Save Our Lives: help my family to evacuate Gaza

My name is Mervat, and I am a computer engineer from Gaza. I am writing to you in desperate hope for help. My family and I—my mother, two sisters Shaza and Shahed (both university students), my brother’s wife, and my three young nieces, Salam, Sham, and Fatima—have lost everything. Our home, our jobs, our dreams, and even several family members have been taken from us by this relentless war.

We are living through unimaginable pain. We’ve been displaced multiple times as the bombardment continues. Each time, we think we’ve found safety, but it’s short-lived. Most recently, my brother’s wife’s rented home was destroyed, leaving her and her three little girls homeless.

My oldest brother had built a new home, but it was reduced to rubble just last December, and the $65,000 it cost was not even fully paid off. Now, we find ourselves—five women and three children—trying to survive, with no man here to help. My brothers, who live abroad, do everything they can, sending us whatever little they have, but it’s not enough, especially in times of war.

Our father, who worked in Israel before the war, was tricked into leaving Gaza under the guise of safety. Instead, he was imprisoned for two months, his money was stolen, and he was left humiliated. He now lives in a tent in southern Gaza, separated from us by a military blockade. We can’t even see him. It breaks my heart that we are divided like this—I can’t even hug my father for comfort or hear his words of support.

Every day, we endure extreme hardship. There is no gas for cooking, so we gather wood to make meals, enduring thick smoke and ash in our faces. Our bodies are weak. We’re suffering from skin infections, anemia, malnutrition, and even hepatitis. Our little nieces have never known what it’s like to live without fear. The bombs fall day and night, leaving us sleepless and terrified. Every morning, we wake not to the sun but to the sound of explosions and ambulances, and the sight of shattered homes and lost lives.

My family is pleading for a chance to escape. To leave Gaza, each adult must pay $5,000, and for the children, it costs $2,500. We don’t know when or if this war will end, and if it does, it will take at least 10 years to rebuild Gaza. We don’t have that kind of time. Right now, we need your help, not only to flee this nightmare but also to survive the day-to-day. We need to feed our children, to give them a chance at a future—any future.

I can’t express how grateful we are that you’ve taken the time to read our story. Please, if you can, donate to help us escape Gaza before it’s too late. Your support will not only give us a chance at life but also restore the hope and dignity that war has stolen from us.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering a donation. Every bit of help brings us one step closer to safety.

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For reference, 1 USD equals approximately 6.47 DKK, and 1 EUR equals approximately 7.54 DKK.

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