URGENT! Help Haifa's family of Five evacuate Gaza!

Hello everyone!

Our names are Duja Michael, Naseem Alatrash, & Anjna & Shannon Swaminathan-Roper and we are raising funds for our dear friend Haifa, a 20-year-old graphic designer from Gaza whose family has lost their home, pets, and many of their possessions due to the ongoing genocide.

Haifa (20), her mother Nadia (43), her father Bassam (45), & her brothers, Nashat (23) & Nader (16), are currently in Rafah without funds or resources to keep them fed & safe. They are all terrified and need our collective help to stay safe & hopefully evacuate to Egypt (which costs $5,000 to $7,000 per person at the border).

Here is a letter from Haifa in her own words:

Hi

My name is Haifa Bassam Ahmad Abushamla, I'm 20 years old, I'm student in information technology, computer science at Al-Azhar University Level 3.

I'm a cellist and I work in graphic and UXUI (user experience & user interface) design.

Before October 7th, I lived in the old city in North Gaza in Salah al Deen street opposite Al-Quds Bank. Our home had 3 shops & one floor. It has two apartments with an area of ​​360 meters and beautiful rooftop. December 23, 2023 marked two years since we moved into this new home. The images below are of how our home looked before October 7th.

My father Bassam Ahmad Ibrahem Abushamla is 45 years old. Before October 7th, he worked as a mechanical engineer specializing in everything related to Diesel. He has his own workshop, which was in our building, working in the private sector. He also rented out the other two shops. These are images & videos of everything he had in his shop & the outside of the building before we evacuated on October 13, 2023. Since then, both the house & the shop have been completely destroyed and burned down. I wanted to have one of the survivors in Gaza get pictures & videos of how much the house has been damaged, but my friends advised that it wouldn't be safe to risk someone's life to get these pictures & videos.

My mother Nadia Mohammed Abd Alaziz Abushamla is 43 years old. My mother does not work. She only cares about us and her roses and the cats and birds that we had One of our cats is confirmed to have died.

My older brother, Nashat is a recent university graduate & an automotive electronics engineer. He is 23 years old. He works for my father in his workshop. He has a passion & love for learning everything. If I want to buy anything new, I go to consult him immediately.

Nader, my little brother, is 16 years old and in high school. Nader has been a basketball player since he was 6 years old. He is the best player. Nader is distinguished by everything he does. He has an amazing future ahead of him. I believe in him.

Israel took our home and our future from our hands. We had a life full of blessings. Thank God for everything.

Our house was completely burned. I asked one of the survivors we know in northern Gaza to photograph our house. I hoped he could photograph it, but my friends advised me to make sure that he is safe & not risk his life for this. I hope that the images of our home before October 7th & our story will suffice.

All I want is to find a job, and for my family to stay healthy. If the donations succeed, I will be happy. If not, it is not meant for me.

Haifa

***

Naseem, one of the organizers of this campaign, is Haifa's childhood friend from Edward Said Conservatory, where they studied the Cello. Haifa has no idea if she'll ever be able to play the cello again as she had to leave it in her home in Gaza when they evacuated. Here are a couple of videos of her playing: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8rD43PAMr4/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CiNqkVbNgvX/

Anjna & Shannon, two of the organizers of this campaign connected with Haifa through Naseem. Initially, she had posted her graphic design work & credentials on social media, asking for someone to hire her so that she could earn money honestly & help her family. Anjna & Shannon run their own creative agency & planned to hire Haifa in the future, but as they spoke with her, they learned how dire her situation really is and decided it would be best for her to focus on staying safe. Of the scarcity of food, Haifa asks, "How is one egg enough for 8 people, and how are eggs sold for such crazy prices in the markets?"

To keep her mind occupied, Haifa has been creating educational art & informational graphics about Palestinian history & how many monuments have been destroyed since Oct 7. You can see some of her designs on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haifa_shamla/

Duja, who is the main organizer of this campaign is Palestinian and living in New York City. She will be receiving the funds on Haifa's behalf in her American bank account and passing them on directly.

With 5 family members needing to be evacuated & costs of $5,000 to $7,000 per person at the border, they will need to spend anywhere from $25,000 to $35,000 to reach safety from the constant violence. This doesn't include the cost of meals, and day to day costs, which have increased exponentially during this time. The additional $15,000 to $25,000 will go towards daily costs, costs of living in Cairo and plan their next move, legal fees to find asylum & hopefully in the future towards rebuilding their beloved home.

Haifa is such a beautiful, creative, magnanimous soul & she and her family deserve justice. As her friends, we want her to be able to experience true joy & happiness & safety once again, Inshallah. Any amount helps move the needle forward towards their safety.

Thank you so much for contributing to this campaign & sharing Haifa and her family's story.

With warmth & gratitude,

Duja, Naseem, Anjna & Shannon

**Update: after scanning social media for days to try to get a glimpse at what their home currently looks like, Haifa and her brother were successful and found a video that documented the current state of the neighborhood. Below is a screenshot of their home in its condition as of last week:

Haifa and her family now live in Nuseirat after being displaced first from their home in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City to Rafah. During the 40 days they spent in Rafah, they lived, along with her aunt and her family, in a 30 sqm shop that was selling birds and animal feed prior to the genocide.

Haifa, who always says "thank God for for everything" and refuses to give up hope and a positive attitude sent us these pictures of her and her mom knitting wool scarfs and said "I want to show you the bright side our displacement in Rafah."