Lebanon Emergency Shelter and Humanitarian Relief

My name is Tarek Zeidan, a queer activist from Beirut. I am raising emergency funds for extremely vulnerable members of the queer community in Lebanon who live in areas of the country experiencing heavy bombardment and are not able to find safe shelter and basic needs during the ongoing crisis.

The monstrous Israeli aggression and carnage against Lebanon in the past 24 hours has killed innocent unarmed civilians has caused massive amounts of internal displacement as people are fleeing their homes to escape the bombings. Almost 500 people have died within a single day, and there is no sight to any ceasefire or diplomatic solution.

While it is contradictory to be focusing on any specific community, vulnerable or otherwise, at a time when entire populations in Lebanon and Gaza are being indiscriminately eliminated - the bitter reality is that humanitarian aid and services will not be available to the majority of queer people in need, especially trans* and non-conforming members of our community. Many humanitarian organizations are not capable or even willing to help, and are now even less likely to given that it is a crisis response. We learned this hard lesson during the pandemic and in the aftermath of the 2020 Beirut Port explosion and since then little has changed.

All funds will go directly to 15 individuals who have contacted me and are most urgently in need of shelter. For reasons of safety and anonymity I cannot reveal their names here as suggested by the fundraising platform. I am raising 500 USD per person per month for 2 months to help cover their expenses. Funds will cover their rent in safer areas, medication especially for individuals with chronic illnesses, and basic needs like food, water, and transportation. I will be transferring the funds to individuals directly to hasten their arrival by using international money transfer services and not through a charity or organization.

Please share this with as many people as you can. Please also consider creating your own fundraisers for people who desperately need it.