Save my children from death

Hello, my name is Mahmoud Heiles, and I want to share with you my story—a story marked by the pain of separation and exile. I am a father of four children, living alone in Belgium for the past seven years, ever since I was forced to leave Gaza in 2015. Seven years have passed, feeling like a lifetime, during which I haven’t seen my children or watched them grow. When I left, my wife was pregnant with our fourth child, and I have never seen him. I left my family when they were little, and now they are growing up, carrying burdens beyond their years—burdens I am powerless to carry alongside them.

For seven long years, I have been waiting for residency, a struggle that has kept me trapped, unable to reunite with my family or bring them to safety. I have held onto hope, but every passing day without my children has deepened my pain and longing.

My family lives under harsh conditions in Gaza. They’ve been displaced multiple times after our home was destroyed, and they ended up in a small tent that lacks the essentials of life. There is no protection from the winter cold, no safety. My children, all under the age of 12, sleep on the cold ground, engulfed by fear each night. Every time I imagine their suffering, I feel a deep sense of helplessness, questioning why I couldn’t protect them.

My wife, too, suffers greatly. After years of illness, doctors were forced to remove her left kidney, and now she struggles to maintain stable health. She lacks the medical care she desperately needs, and her health worsens each day. When I hear her voice over the phone, filled with fatigue and pain, I feel her exhaustion and her fear for our children. With every word, my own helplessness grows, as I am so far away and unable to provide her with the help she deserves.

This is why I am reaching out for your support. I want to bring my family from Gaza to Egypt, where they can find proper care for my wife and a safe shelter for my children. I have tried everything I could, but the costs are beyond what I can afford.

Please, look upon my family with compassion. Any help, no matter how small, could be the beginning of hope in this long, dark journey. Thank you to everyone who listens to our struggle and extends a helping hand.