Help me evacuate my family from Gaza

Hi, Everyone. My name is Khalil Sayegh, and I am a Palestinian from Gaza. Before the Gaza war, I was a graduate student in the US, working toward my second Master's degree. Now, I, like my family who are stuck in Gaza, have lost almost everything as I became an asylum seeker in the US after the war started, which killed my father, destroyed my family home and injured other family members.

Two and half years ago, I came to the US to pursue a Masters in Political Science from American University. After I graduated, I started a second Master's degree in Human rights at the Catholic University of America last September to better focus on my discipline: human rights and democratization.

I have traveled to numerous countries, including the US, as a Palestinian, and I have never thought that I needed to seek asylum because I always wanted to return to Palestine to help my people after graduation. However, I have no other option after the war but to pause my studies and request asylum. The depression and trauma, as well as the depletion of savings to provide basic needs for my family, became too much for me to bear. What's worse is that while I am in the process of seeking asylum here in the US, I am not legally permitted to work until six months from now.

But I am not asking for you to help me. I am fortunate to be away from the war and have enough savings to survive until I get my work permit. My family in Gaza is not.

Please continue reading to understand why I am asking on behalf of my remaining family whose home was destroyed and are living in a famine.

My family has lived in Gaza for two generations as part of the small and marginalized Christian community. When the war started , my family of seven rejected leaving our home in Gaza City, despite difficult experiences and trauma from previous conflicts, because they did not anticipate the horrors that would await them.

At the very beginning of the Israeli assault, my family lost our residence to bombings. It was by God’s grace that my family survived as they left the place minutes before the block was bombed. Moving to the Church of the Holy Family, a Catholic church, my family initially felt blessed because they thought would not be a military target. However, it turned out not to be the case. The fear was genuine both when Israeli tanks surrounded the church when entering Gaza City and when snipers killed two Christian women seeking shelter in the church back in November.

The following is a photo of our apartment after the bombing:

The war became too much for my father to handle because, in December, he passed away days after the shooting due to a heart attack that turned fatal. He would still be alive if there were medications or the hospital was allowed. Yet, the church ran out of everything over a month ago, and no ambulances were allowed to enter the neighborhood by the Israeli military who surrendered the area. Before he died, he apologized to my family for not being able to help them avoid the inferno. Had the military allowed ambulances into the church, he would still be with us today.

The following is my interview with Al Jazeera talking about the death of my father.

Fortunately, the rest of my family survived so far. My brother Fadi, who has chronic kidney failure, has been struggling for his life since the war started due to his need for weekly dialysis at the local hospital. While in the hospital and separated from the rest of my family, his health worsened because the hospital was unable to provide regular dialysis he needed at a time of war. The good thing is that, at the beginning of January, my family and I managed to transfer him to a hospital in Egypt so he could receive proper care. However, his health issues persisted as he became inundated with the guilt of being the only one who left.

My other family members were also grateful to be alive. An Israeli missile injured my little sister in early December. Because of the lack of access to hospitals, my mom and other church asyles had to pull the shard out of her leg with their bare hands. She fortunately escaped amputation. My older sister, who was pregnant and close to her due date at the beginning of the war, had to give birth at the church back in late November. The good thing is that, during the ceasefire, she had access to medical help.

However, northern Gaza remains a war zone, and the UN warned that it will soon be the site of a mass famine. As fortunate as my family was, the famine will not spare them and the rest of the people sheltering in the Church. Like many people with immediate families in Gaza, my biggest fear is that I will lose almost everyone, as the prolonged lack of food and water will take my family, just like the lack of medical facilities that took my dad.

No words can describe how I feel as I pray every day for my family.

Now, this is the important part of my request:

After all other paths to get my family out of Gaza closed, I have come to the point where I cannot help my family on my own, and I request your help to do that.

Here is a list of what my family needs:

Right now, there is a time-sensitive opportunity to get my family the necessary permits to enter Egypt. However, traveling to Egypt will cost around US$35,000 for my family of seven due to the current conditions. My initial goal is to raise this amount to ensure no one gets left behind.

Another fee of US$10,000 will also be used to get my family a temporary adobe in Egypt, as well as their basic needs for the next few months.

I have been paying for my brother's brother’s medical needs. Still, as my funds are depleting, his health care may be cut off if the payments cannot continue, so I request another US $30,000 for his care to continue in Cairo.

Another longer-term goal: I also request your help so my sister and brother can continue their studies at the universities in Cairo. There are no universities in Gaza left, and this is also a way to get them temporary visas to stay in Egypt until we figure out when we can return to Gaza.

While all the funds are appreciated, the most urgent thing is to get the US$35,000 for travel expenses and another US$10,000 to cover their living expenses for the first few months. However, my goal is US$150,000, which will enable them to start a new, stable life for some time in Egypt until we figure out the next step.

I know this is not a small ask, and I have never asked anyone else for money. However, I must do this to get them out when the opportunity arises. Therefore, I request everyone who reads this to afford them some kindness, either by donating or sharing it with folks who might be able to donate.

For more information, please feel free to contact me via go fund me or via my X/Twitter: @KhalilJeries

On behalf of Sayegh's family members, thank you for reading this.

Peace,

Khalil