Very long and difficult days have passed.
A lot has happened since the last post.
Firstly, I was unfortunately unable to continue posting due to illness.
on 13.1.2024 we were able to talk to my brother Ismail, sister Arwa and her son Osama on the phone. and then we agreed that we should talk on the phone at the same time almost every day if possible. so that we can coordinate how we can send the money and so that they can also confirm that they have received it.
On January 14, 2024, I was able to talk to my nephew Ibrahim, my sister Amani’s son, on the phone. They urgently needed help and money to be able to buy food and drinking water. because hardly any aid arrives in northern Gaza and when it does, it is not enough for all the residents there. There is no more food there, and if there is, then only the leftovers from the bombed stores and supermarkets, which are sold for WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. There is currently no source of money for them and they have to buy food for themselves and their children.
That’s why they depend on us and your help and donations.
Unfortunately, war dealers are also multiplying. who exploit the weak and helpless people.
That’s why we are EXTREMELY careful when sending money to my family.
The normal, safe and humane ways to send money are also extremely difficult:
MoneyGram: there is only one branch in Khan-Younis
WesternUnion: refuses transshipment from Germany
German banks; currently refuse In general the transfers to Gaza (see my previous post)
The new magic word was USDt!! a crypto currency! I had to learn, test and try a lot over the last few days until I am now able to handle USDt.
My nephew met a young man who works with an exchange office in the south. They work with USDt currency. Through him we can send money to his USDt wallet and he gives cash to my sisters there.
After several tests with small amounts and confirmation that my nephew had received the money, I was able to send a larger sum to my sisters Amani, Mona and Lamia. Finally ! !
The exchange offices and the money dealers charge very high fees!!! we had to pay 12% fee + currency exchange rate change from US dollar to NIS (new Sheklel)!!!
e.g.: 1 USDt = 1 US dollar
500 USDt = 500 US dollars – 60 dollars 12% fees = 440 US dollars
440 dollars = should be about 1660 shekels
he only gave us 1425 shekels = $377.88
That’s another $60 loss
In the end, out of 500 US dollars, only 380 US dollars remain!!
this is fraud and exploitation!!!
What should we do? There is no other way?
pay or let your family starve! these are the options!!
This war must be stopped immediately
since January 14th Then there was DEAD SILENCE. all communications to Gaza were cut off again.
We could hardly reach anyone for 11 DAYS.
I was only able to reach my sister Hanan in the south because she is near the Egyptian border and has some network coverage from there. Nothing worked at all in northern Gaza
Communications were released again until yesterday, January 21, 2024. We were then able to reach all of my sisters and even my mother. THEY’RE ALL ALIVE! THANK GOD!
At the moment we are concentrating on my family finding a safe place to shelter, food and clean drinking water. Unfortunately, this is extremely expensive at the moment and we need your donations and support.
Please keep donating for my family
Please support stopping the war
My nephew Ibrahim (Amani’s son) sent me photos of our house in Shuja’iyya today. The Joha home ! 😭😔.
There are no words to describe it.😶
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Yesterday we got back in touch with my sister Manal in her new shelter in Rafah (Miraj Area). They are now living in a barn there. They made a toilet themselves, got a water tank and put it on the roof. they are trying to make the barn habitable with simple means. In their area, the son of the well-known Aljzeera journalist, Wael Al dahdouh, and his friend were killed. There is still nowhere safe in gaza. we only hope that they survive.
My sister Manal told me how her son Hazem survived twice!🙌 she didn’t want to tell us about it so she wouldn’t worry us!💕
Her son Hazem was almost killed twice, but God’s grace and mercy saved him.
Her son Hazem was almost killed twice, but God’s grace and mercy saved him.
once he was fetching water when suddenly a rocket landed next to him. the men next to him were torn to pieces. he remained uninjured 🙌
the second time an armed quadcopter fired shots and told him and the other boys to stop. out of fear and reflex he ran away. the quadcopter chased him and tried to shoot him. he ran further away until he could hide in a strange house and find shelter.
My sister Manal was also able to send us a few photos, which I have also posted here.
Ibrahim, my sister Amani’s son, has reached us again. They are still living in Gaza City, where there are still the prisoners.
The money hasn’t arrived yet, but should arrive soon.
if possible we can take photos of the area and also of the family home in Shuja’iyya.
He said that the area is completely destroyed and there is hardly any chance of living here.
We continue to hope that we can find a way to save my family.
we keep hoping and praying. We would like to thank everyone who is supporting us 🙏
My sister Mona called me today via WhatsApp.
She and my sister Lamia are doing well.
They still find shelter in an abandoned hotel near Al Shifa Hospital. She visited my mother 2 days ago. She’s fine too. My mother, brother Ismail and sister Arwa found a small apartment near Shifas Hospital.
My sister Mona explained to me that the eSIM didn’t work because her phone was too old for it. 😔
She also shyly asks us if we can help her out financially. She would pay us back when she went back to work when the war was over!! 😢😭
Ibrahim, my sister Amani’s son also called me on WhatsApp. They are fine. I also tested the eSIM with him. Unfortunately it didn’t work either! his cell phone is not capable
Last Saturday I transferred a sum of money to a person there who then gave the money to my sisters in cash. We are still waiting for the transfer to arrive.😣
This morning I was woken up by a phone call from my sister Amani in Gaza City. when I saw the name I jumped out of bed! THANK GOD they are alive. 💓
She had found a place where you can pay to use the internet for a short time.
We were able to make a very brief phone call via wahtsapp. But because the line is very bad, we texted and sent vioces.
She told me that my mum, brother, sister and their children are all still alive and well. 🤲🤲
She shyly asked me for financial support because the food there is very scarce and extremely expensive. 😣
I have been trying to send money there for weeks, unfortunately without success. even my bank refused to transfer the money to gaza (see photo). 😠
She has found a trusted person from the place where they are now who can give her money and has relatives here in Europe. I send the money to his relatives here in Europe and he gives the money to my sister there.
I also sent her an eSIM card so that she could try it too.
Now I’m still waiting for confirmation that the money has arrived.
My family tells me that people or exchange offices also deal in cryptocurrency, i.e. I send a sum in crypto to his crypto wallet and he then gives it to my family in cash.
As of now, I have been working on this to create yet another way to send money to my family.
We Palestinians are not only trapped in Gaza but also all over the world. Humanitarian aid to our own families is made difficult and forbidden.
