help Gazan musician Khamis Abu Shaban's family

My name is Khamis Abu Shaban, I'm a guitarist living in Gaza city.

I'm also since 2011 administrator at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM). I have since 2007 been active in the music scene, playing more than a hundred concerts and gigs around Gaza city as well as in Europe and the UK.

I am happily married to my wife Doaa, and we have 3 little boys aged 5 years, 3 years and 7 months old. They lighten up our world.

During my career at the ESNCM I had the chance to also perform as a guitarist and bass-player with tens of enthusiastic and passionate musicians who learned music at the conservatory. I effected and was affected by each and every one of them, and produced some of the greatest music productions with them together in Gaza.

Besides my work at the music conservatory, I am the founder of Watar Band, with which I had the chance to play concerts in Europe and of course also in Gaza city.

The above was the bright side of my story, right before this devastating war which started on Gaza.

These last months everything changed: From being an active musician and active employee, I transformed into someone who is looking for safety for my family, fleeing from my home twice just for the safety of my wife, kids, my father and mother.

My youngest son's name is Shams meaning ‘Sun’. In March 2024 he is 7 months old. 5 of them he lived in war. And all the time I was in desperate search for milk, diapers, and medicine for him, the health system having completely collapsed. Does this little angel deserve this life? I do not think so.

Our home is located in Gaza city (they call it now ‘northern Gaza’), where we now face hunger, thirst, and above that we face bombing from the sky and ground. We face tanks invading our neighborhood, snipers hunting any moving persons or even animals. We face all of that. Still, we still have hope and dream of a better life, where we can raise our children safely, where I will not afraid for anything happening to my father and mother, where I will be able to provide them with medicine, food, water, and most importantly: safety.

I never thought of making this fundraiser campaign, but for the sake of my family I am ready to do anything.

The fund will be used to move my family somewhere safe, provide all necessities of life, and to start our journey from scratch, so we can build a better future for my beloved family.

Much love from my family and me, to all of you out there!

Thanks also to my dear friends Michèle Vanvlasselaer and Lukas Pairon of the npo Glazza (www.glazza.eu), who are making this GoFundMe-campaign possible for my family.

Khamis Abu Shaban, March 2024