Help Rezeq Family Evacuate to Safety and Reunite

Dear friends,

My name is Mohammed Rezeq, and my three younger siblings are stuck in the war-torn Gaza Strip, separated from my parents and the rest of the family. I need your help urgently to get them out before it is too late.

There is nowhere safe in Gaza, and unfortunately, my family is one of those that lost loved ones; two of our cousins and many of our neighbors and close friends. Our family homes were demolished and became uninhabitable with no access to a safe shelter or the most basic needs.

What once was the family house my mom grew up in and home to over 10 families.

My three siblings were separated at the beginning of the war. My 2 brothers, Ahmed, 29, and Abdallah, 24, are sharing a small house with 6 families of our relatives who lost their homes. My sister Saja, 17, is staying with my uncle’s some miles away. The once simple happy family is now one of many broken families in Gaza caught in the crossfire, struggling to find food, clean water and with no power or a guarantee of tomorrow.

This is a plea to help Ahmed, Abdallah, and Saja evacuate safely and be reunited with my mom and two brothers in Egypt and give them a chance to carve their own paths and begin a life where they can contribute to society.

Saja and Abdallah

I reached out to the US embassy and local offices in Jerusalem and Cairo, and they are unable to help, since my siblings are not foreign nationals. Over the past five months, I have exhausted all the options, and the only way for my family to be safe and reunited is to evacuate Gaza through Egypt. However, there is an astronomical fee of 5,000 USD, per person. On top of that, the refugee program requires 10,000 USD to help them resettle once they leave Gaza until they find jobs and can stand on their own two feet. Details at the end of how your support will help get my family to Safety.

Ahmed finished 2 years of college in the US before completing his bachelor’s degree in business administration at the American University in Cairo, with plans of getting his master’s degree. Abdallah graduated a year ago with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and he was in the process of obtaining his certified public accountant (CPA) license. Both Ahmed and Abdallah had to go back to Gaza for lack of employment chances in Egypt. Saja is a senior in high school, who was set to graduate this coming June and go to college. As the war wages on, all their plans are put on hold.

Ahmed’s graduation with Abdallah

We come from a large, humble family; six boys, and two girls. My parents are well-educated, but life was never kind to them in Gaza. My dad worked as a blacksmith most his life, after he could not afford tuition to pay for a seat in medical school where he was accepted. My mom took care of us, emphasizing the importance of education, as it is the only way forward. Her college education in literature came to an abrupt end with one year left to graduate due to the political instability in the West Bank at the time, and she returned to Gaza. My parents could not afford sending us to college, so if we wanted a better future, we had to be top of class to qualify for academic based scholarships, and so we were. I have a brother in nursing school in Belgium, and a sister who just graduated college in Turkey with a bachelor’s degree in political science. My two youngest brothers are currently on partial scholarships in medical school in Egypt. My mom traveled with my youngest brother to help him move into his new life, days before October 7th, 2023, when the war began. My dad is abroad trying to help with the family as much as he can with limited employment opportunities.

I came to the US in 2011, with the hope of establishing myself to be able to support my family. My journey began in Wasatch Academy, an international boarding school in Utah, where I completed my senior year of high school on a full scholarship. I still needed to get into college with full funding, or I was heading home. I got a full academic scholarship, where I graduated from University of Richmond with a BA in biochemistry and molecular biology. I have since worked multiple jobs, got married, and have two kids, and put three of my brothers through college. I was finally granted my US citizenship in 2022. I have been working to bring my family here since. However, it is a complicated, lengthy process that could take 10 years for my siblings; time they do not have. Instead, I am looking to bring them in sooner as refugees due to the war in Gaza.

First time with my family after 9 years, and their first time meeting my wife (who was pregnant with my son) and daughter in 2022. My mom to the right next to me.

As the war wages on, there is a real chance catastrophe strikes our family, and the only way out to safety through Egypt may not be an option for much longer. Knowing there is a chance my family can still get to safety, I have to ask for your help, which will allow my three siblings to evacuate safely and be reunited with my mother and two brothers in Egypt, before we could all hopefully be together again as one family, very soon…

How your support will help get my family to safety:

Your support will reshape the future of my family, and you sharing the story is our biggest hope.