely on the types available, especially baby supplies from Pampers and infant formula.

We moved from my husband’s brother’s house to my father’s friend’s house in the south of the Gaza Strip in the city of Rafah. We were better off than others, as most of them live in tents here because there are no empty houses for rent. Then we moved one more time in which as we are fortunate enough to find a small house for rent opposite the seashore. We look onto the sea and the border fence of Egypt. It has an asbestos roof, and 21 of our relatives live in it. During the hours of rain, rain falls on us from asbestos holes everywhere in the house. Our area is far from the market, so most of our needs are not available. My husband or brother walk long distances to provide for our needs. Now, after 4 months of suffering, my husband and I decided that we should leave Gaza for our daughters, which we would never have wished to leave if it were not for the circumstances."

The home shared by 23 family members in Rafah.

I will share with you Hala's story (my young cousin):

From the left - aunty Rolla, Osama, Hala, Uncle Hossam and Rahaf.

"I'm Hala and I'm 18 years old and I used to live with my parents and two siblings. I finished my secondary school last year and I achieved the highest score in the whole of Gaza with 99.5%. I had a dream of studying Computer Science but after my first month at University the war started and my dreams have been destroyed and my siblings dreams also. My brother Osama (21), and was due to graduate this year and my sister Rahaf (19) finished her first year in English translation but now that our Universities are all demolished by the Occupation's missile attacks, it will prevent us from continuing our studies like any other human elsewhere in the World."

Hala , in the middle, receiving the award for the highest grade attained across all of Gaza. To the left is my Uncle Hossam and his wife Rolla.

Hala and her brother Osama.

Here's a Link of a local online news of Hala's achievement Masdar News Network

Hala's story continued:

"Today, having been forcibly displaced twice from Gaza city to Khan Younis to finally Rafah city. We are living in a house that consists of 3 rooms and 1 bathroom. We are 5 families that make up 23 members. This small home is on the beach shore and there are sewage pipes that flow into the sea so the smell is unbearable here. Additionally, as we are on the shoreline we are exposed to the elements and it is extremely cold and we don't have winter clothes. We are mainly surviving on canned foods, unfortunately as my father is diabetic and hypertensive these canned foods are not suitable for his health conditions plus to add to that his medicine is extremely difficult to attain. My mother has herniated disc in her neck which is worse due to sleeping on the floor with no pillows and a hard surface.

We are now at a stage in which we want to leave Gaza and live in a place where we are not afraid of missiles and dying every minute."

Expenses I wish to raise money for:

Hala company have an official process to coordinate people to leave Gaza. It is a well-connected private Egyptian company that offers Gazans (at a very high cost) a coordinated passage. They have an office in Cairo so we will make the arrangements directly with them.

11 Adult payments to Hala company = $5000 x 11 = $55,000

2 Child payments to Hala company = $2500 x 2 = $5000

Total to Hala company = $60,000 = £47,611

The remaining costs raised will go towards securing accommodation in Egypt.

Please note: A transaction fee of 2.9% + 25p is automatically deducted from each donation for personal fundraisers.

If the war is put to an end or evacuation becomes impossible or not practical for some or all my family members for any reason, all your funds will support my family to live a dignified life. Currently, the Occupation Forces are not allowing Gazans to return North and it is not known if they ever will.

There are a number of scenarios if my family are unable to evacuate:-

Areej's flat damaged due to Occupation Forces entered.

Photo of flat damage

View from Areej's livingroom in Gaza showing the severity of the damage in the area.

The Gaza situation is frightening and beyond comprehension. Your support is incredibly valuable to my family and me. Please consider donating and spreading the word about our campaign. I'm beyond grateful for all your help.

Love,

Rasha