Let's Help May To Save Her Family From Genocide

My name is Arwa Eid, I grew up in Gaza, which has never seen a single safe day. I fled to Europe two years ago in search of a safe life, and now my only wish is my sister May and her children to be safe with peace. I find myself here, desperate and saddened by what they are going through. I also feel, like all expatriates, the survivor's guilt, while my sister and her family face death every moment, literally every moment.

May, the brave young woman, who found herself an orphan at the age of two and struggled with all her might to complete her education and achieve her dreams. She lives a very beautiful love story with her partner Yasser, and they had two adorable children, Saleh and Mustafa. Saleh is 4 years old, where he has forgotten what his favorite candy tastes like, and asks during a call, "Is there food outside? Is there candy?" He thinks that life has stopped in the whole world, not just in Gaza. He cries day and night to return to their home, to his warm room, unaware that their home has been destroyed, even his grandfather's house, which he used to love visiting every weekend has been destroyed.

Mustafa, who is not two years yet, he has never heard the sound of birds, but knows very well the sound of rockets and warplanes, doesn't know the smell of cake but knows the smell of gunpowder and the smoke of fire. They are victims of war, living in a world that knows only the sound of rockets, bombs, and the smell of death.

May fears that her children will face orphanhood, as she knows its true meaning, and perhaps the greatest fear is losing her young children as she lost her father when she was a child. It is the hardest feeling imaginable for a mother to fear losing her children.

May has always strived to provide shelter for her innocent children. Less than a year ago, she borrowed a large sum of money from the bank to buy her dream home in Gaza, a place that could be a safe haven for her small family. But because of the brutal war, this home turned into rubble, into a graveyard for her dreams, her family's dreams, and now they have been displaced since October 12, 2023, to one of the most crowded areas, Deir al-Balah.

This house was the dream of May and Yasser. They borrowed a sum of money to start building it. They couldn't live in the house for more than 5 months until it was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, knowing that they were civilians and there was no justification for it. Yasser and May both participated in every step of building this house. Now, all these dreams that came true have been shattered and destroyed. Trying to stay alive is the goal now. Yasser is extremely sad, having lost nearly 650 books from his library he was building at home.

I couldn’t get their voice out of my head when I called to check on them on October the 10th 2023, before evacuating to Deir AL-Balah. They had fled their home at dawn and sought refuge in Al-Quds Hospital for safety. How Saleh and Mustafa screamed in fear and terror from the intensity of the bombing in their area, in the western Gaza neighborhood of Tal al-Hawa, the most comfortable and upscale area in Gaza.

Fear grips her body and heart. She is afraid to leave the house, afraid of losing her children again. She lives with them every moment as if they were the last, especially when she and her eldest child, Saleh, got sick with fever in the absence of medication.

You can’t imagine how hard it is to hear your sister saying that she’s afraid of losing her children. At that moment, all you can do is exert effort to save her and her family and try to throw her a lifeline.

The only lifeline for May and her children and husband is to travel and escape from the hell of genocide, but this lifeline has a price, $40,000 is the cost of leaving Gaza alone, unfortunately, where war traders proliferate, and the rest of the amount to ensure safe arrival and stability to start a new life more safely, for the sake of humanity, values, and justice.

Saleh had a cat named "Bibo". They lost him during the waves of displacement after a nearby bombing. It seems that Bibo couldn't bear the fear and fled to a safe haven and never returned. I wonder if he's still alive? I wonder if whoever finds him can provide him with food and water? Since then, Saleh keeps repeating, "I want Bibo."

Now, May and her children must leave as soon as possible and find a safe place to live. With your donation, we can help them escape the hell of war and build a new, fair life in a safe place away from pain and fear. We are here now, we need our collective efforts to provide safety and hope for this devastated family