Help Hassan’s family escape genocide in Gaza

Hi, my name is Amelia Butler and I’m from Utah, USA. I have a friend, Hassan, in Gaza who has told me about his experiences with the ongoing bombardment and genocide. 

First of all, Hassan wants to express that he never wanted to have to ask for money, and he is extremely grateful to anyone was has helped and anyone who does help. He gives so many thanks and sends his love to all of you from Gaza.

Hassan and his family were living in Khuza’a village, Khan Yunis. They had been taking refuge in nearby schools and hospitals in order to try to stay in safe areas. They would go back to their house every once in a while to check on things and to grab some of their belongings, but one day they went back to their home to find it had been bombed along with other areas of their village. They fled south towards Rafah when the bombing continued escalating south and warning letters were dropped from the sky.

They lost all of their belongings including most of their money, clothes and sentimental items like old family pictures. They were all left with nothing besides what a few backpacks could hold. 

When they arrived to Rafah, they were no longer among their friends and neighbors. So they had to find other places to stay, they’ve stayed in warehouses, schools and hospitals. Although they had been able to stay in hospitals previously, they have become too full to stay in anymore. 

Some of Hassan’s family have been able to get through Rafah border but they have had to pay a total of $10,000 for just a few of the family members, and now the price to cross has only raised and the requirements to pass have become harsher. 

The situation in Rafah is dire as many more people seek refuge there, and the border gets more expensive every time he goes there to ask how much it will be to cross, sometimes the price is $4,000 for one person and has gone as high as $10,000 per person.

The border is very busy and there are so many people trying to get through, but the people in control of the border are extorting the Palestinians who are just trying to reach safety. 

The members of Hassan’s family who have been able to go through Rafah border have reached Ismailia, Egypt. Now, they are again staying in a hospital. They have no belongings, very little money, and are unsure of what the next steps of life will be. 

They want to have a home and live a normal life. 

Hassan is not happy to be asking for money, but now they have run out of options and are simply trying to survive. 

They need a home, and whether it will be through building a new home or buying a new home, they need help. 

Hassan and his remaining family are struggling to survive in Gaza, and there are no safe places. They are under the immediate threat of the bombardments as well as the threat of starvation, infections, illnesses and freezing, since it’s winter. 

Hassan is eager for him and his family to survive and help others around him. He will use any money he receives to help provide immediate aid and necessities to his family and to the other refugees and neighbors. 

The majority of the money will be used to help the remainders of his family and himself to cross through Rafah border and to build or buy a new home for his family. 

Here, Hassan has written his message to the world, hoping for someone to hear it.

“Hello, I am Hassan. I am 20 years old. From Gaza, specifically Khan Yunis, Khuza'a village. These are my photos when I was 10 years old during the 2014 war. Our simple house was destroyed at that time. My heart was so broken at that time. When I was supposed to be playing with my friends, I was inspecting our destroyed house, bullets scattered and decomposing bodies all around me.

 I dreamed of living my life and having my family take me to the city.

Games or something like that, now there is a war in 2023, and our house has also been destroyed, and also at the time when we were all supposed to be living in my youth, we have never lived our lives. They killed our dreams, they killed our memories. They killed our house. Communicating our voices.

May our voice reach all the world. We die, we are abandoned, we are banished from existence. Our children are being killed. All our lives are gone. This is how in wars we hope that you will always be with us and support us”