Help Mayar and her 5 younger siblings evacuate to safety

My name is Mayar and I am 23 years old. Before the war, I was the only breadwinner for my parents and 5 siblings. I was a college senior studying software engineering while also working full-time. But now I have lost my job, my income, my school, and we were forced to flee our home in Rafah. (This is not even the first time the occupation has devastated my life. When I was an infant, the IDF shot my biological father in the head at random, while he tended to his shop. I have no memories of him, just some old photos.)

Our apartment was shelled during the Rafah invasion but we managed to make it out alive. Now all 8 of us share a small tent.

Today the 8 of us are living in a tent in Khanyounis with little safety or privacy. Recently, a thief came into our tent at 4am while everyone was sleeping and ran out when I started screaming. The heat in the tent is unbearable and we spend every day exhausted just trying to meet our basic needs.

Before the war, my family never imagined leaving Gaza. My sister Malak (19) had just started her first semester at university, and Dalia (17) just entered her senior year of high school (known as Tawjihi, a very important time for Palestinian students). But it is our 3 youngest siblings that I am most concerned about. The triplets Lana, Mira, and Ahmed (11) are so young and vulnerable. I am afraid that their development and education are being damaged beyond repair.

July 2024 in our tent: Dalia, our mom Ahlam, me, Malak, the triplets Ahmed, Mira, and Lana, and Toto (a kitten we rescued during the war).

Now we feel we have no choice but to evacuate Gaza as soon as the border opens again. It is the only way my siblings and I will be able to continue our education and seek a better future. Luckily, Egyptian universities have already agreed to allow Palestinian refugees to enroll, and our embassy is currently working with the government of Egypt to establish schools for displaced youth. We also have friends and family who have already evacuated to Cairo who will help us adjust to our lives in a new country.

The occupation has destroyed every university in the Gaza Strip, including mine, Al-Azhar.

Since I have had no income since the war began, the only way for my family to secure safe passage out of Gaza is with your help. It is humiliating to ask for this so much help but the current situation has left us with no choice but to rely on the generosity and kind-heartedness of strangers. We have been very lucky that a friend in the US has already raised the first $22,000 of the total $53,800 that we need. Even the smallest donation will help us toward the rest of our goal.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Mayar

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Our estimated costs include expenses once we get to Cairo, since we will need to purchase all our basic necessities again and find an apartment while I search for a new job.

TOTAL: $53,800

*These were the Hala fees before the Rafah crossing was closed. We will not know how much evacuation will cost once the border reopens, but it could be more.

Toto exploring the roof of our new tent.

At the beach and at work before the war.