Give a hand in keeping us together alive in Gaza!

Hello, I'm Deema Dalloul,

When I introduce myself to others I always mention that I have never traveled, not even once. I loved my hometown with its squeezed houses and jammed markets. However, I planned to travel at 18, to see the world through my own eyes; unfortunately, some dreams are delayed for some reasons. I turned 20 years old last August - my wish is the same, to have my seat on any plane, to fly like kites but a bit higher.

Today all I care about is having a decent meal, I barely have some bread & rice and must be grateful, and I am. In light of all that is happening in Gaza, I'm lucky that my family and I are still alive, but we are still unsafe. Yesterday I saw the exact scenario of stampeding again. It appears that things only get worse over time.

Since it's our choices that show who we really are, not our abilities, I hereby can no longer wait until all my dreams are vanished. I will start by continuing my education abroad after all of Gaza's universities were demolished. I have already finished two years in business administration (so I have two years left) and started working as a digital marketer, but the war prevented me from making any progress. My sister also lost her seat to finish her master's degree in civil engineering, yet she was forced to spend university fees on food and water. İn addition, my eldest brother was seeking a job outside Gaza but due to the war, he couldn't finish the required papers. The three of us are willing to leave Gaza and work hard enough to rescue the rest of our nine-member family.

We are not trying to trade on others' mercy, but we are forced to ask for a hand while debt is our only way to survive in this bloody hunger war. Each one of my family members has his own story of struggle I can talk non-stop for days but feelings are not to be told. One day I was exactly like you, reading about others' struggles and attempting to help in any possible way, but today I have become the stuff of reading. It might not make a huge difference if I got stuck in Gaza, but it would make a difference if I had another shot at living again.

The money we would receive would be of a great deal in providing the bare minimum of food and water essentials as we are in the northern part of Gaza as well as hopefully getting the three of us outside Gaza to be able to pursue the process of getting the family to a safe place. If you need any further details to prove how miserable life has become we can send you some diaries to read, videos need good WiFi and it's not available currently.

I can't water my seeds of hope if I had no water originally. Home is not meant to be a dangerous place, where we all hide and wait for our turn. Home is where my family and I live peacefully together.

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My name is Elizabeth and I am a friend of Deema's located in the US. I am helping to share her and her family's story and act as the GoFundMe sponsor for her to fundraise as there are restrictions on where GoFundMe's can be opened. 100% of the proceeds will be sent to Deema and her family to help them rebuild their lives.