Help Artist Malak & Her Five Sisters Evacuate Gaza!

Hi All,

My name is Abdulrahman Abou Dahesh, I am Palestinian from Lebanon and currently studying in the United States. My friend, Malak, alongside all her family members, is trying to raise funds to evacuate from Gaza into Egypt through Rafah Crossing. Due to her geographical location and restrictions from GoFundMe, I am stepping in to help launch this campaign. All donations will go directly to Malak and her family. Please support us if you can; any amount, however small, can be one step closer to safety.

Below is the story of Malak AbdelAl:

Hello everyone! I’m Malak, A 22-year-old Palestinian artist from Gaza, the eldest of my 6 sisters. I'm writing this plea in hopes of saving my family from the unfathomable horrors that have been happening in Gaza since October.

Before the war, I was a full-time student and a graphic designer. I learned Graphic Design as a means of supporting my studies and my family, as my father and I are the only ones who are capable of working and supporting the household. It was also my hobby and something I enjoyed doing. Throughout the years, I became more and more experienced as a reliable graphic designer and video editor working with local and international clients as a freelancer. Also, many people were interested in learning about my strategies and operations, so I started providing courses in animation.

I was about to graduate soon, and my life would look like this: a full-time graphic designer in a decent company, and after working hours, I would go home and practice my painting hobby. My dream was to start my own animation company and provide work opportunities and projects for youth.

But now, my dream is to protect my family and do anything I can to guide them to safety - I can’t imagine my life without any of them.

When the war started, I kept trying to freelance and support my family especially when the prices of food and water increased exponentially; however, with the absence of electricity and internet, this became nearly unattainable, and communication with clients also became an impossible mission. Especially, on January 3rd, when we fled our house to my aunt in Deir Al Balah, where she hosted us for almost a month. However, when the house next to my aunt’s got bombed, we had no option but to go back to our house.

Now, we struggle to find food. Especially for my sister, who is one year old and doesn’t understand what is going on. She would not accept any type of food, as there are no yogurt, milk, juice, or even biscuits available in stock. We also struggle to find her baby diapers and sanitary pads, and when we do, they are being sold at unreasonable prices; this forces us to use pieces of clothing.

Another struggle we have is the psychological effect that has happened to my sisters, for instance, my sister Nora [12 years old] has been having nightmares and waking up screaming in the middle of the night, I can’t wrap my head around the mental damage that has happened to me and my younger sisters, and I don't know how I will erase all that bombing and death from their minds forever.

I keep all of my dreams hidden between my paintbrushes. Help me get out of here to keep my dreams alive before they take them away from me. Help me get out here to keep my family together before they take them away from me.

How Your Donations Will Be Distributed:

There is an opportunity for my family to leave Gaza and start a new life in Egypt. We need your help to support the process of evacuating us to Egypt, and from that point, we will do our best to support the family and create a new life for them.

- $2000 Transportation to the border.

- Abed AL Aziz AbdelAl (Father), 48-year-old: 5000$ to cross the border.

- Faten (Mother), 40-year-old: 5000$ to cross the border.

- Malak, 22-year-old: 5000$ to cross the border.

- Maryan, 19-year-old: 5000$ to cross the border.

- Maryam, 17-year-old: 5000$ to cross the border.

- Ghazal, 14-year-old: 2500$ to cross the border.

- Noora, 12-year-old: 2500$ to cross the border.

- Alma, 1 year old: 2500$ to cross the border.

- $4000 - four months living expenses in Egypt.

Total: $38500

No one wants to lose their family, which is why I’m asking for your help in raising the money to get us out of Gaza and to safety. We appreciate every donation and each effort to help.