Save the Yacoubi family from the war in Gaza
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My name is Mahmoud Al-Yaqubi, a young man from Gaza who once led a normal life before October 7th. I graduated from the College of Education with a degree in English Language. I had high ambitions to reach my goals. I worked as a content writer for stories, a professional video content creator, and a director. I prepared dozens of news and human-interest stories to convey the suffering of citizens in Gaza to the world. I did this out of passion and love for this profession, and to dedicate it to making our voices heard worldwide. I always aimed to show the world the beauty in us. Additionally, to improve our income, I worked in trade alongside my main job. My friend and I used to import cleaning products, market, and sell them in Gaza.
I married Doha in December 2016 after a two-year love story. We started building our life together step by step. We were blessed with our two children, Khalil, 6 years old, and Zain Al-Deen, 3 years old. We had lived in a rented apartment since our marriage, working hard for years to improve our difficult life in Gaza. In 2019, we borrowed 10,000$ and started our small business in cleaning products trade. We faced ups and downs, losing more than half of our capital in 2021 due to our goods being held by Israeli customs following the May 2021 war on Gaza. We managed to start over again by borrowing $3,000 and were able to get back on our feet.
My wife Doha graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in Education, majoring in English Language. She worked as a kindergarten teacher before October 7th because of her strong passion for the field, in addition to taking care of our children. She supported me until we were able to pay off part of our debts, but living in a rented apartment was a burden that prevented us from making further steps to improve our lives.
In March 2023, we managed to buy an apartment worth $35,000, and we started paying for it gradually until the war began. On the morning of October 8th, the 11-story "Al-Aklouk Tower" we lived in, housing 88 families, was bombed. All these families, including mine, were displaced. We couldn't even take our children's clothes, documents, or even our photos and memories. We left behind our children's toys. We rushed out into the street, not knowing our fate amidst the heavy bombing. My children cried as if they understood what was happening. Despite the apparent terror on their faces, they called out for the toys we left behind. Khalil wanted his blue Sonic toy that he couldn't sleep without, and Zain Al-Deen wanted his Spider-Man toy. My wife and I cried out of sheer agony. We moved west of Gaza to stay with relatives until November 11, 2023.
A week later, the commercial block where our storage facilities were located was bombed, and all our goods were burned completely. We decided to move south of Gaza due to the bombings and death. We left, with bodies lying on the roadsides, trying to shield our children from the sight of corpses. We walked 8 kilometers filled with death. Bombs were dropped on evacuees behind us, killing and injuring many. I carried my children and ran to escape death, eventually reaching Khan Younis.
In Khan Younis, we had nowhere to go. We sought refuge in the Nasser Medical Complex, searching for safety. But tanks approached and besieged the hospital where we had taken refuge for 20 days, filled with terror and death. Snipers shot at anyone moving or exiting the hospital, and a mass grave was created due to the high number of dead. Eventually, soldiers forced us to evacuate on foot again toward Rafah.
We stayed in a refugee camp in Rafah, in a tent, facing food shortages and extreme difficulty accessing water. Diseases spread, and as the bombings intensified in Rafah recently, we had to move again to Deir Al-Balah, to another tent.
I narrate my family's story over these past nine months, yet my words do not capture a quarter of our suffering. I hope to achieve two goals through this campaign:
We hope to:
1. Escape from Gaza to save my family; the cost of evacuation is 15k$. - We urgently need at least 20k$ for living expenses for my family until I can find work. I always dream of starting over in a safe place in this world. - I aspire to build a safe life for my wife and children away from death and bombings.
We do not want to leave our homeland, but we love life; we do not want to die.
I married Doha in December 2016 after a two-year love story. We started building our life together step by step. We were blessed with our two children, Khalil, 6 years old, and Zain Al-Deen, 3 years old. We had lived in a rented apartment since our marriage, working hard for years to improve our difficult life in Gaza. In 2019, we borrowed 10,000$ and started our small business in cleaning products trade. We faced ups and downs, losing more than half of our capital in 2021 due to our goods being held by Israeli customs following the May 2021 war on Gaza. We managed to start over again by borrowing $3,000 and were able to get back on our feet.
My wife Doha graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in Education, majoring in English Language. She worked as a kindergarten teacher before October 7th because of her strong passion for the field, in addition to taking care of our children. She supported me until we were able to pay off part of our debts, but living in a rented apartment was a burden that prevented us from making further steps to improve our lives.
In March 2023, we managed to buy an apartment worth $35,000, and we started paying for it gradually until the war began. On the morning of October 8th, the 11-story "Al-Aklouk Tower" we lived in, housing 88 families, was bombed. All these families, including mine, were displaced. We couldn't even take our children's clothes, documents, or even our photos and memories. We left behind our children's toys. We rushed out into the street, not knowing our fate amidst the heavy bombing. My children cried as if they understood what was happening. Despite the apparent terror on their faces, they called out for the toys we left behind. Khalil wanted his blue Sonic toy that he couldn't sleep without, and Zain Al-Deen wanted his Spider-Man toy. My wife and I cried out of sheer agony. We moved west of Gaza to stay with relatives until November 11, 2023.
A week later, the commercial block where our storage facilities were located was bombed, and all our goods were burned completely. We decided to move south of Gaza due to the bombings and death. We left, with bodies lying on the roadsides, trying to shield our children from the sight of corpses. We walked 8 kilometers filled with death. Bombs were dropped on evacuees behind us, killing and injuring many. I carried my children and ran to escape death, eventually reaching Khan Younis.
In Khan Younis, we had nowhere to go. We sought refuge in the Nasser Medical Complex, searching for safety. But tanks approached and besieged the hospital where we had taken refuge for 20 days, filled with terror and death. Snipers shot at anyone moving or exiting the hospital, and a mass grave was created due to the high number of dead. Eventually, soldiers forced us to evacuate on foot again toward Rafah.
We stayed in a refugee camp in Rafah, in a tent, facing food shortages and extreme difficulty accessing water. Diseases spread, and as the bombings intensified in Rafah recently, we had to move again to Deir Al-Balah, to another tent.
I narrate my family's story over these past nine months, yet my words do not capture a quarter of our suffering. I hope to achieve two goals through this campaign:
We hope to:
1. Escape from Gaza to save my family; the cost of evacuation is 15k$. - We urgently need at least 20k$ for living expenses for my family until I can find work. I always dream of starting over in a safe place in this world. - I aspire to build a safe life for my wife and children away from death and bombings.
We do not want to leave our homeland, but we love life; we do not want to die.
Organizer and beneficiary
Nouraldin Abuwatfa
Organizer
Malmö, Sweden
Reem Abu Watfa
Beneficiary