Help Us Pick Up the Pieces: Gaza Relief Fundraising Request

I’ve tried to write these words countless times; constantly shuffling, constantly delaying. It’s seeped into every aspect of my life; tasks take an eternity to complete, food no longer has a taste.

I distinctly remember the first time I had met my aunt Hana; her voice reached my ears far before I ever saw her. The glint in her glasses shined like a star in the night sky; her bellowing laugh elicited warmth and tenderness. Through her, I saw the embodiment of the Palestinian spirit: a strong woman who brought feelings of safety and security to anyone who had met her.

Everything from that time, from the beauty and intricacy of her home and bookshelves to the calmness of the shore as we skirted down its walkways, is gone. As a mother of five, she has dealt with the brunt of raising children in the midst of an intense war; her children have noted, on more than one occasion, that all hope has been lost. Her son, once a promising young star in the Al-Ahly Nation Club with aspirations to become the next Messi or Ronaldo, has, in his words, “lost the reign to his dream.”

Hana has always been this force for all of our family, and my family and everyone else have always stated this.

There’s too much loss to recover simply through monetary means. Since October 7th, our communication has been slim, with tens of extended family members murdered.

Every day, there is the worry that she will die without us by her side; another sacrifice to the cold and heartless toll of war. She never engaged in politics; she was simply a mother living out her life in the best way she knew how. And for that, she has lost everything she ever knew.

In Gaza, life has always been about survival; the future of many was just as bleak decades ago. But now, there’s nothing to go back to. The pieces of the puzzle have been scattered and annihilated.

When the world inevitably forgets about the conflict, and my family, whether stranded in the desert of Sinai or thrown away to some dilapidated curb as nothing more than vermin, is left to fend for themselves, there will be no safety net.

This GoFundMe will never cover the full extent of what’s necessary; there’s too many family members back home to get them all out. Rather, it’s an investment in the future that they do survive; a miraculous hope that, despite bombings close enough for their eardrums to shatter, they find a way to keep living.

Please help us prepare for a reality where they live. Please help us pick up the pieces of the life they once had. Please help us feel a little less useless in the most difficult periods in our lives.

Even if you cannot donate, sharing this fundraiser and bringing more attention to it would be a monumental help.

For this fundraiser, to comply with GoFundMe standards, I will clearly state my identity and goals. My name is Yousef Abu-Salah, and I will be fundraising money for my family members in Gaza, specifically my aunt Hana's family among a myriad of others. I will personally send the funds to my aunt to help with rebuilding her life, whether providing funds to her now or putting it aside for once the conflict (hopefully) ends.

Thank you.