Help Reem and her family in Gaza

Reem is a Front-End Developer who graduated at the beginning of 2023 from Engineering College. In terms of her career, everything was going well for her as she was doing what she had always dreamed of. This changed from October 7th and she lost everything she had.

Fearing for her and her family’s lives, and having already lost 20 family members, Reem is trying to get enough money for the family to cross over to Egypt.

Here is Reem’s story, in her own words:

"Since October 7th, I can see the fear and concern on my family eyes, I just want to keep them safe! I am trying to protect my family from dying. So far, I have lost my grandmother, my Aunt, my Uncle, his wife and their little child in this war during the bombing of my neighbourhood. In total I have lost 20 people from my family, and I don’t want to lose anymore.

I am trying to help my brothers Ahmed and Mohammed (19 and 16 years old), my sister Mariam and my amazing mom Darin! My brothers have now lived through 6 wars and are still only children. In every war we used to sleep near each other so that we would die together if anything happened. At the beginning of the war we did the same, but now I barely seem them.

This is because we went to Rafah City as they forced us to leave our beautiful home. My brothers are now so tired because they have to stand to get water, unclean water to be more specific. They work all day to help us survive, nobody can understand what we are living through.

Now I will talk about my family:

My little brother Mohammed used to play football and videogames. He was a powerful kid, laughing all the time and had lots of friends. He would help anybody on the streets. Since the war started, he has become a different person. He is silent all of the time and now spends all of his time working to get us water and trying to get us something to eat. As well as this, Mohammed got an Hepatitis A infection during our displacement. I can’t bear to see him as afraid as this much longer!

My brother Ahmed is in his second year of college. Ahmed is curious about the history of the world; he can tell you stories about any historical event for more than 3 hours without feeling bored. Ahmed is now also quiet. His only focus is doing anything to keep us safety and healthy. But no-one can be healthy now, there is no good food and no clean water!

My sister Marian is in her graduation year. She is a first-class student and loves to read. She would read all of the time and also enjoys writing. I don’t have the words to describe how my sister is now. She is not in a good place. She hardly eats and is crying all of the time.

My Mum Darin has been working as a nurse for about 24 years. She always helps people in the hospital with her beautiful smile. She is always so eager to do anything to help our neighbours and our family members. She makes good food with love. Now, she always cries. She has lost her mother, her brother and his wife and their 1-year-old child. She will do anything to save us, to keep our smiles while she is crying. My mother is our hero in this war, I want to save her as she does for us.

We're embarking on a journey toward new dreams and life, driven by faith and hope. The daunting cost of relocating 5 members of the Shamia family, including my mum (Dareen Shamia), brothers (Mariam, Ahmed, and Mohammed), and me Reem Shamia) will cost $5000 per person. This campaign will cover passport fees $500, various border fees $5,000, border and transportation costs $150-$200, and initial settling-in expenses in Egypt.

Your donation is appreciated and can save our lives!"

I met Reem whilst she was studying with Gaza Sky Geeks in 2021. I gave her online English classes. We have stayed in contact since then and have continued exchanging messages since Israel’s genocidal destruction of Gaza began in October. Every time I text Reem to ask her if she is ok, I fear for her life and the lives of her family.

Reem and her family were forced from their home to flee to Rafah City in December. Having been told by Israel to go to Rafah for safety, over 1 million Palestinians have made refuge in a city which, prior to October 7th, had a population of 280,000 people. Last week, Israel began bombarding Rafah, compelling Reem and her family to move again, this time to the home of a friend in Deir Albalah. They have had enough. Having lost 20 family members, Reem and her family want to get out of Gaza and go to Egypt. The cost to cross into Egypt is around $5,000 per person. Whilst I will receive the funds, I will then transfer them to Reem in Gaza.

We appreciate it is a tall order to get anywhere near this amount, but even small donations can help in the day-to-day survival of Reem and her family.