Please help Rasmy, Maram and their children get to safety.

Hello, my name is Graham, a writer and photographer based in Nottingham UK. I am fundraising to get my friend Rasmy and his family out of Gaza and to safety in Egypt.

IMPORTANT UPDATE.

We have raised almost 20% of our target and I have forwarded all the money collected so far, as Rasmy’s father has become ill and has to have regular kidney dialysis - which is hard to come by and expensive given the horrendous conditions in Gaza. It has therefore become even more urgent to raise money for this Palestinian family and any contribution received with heartfelt thanks. Please give what you can afford - not matter how little. Thank you.

Since I launched this appeal, Rasmy, Maram and their children had endured and survived great danger many times. They have had to move - often times in an attempt to find safety - but there is no safety. The Israeli Military are ruthless and vicious. They kill ordinary civilians. Men, women, children randomly. Gazans are living a nightmare. Going to sleep not knowing if they will survive the night. Waking up not knowing if they will survive the day. Please help Rasmy, Maram and their children - Hussein 8 years,

Adam 6 years, Mohamed 4 years, Ahmed 8 months.

Imagine your children being in this much danger.

So far, those of you who have donated have brought in a fantastic £2000. This is an amazing amount of generosity for which Rasmy and his family are so grateful. £1900 has already been forwarded to a family friend of Rasmy’s in Egypt to pay for passports and visas. However to get them to safety we need another £18000. It seems like a steep hill to climb, but I know there are more people out there with big hearts. Some of you may not have deep pockets and that is something I understand only too well, but even small amounts - £5 or £10 can add up to big amounts. To escape Gaza into Egypt is not easy, and much of the money is needed to pay officials who can make it happen. So please donate if you can. and please share for others to see.

Thank you

This is what Rasmy has to say:

My name is Rasmy Hussein. My family and I are trying to survive in the small town of Rafah where we, along with over a million other Palestinians, have been driven by Israeli bombing which has destroyed nearly the whole of the prison camp the world knows as Gaza. A high guarded wall and the sea surrounds the whole of Gaza. There is nowhere to escape. Many of my family, friends and neighbours have been killed without mercy by the powerful Israeli military. They have killed thousands of women and thousands of children. Many more are buried in the wreckage of their houses. I fear for my family.

Myself, my wife Maram and our four children: Hussein 8; Adam 6; Mohamed 4 and Ahmed 8 months now live in a tent 2M x 3M. It is cold at night and hot during the day. Ahmed was just two months old when Israel started to shoot us and bomb our houses.

Where we lived before, in the district of Khuza in Khan Yunis we had a small house (now destroyed) with two comfortable rooms plus a kitchen and a bathroom. We had all the necessities of life and our children slept in beds with blankets and had good clothes to wear during the day. Life was not perfect, but there was enough food and clean water. Maram worked as a nurse, The older children went to school. Now there is no school. There is no clean water. The water is either full of chemicals or dangerous organisms like typhus and e-coli. Now food is very hard to find. One of my children is malnourished because of it.

I have been unable to work since the last big assault on Gaza in 2014. I was shot by an Israeli sniper. I am still suffering from my wounds, but I must do what I can to save my family. They are everything to me and I am everything to them

We have nothing left of our old life and there is no way to re-build in Gaza. Please help me to take my family to Egypt where we can be safe start a new life, where my children can go to school, and where we can all have hope for the future.

I hope by this appeal that we can raise £20,000. Any amount you can contribute, no matter how small, would be so gratefully received. Our lives have been destroyed. Please help us if you can.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Rasmy Hussein

Rafah,

Gaza,

Palestine (Israel).

Note from Graham.

I asked Rasmy to make a video but he said it was too dangerous as there were drones and bombers overhead and he was worried that if he started filming he might be attacked. Rafah is a very dangerous place to be at the moment.

In the first instance any monies received will held in a separate savings account in my name at the Co-operative Bank in Nottingham, which I have already opened. I have previously sent some money to Rasmy via his PayPal account and by SWIFT bank transfer - whichever is appropriate. I am happy to answer any questions and provide evidence of my identity and the holding bank account. I will comply with all transparency requests