burnt up relics of a saint

Annie: There are legends of people born with the gift of making music so true, it can pierce the veil between life and death; conjuring spirits from the past...and the future. In ancient Ireland, they were called Filí. In Choctaw land, they called them Fire Keepers. And in West Africa, they were called Griots. This gift can bring healing to their communities. But it also...attracts evil....

Hello, my name is Areej Kassab. I’m a 27-year-old English teacher and writer from Gaza, and I’m reaching out to you with a heavy heart and a desperate plea for support. My family and I are enduring unimaginable hardships as relentless bombings devastate our home and our dreams.

We are a family of 15—10 adults and 5 children. Every day is a battle for survival. Food is scarce, humanitarian aid is not reaching us, and my little nieces and nephews go to bed hungry. Among them is my sister, who is deaf, and another sister who has a newborn baby. They, too, are suffering in this crisis, and I’m doing everything I can to protect and provide for them.

💔 A Life in Ruins The war has robbed us of everything: safety, peace, and even the hope of a future here. My family’s needs are basic yet critical—food, clean water, diapers for the babies, gas for cooking, and other essentials to make it through each day.

With rising prices and limited access to necessities, we are struggling to provide even the most basic items. My sister’s home has been destroyed, and we are working together to ensure everyone has shelter, food, and warmth.

✨ My Plea for Your Support ✨ I’m a writer, and I’ve been documenting the harsh realities faced by my community under siege. But words can only do so much. We need action, and we need help. Your kindness can save us.

🙏 How You Can Help

Donate: Every contribution, no matter how small, brings us closer to securing the essentials we desperately need.

Share Our Story: If you can’t donate, please share this post to help us reach others who can.

Your support will help provide food for the children, clean water for my family, and basic supplies to help us survive this unimaginable crisis.

Thank you for reading, for caring, and for standing in solidarity with us. Together, we can create a lifeline for my family—a chance to live, to dream, and to hope again.

Yesterday was a difficult day for my family and children… Fierce winds swept through our fragile tent—the only shelter we had, offering us a semblance of security. But it could not withstand the wrath of nature. I sat watching my children huddle together, their little eyes filled with fear, and my heart ached because all I could offer them was patience and prayers.

I don’t know when we will receive a new tent or perhaps caravans that can provide us with a minimum level of dignity. We are not asking for much—just a roof to shield our children from the cold and rain, walls that give us a little privacy, and a glimmer of hope.

To everyone reading these words, we are here… trying to endure, trying to stay strong. But we need someone to hear our voices, someone to extend a helping hand, someone who believes that every human being deserves a dignified life.

I was asked by @eslamfam to create a fundraiser boost post for her and her family, so I hope this is able to spread more. Eslam Gheelan is a teacher and mother of two daughters, Hanaa (5 years old) and Alma (10 months old). Their father Rasmi is the director of several language centers, but with the bombings of those facilities, the family has lost their main source of income. The Gheelan family now is trying to survive day by day while displaced. They suffer from the lack of clean water, disease, and malnutrition which is made worse by the rise of costs for daily essentials in Gaze, with soap being around $30 while detergent is $100.

Please share and donate to them if you are able, and help them reach their goal to evacuate to safety.

Here is a link to their fundraiser, and don’t forget your daily click.

Tag list under the cut, let me know if you’d like to be removed

🥶We're freezing🥶

Hello, I'm Wasim from Gaza, in Al-Mawasi specifically... My family and I were displaced from Rafah after hardship, bombing, displacement, and hunger.😭😔

Now we have been away from our city and our beautiful home for 9 months. We have lost our house that my father built stone by stone and he worked 24/7 to build this house. But the occupation destroyed it, and no house remained in my beautiful city remained intact.😭💔💔

We are now living in a tent or semi-tent, which does not protect us from the cold of winter or the rain. Our lives are very difficult.😔😭

Thanks to your donations, we have been able to buy food and flour, and now I am asking you for help to buy a tent that will protect us from the cold of winter. We do not know what it means to sleep because of the extreme cold.🥶

This is our tent made of fabric and some nylon, not closed on one side. We are freezing from the cold. Help us to buy a new tent. You are our last hope.😭🥶🥶🙏

I also want to ask for help for my mother, who is the most precious thing in my life. Without her, I am nothing...

She has a back cartilage disease and is in great pain. She needs physical therapy, medicine, and vitamins, and I am unable to provide them. Help my mother receive treatment.🙏🙏😭

Campaign Link⬇️⬇️⬇️

Peace be upon you, free people of the world and people of merciful hearts.

I send you these words from the heart of the besieged Gaza Strip that is being subjected to genocide.

I send you my words and my heart is filled with pain and sadness for what happened to me and my family.

My name is Kifah from the northern Gaza Strip. My husband Anwar and I were displaced under death and violent bombardment to Deir al-Balah, where we live in tragic and sad conditions.

I speak to you as I live in my beautiful home in the northern Gaza Strip. My home was like a luxurious palace, as my husband and I are from a wealthy family that practices trade and imports. But the war turned me into a poor, miserable woman who has no one to provide for her daily needs after our trade stopped and my home and commercial center in the northern Gaza Strip were destroyed.

I never imagined even once that I would ask for help from anyone, but circumstances forced me to do so, as my life has been turned upside down.

I no longer find food, flour, or water, and I live in a miserable, dilapidated tent that I cannot even prepare for the winter.