Help Ahmed and Samar achieve their dreams away from war.

Hi, my name is Anna. I am in Australia. I am fundraising for Ahmad and his fiancée Samar who are suffering in Gaza.

My name is Ahmad Joher, a 24-year-old, Palestinian from Gaza. I have lived through four wars in the Gaza Strip, each one harder than the previous, but the latest war that began in 2023 has been the most devastating. In this war, I lost many of my friends and relatives, along with all the dreams and ambitions I had worked so hard to achieve.

After graduating from university two years ago, I attempted to travel abroad illegally in search of a better life. I went to Turkey, hoping to migrate to another country, but unfortunately, all my attempts failed. In 2021, I returned to Gaza, realizing that leaving was not an option. I decided to build an online business to secure my life and future. With the encouragement of my family and friends, I invested considerable time and money into the project. After two years of hard work, I proposed to my fiancée, Samar, a recent graduate from the English translation department at the Islamic University of Gaza. I was depending entirely on my business to support our future together.

However, just three months after our engagement, the last war in Gaza broke out, destroying everything I had built. My online project, which I had relied on to create a future for Samar and me, was completely destroyed, along with our dreams of starting a family and finding stability. I lost all my resources—energy, money, and possessions—during the war, and as the destruction continued, my future became uncertain and filled with fear.

Like anyone else, Samar and I had a life full of plans and dreams. I was passionate about my business, and Samar was eager to begin her career in translation. But the war disrupted everything. Samar lost her dream of working in her field because of the destruction in Gaza, and I lost my business, which had been my primary source of income.

On December 4, 2023, I had to say goodbye to Samar as my family and I were displaced to another city, fleeing the ongoing threats of bombing from the occupation forces. Soon after, Samar and her family were also displaced to the same city, but it was difficult for us to meet due to the long distances and dangerous roads.

My family and I were displaced from Khan Younis to Rafah in the south, where we stayed for five months. After this difficult period, I returned to my home, only to find it partially damaged by shrapnel and shelling. Samar’s family returned to their residential building, which had been bombed, destroying three floors entirely. They were forced to live on the ground floor after cleaning it from the effects of the bombing.

Although Samar and I were closer geographically after our return, our situation did not improve. The future we had once dreamed of now seemed distant and unclear. All our plans had been stopped by the war. We had planned to get married a few months after our engagement, but the war separated us for a year, halting not only our dreams but also our daily lives.

I made great efforts to arrange everything to leave Gaza with Samar and start a new life far from the destruction. However, just when our names were about to be announced for travel through the Rafah crossing, the border was closed, and we were back to square one. We are now stuck in Gaza with no progress in sight.

Samar and I still hope to marry soon, but the war and ongoing destruction make it impossible. The conflict forced us to cancel our wedding, and all the plans we had for the ceremony became impossible in these circumstances. The life we had dreamed of together has become nothing but a memory.

After a year of waiting and multiple attempts to achieve our dreams, we have lost all opportunities for the normal life we once aspired to. We are living in a constant nightmare, and we have reached a point where we have lost hope for the future. Everything seems uncertain and filled with fear.

Given this harsh reality, I have decided to try once again to leave Gaza in search of a new life filled with peace and safety, far from the wars. I now appeal to your conscience to help support Samar and me by contributing to the costs of leaving Gaza so that we can begin a new chapter in our lives, one free from destruction.

Your donations and support will enable us to leave Gaza and start the life we have long been dreaming of.