My name is Nina Christine Gorman, a psychotherapist and teacher from Philadelphia, PA, USA. I am doing this campaign to assist my friend Mohamed Abdel Moneim Abu Zayed (age 23), his parents, Abdul and Sahar and his siblings Ramy (14), Ahmed (12), Fadi (10) and Moneim (19) from Deir Al-Balah, Palestine to survive and escape the brutal war in Gaza. I came to know Mohamed before the war about two years ago on facebook messenger when he enlightened me more of the state of Gaza before the war that was suffering from apartheid and restrictions on use of water, electricity and food and other items from the 17 year blockade. Before the war despite his young age and high unemployment rate of 40 percent due to the occupation, he managed to support his large family with work in construction. Then the war came when he lost his home in bombing like 90% of the people of Gaza.

    Thus, like most in Gaza he, his parents and children have had to live in a tent with no electricity and stifling heat in the summer and cold in the winter, having to cook on wood fire and wait in lines for water and what few rations were available. The family like most in Gaza due to the destruction of water and sewage infrastructure (and at the time of this writing a total blockade of all food, fuel, water and medical supplies) has had to endure waiting in long lines for rations of what little water is available or for a small meal from what few community kitchens are left. Their backs and bodies are sore from carrying water that is not even clean enough to drink making them sick.

  The family especially the children are prone to illness, respiratory infections and rashes due to malnourishment and crowded tent conditions and blockade of medicines. They live in fear every night enduring bombings all around them leading the young children to shake in fear and all worrying if they will be next. The strip is now in famine since the occupation is using collective punishment of starvation as a weapon of war with now threatening displacement of the entire population as well as extermination with leaflets they drop from the sky. The need food, water for drinking and washing, cleaners, a fan for the tent and battery and some clothes and shoes as well as cleaners, and a little medicine in order to survive and prevent illness.

  Since Gaza has become uninhabitable with deliberate destruction of most of the houses, all universities, most schools, all churches and mosques, all farms, water and sewage infrastructure, they feel they have no other choice but to attempt evacuation from their precious land and people in order to survive. I urge you to donate what you can to assist Mohamed and his family so that they can eat, drink and have some little comfort from the brutality, so that they can live and not die and so that they can start a new life in another country free from bombs, hunger, constant fear and horror and so they can feel life again. No donation too small. All funds will be transferred from my secure USA bank account to Mohamed’s secure Paypal.

   Here is Mohamed in his own words:

     My name is Mohamed Abu Zayed. I am 23 years old from Deir Al Balah in the besieged strip of Palestine in what is called the largest open air prison in the world, where we are in apartheid state trapped in this war behind a 60 meter wall for decades under occupation and under blockade for over 18 years of many items. Despite these conditions before the war I was able to support my parents and my four children with my job as construction worker. I was lucky since many did not have jobs even students who received graduate degrees from one of our many wonderful universities that are now all bombed and completely destroyed. We struggled but survived with some degree of comfort and were usually not hungry. 

   Then the war came. We always have known wars and massacres with bombings of our homes, hospitals and schools but this war was different. We lost our home in bombing and now have lived in a tent since the beginning of the war. We have lived in constant fear everyday with bombs for most nights and often days at any time or any place. We have had to move being chased like mice trapped in a maze displaced from place to place where we are told to go in forced evacuations only to be bombed again in a place we were told was safe or targeted by drones when in flight.  

  Words cannot describe our experience. No one knows how we feel, what it is like to wake each day after sleepless night of bombs and to think with every person you see family or friend If they will be alive the next day or if you will be alive. It is very scary now since the bombs are intense every night in all parts of the strip. Moneim and I try to comfort Ramy, Ahmed and Fadi but it is difficult because our stomachs flutter and we shake and are tense all day long. The hunger makes it worse. My parents and I and Moneim and sometimes even Ramy go without food and drink with intense thirst and hunger so that Ahmed and Fadi can eat and sometimes we have nothing at all except a piece of bread or plate of rice or a little soup from a community kitchen to share for the whole family. Sometimes we get sick with stomach infections from bad food or even rashes and we cannot afford to go to private doctors, or to dentist for infections.

    Despite all of this we really do not want to leave Gaza since this is our home and home of our ancestors and what little is left of our land that the occupation has not taken from us. They have taken everything from us and there is nothing left to take since everything is destroyed, our homes, our schools, our hospitals, our farms, our museums, our olive trees, our water, our sewage, our mosques, everything. Now they want to kills us all and expel us. We want to leave before we die. So we feel we have no choice but to try to evacuate to go to Egypt where we can relocate to some other country in Europe and start a new life. We hope you can help us survive the hunger and the bombs and leave to start new elsewhere free of fear, humiliation and starvation, so we can avoid genocide and have some life again. We urge you to feel for our plight and donate whatever you can to help us.

May God bless you now and always and may you have health, happiness and many blessings for your generosity. 

                                     Sincerely,   Mohamed

 Budget for the Campaign:

Survival in Gaza for Family for two months for food, drinkable water and cleaning supplies

   $ 2200

 (1100 a month) including water, milk, lentils, flour, noodles, fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, and other available vegetables including greens as well as soap, shampoo and cleaning sprays

Clothes & shoes for family including shirts, pants, underwear & pajamas    $900

Tent Repair for fabric, wood, nails$200

Two Fans for tent with batteries$360

Battery for electricity $300 

Estimated Medications for illness including pain reliever, antibiotics, and

Burn ointment and Doctor’s visits                                                             $600

Survival in Egypt for family for two months                                           $2400

(1200 a month) for food, water, juices, milk, chicken, beans, flour, noodles, rice, potatoes, fruits, tomatoes, carrots, and greens as well as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and cleaning sprays,

 Clothes for Family in Egypt                                                                           $700

Rent in Egypt for modest 3 bedroom apartment or house for 2 months $1600

 (800 a month)

Transportation in Egypt including for job search for two months                $400                                             

Evacuation to Egypt for potential relocation to Europe                          $27,500

via Y-Hala Travel & Tourism Company for Family of 9 for price of 5,000 USD for 4 in family over 18  and 2500 per each of three children. There are no specific coordinators available to expedite the evacuation until down payment to Y-Hala can be secured

Total      $37,160

All donations will be transferred from campaign to USA bank account of Nina Gorman which will transfer funds to Mohamed’s secure Paypal