DISTANT BUT RATIONAL, BRINGER OF RAGE!

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Note of transparency: this is the story of Hamed and his family. My name is Merel, living in the Netherlands, and I am a good friend of Hamed. Due to the disastrous situation in Gaza, he is too tired and sick to be able to run this page independently. Together we are asking for your support.

Story of Hamed and his family

Hello, I am Hamed from Gaza. I am 22 years old. My family and me are displaced within the Gaza Strip and we are living in very difficult and challenging conditions in Rafah. My family consists of my two younger sisters, my two younger brothers and my father and mother. I am starting this fundraiser for the survival of my family, so that one day we can work towards a livable future again, after this nightmare is over.

On the morning of October 7, I woke up to prepare for my graduation party, but then there were the sounds of explosions. That was the beginning of the war. A week later we had to move from Gaza City to the south and my family and I fled to Nuseirat. We had to leave our beautiful family home, where we experienced precious moments together: drinking coffee in the morning with the view of the birds, it was more beautiful than anything else. Before the war, I just started my video production company. I had to leave my production studio with all the equipment and cameras behind, a place were my team and I were very happy and were we lived days full of achievements. There are people in the team that I can't reach until now and I have no news about them! After Nuseirat, my family and me became displaced again. Now we are in Rafah. Here we are dying of cold living in tents, I can't describe the feeling we are experiencing now: extreme cold, widespread diseases, extremely high prices, no good work, transportation is difficult, everything has become difficult!

Due the dangers of war and communication cuts it has become almost impossible to work and I lost most of my projects. At the beginning of the war we had some money, but we did not know the war was going to be so long and now we have nothing left. I walk daily in the market and when I see something tasty I remember it, I want to buy it, but when I hear its price, I run away! I want to help my family with water and food, but it has become very difficult. I have been living with a kidney disease for years and I have had a kidney transplant from my mother, but I still need medicines. Not all medicines are available, and what is available is expensive. Our family house is badly damaged due to heavy bombing in our old neighborhood and only memories are left! In order to survive and return to a livable home, I am asking for your help with this funding. All our lives we didn't want help from anyone in terms of money or anything else, but now we are not ashamed anymore because we really need it and we live in a very bad situation.

As for my dreams and ambitions, I no longer have the passion and ambition that I used to have, I forgot what I used to do because of the psychological pressure. I cannot sleep because of worrying and anxiety about the future. Every night the voice of Zanana (Arabic for “buzzing sound” used to describe the noise produced by Israeli drones in the sky above Gaza) becomes very strong and we don’t know how to sleep.

Still, in some moments, I have big dreams that I want to fulfill and get out of the big prison Gaza! I used to love my life in Gaza very much, but now the war has made it very difficult. We hope the war ends soon and we can return to our old life and old home, but until then we have to survive. We cannot do that without you. I hope everyone and everyone who sees the story of my family and me can help and support us! We will be so happy! Also if you see other people with the same story, I hope you can help them too.

We really miss the beautiful days from before the war.

If you want to see life in Rafah, Gaza, please visit my Instagram: My Instagram account

Love,