Help the family of Samr with food and medicine and escape

Hi, my name is Stuart Anderson. I am 66 years old, born in New Zealand with Australian citizenship. I live in Sydney Australia and work in the Security industry. I have come into contact with Zakia Abu Khadra, Palestinian, through Facebook.

We have a mutual interest in fabrics, me in making designs for printing on fabric and Zakia as a garment maker.

She lives with her family, a husband and 6 children in Gaza. She wrote to me, "I am a garment maker and have a lot of experience in the field. I wish to leave Gaza so I can work."

I verified her identity and her location. She told me more about her situation.

"With my husband Samer I have 6 children. Shahad, Nimat, Tasneem, Amjad, Mohammed and Abdullah. We are exposed to continuous bombing, a war of hunger and killing that has not been witnessed in any region in the world. Our situation is very bad. I need money to meet the needs of my young children. We are living in a great tragedy. Our home was destroyed and our lives were destroyed. We are currently living in a tent. We are not able to provide for ourselves because everything is expensive to us and we have no source of income. We live every day in fear, hunger and terror. Please help me and save my young children".

"Everyone here is exploiting humanitarian aid for trade. They steal aid and sell it on the black market at very high prices. Do you know how much a kilo of flour costs now?"

"I dream of the day I get out of Gaza,

It's hell".

Zakia asked if the Israeli's would help her family;

"There are also families who have left Gaza to various European and international destinations in coordination with Israeli embassies and consulates around the world. Please contact the Israeli embassy in your country. I am sure they will contribute to the exit."

I am not sure about how safe it would be to rely on the Israeli government for an exit out of Gaza. I thought it more appropriate to contact my own government and ask if they can assist.

I have contacted my MP to get advice on possible visas, I received a reply referring me to website https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-support/hamas-israel-conflict

Here's the relevant part.

"Support for exiting Gaza

The Australian Department of Home Affairs has the responsibility for managing visa applications.

Exiting Gaza is difficult and unpredictable.

The ability of the Australian Government to help is extremely limited.

The Gaza border is controlled by other authorities who assess requests to assist foreign nationals and immediate family members. Gaza border authorities have put tight limits on who can cross.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) must work within the capacity of the system established for foreign nationals seeking to leave. DFAT is prioritising assistance to Australian citizens, permanent residents and immediate family.

Immediate family members are a spouse/de facto partner, parent and minor (under 18) children of Australian citizens or permanent residents.​

Meeting requirements for an Australian visa does not mean an entitlement to consular assistance. It also does not mean that other authorities will automatically allow people to leave where they are.​​

Making a visa application to travel to Australia

If you wish to apply for a visa to travel to Australia you should consider options relevant to your circumstances. This includes urgency of travel. For information about visas, you can Explore visa options.​

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-finder/refugee-and-humanitarian"

The 2 visas listed are Refugee visa and Global Special Humanitarian visa.

The government website states that "The decision process for both could take many months, or even years. The number of applications we receive for resettlement each year is far greater than available visas."

The family would also need a migration agent or lawyer to act for them.

I feel quite sad for this family, they have done nothing wrong and they are in a war zone in great danger, their home and lives have been destroyed, they are scrambling to get whatever food they can, some of them require medical treatment.

We should do whatever we can to keep them alive and get them out safely to a better place.

I promised to set up this gofundme, so her family can eat, try to secure needed medicine and get safe passage out of Gaza.

Please help Zakia and her family.

Stuart Anderson