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.
The Nuseirat refugee camp has been bombed for several days. My sister Manal and her family had sought and found shelter there. Until today !!!
The houses around them have all been bombed and destroyed. they have been trying to get out for days. It was very dangerous. This morning they were able to organise transport and fled to Rafah (Kaf Meraj), where Yaser, my sister Manal’s husband, had organised a flat to rent through friends and acquaintances – rent 1500 NIS (new Israeli shekels) = 410 Us Dollar. The journey of about 25 kilometres cost 1000 NIS = 270 US Dollar!!! 😮
Her son Mohammed wrote us a WhatsApp message to say that they had arrived safe and sound. 🤲. He had to walk about 1 KM to find a network signal.
Unfortunately, we still have no contact with my mother, brother and all 4 sisters in Gaza City. we have been trying to reach them for days. WITHOUT SUCCESS! we can’t reach my sister Mona either. even though we’ve used the eSIM.🫥😣😓
Please pray for us 🤲
I heard a lot about eSIM Cards until I finally tested it with my sister Mona.
It worked !!!! YES! FINALLY!
the network coverage and therefore the connections are very weak BUT it’s a milestone for us. so we can at least keep in touch with text messages bleiben
What is eSIM cards:
you buy an eSIM card over the internet and send the QR code or activation code to the person. This person can then activate the eSIM card on their mobile phone and receive an internet package or telephony package, depending on the tariff they have purchased.
It sounds extremely simple! BUT not in GAZA
the requirements are as follows:
- there must be local network coverage at all
- the mobile phone must support the eSIM function at all. it must be a new model (it is best to search for “esim” in the mobile phone settings).
- to activate the eSIM, the person must have an internet connection first!!!
- find a company that sells eSIM for Palestine and Gaza (I tested the “simly APP”)
After very long attempts, my sister Mona was able to find a stable internet connection so that I could send her the QR code of an eSIM card.
yes it works!
the network coverage and therefore the connections are very weak BUT it works!
Thanks be to God
and
thank you for your support
this morning my sister Mona from Gaza city surprised me with a whatsapp call. my joy was huge when i heard her voice. You, my mum, my sister Lamia, sister Arwa, sister Amani and my brother Ismail are all well and injured.
THANK GOD 🤲
because of the fighting in their place of refuge, they had to move on again and look for another place of protection. My mother, brother Ismail and sister Arwa were able to find a flat near the destroyed Gaza harbour.
My sister Aman also had to move on with her family. they are now sheltering in a building near the Shifa hospital.
the house where my niece Abeer, the daughter of my sister Mona was bombed. she and her family, husband and son were pulled out of the rubble alive.
then my sister Mona decided to move in with her daughter. now they are in a room in a former hotel also near shifa hospital. they are 7 people together.
My sister Lamia first stayed in the last place with my uncle. until my uncle had to leave with his family. she then stayed alone for a while with her daughter Amira. Without anything !!! no food no blankets, NOTHING! she was lying on the bare floor !!!
Ibrahim, my sister Amani’s son, went to check every few days whether the others were still alive or not. he saw Lamia’s situation and told Mona. Mona then brought Lamia to her.
My sister Manal in Nuseirat Refugee Camp tried to move on yesterday and today towards the south, to Rafah. The attacks and the bombing make it impossible to flee. besides that, many people tried to flee to the south before, but came back because there is no more space. no more free tents, no more shelter.
There are only tents for sale!!!!!😶!!!!! from 300-400 US dollars you can get a 2-4 wooden beam with plastic tarpaulin !!!😔
My sister Manal in Nuseirat refugee camp told me that more people are displaced to the west. They might then be the next to leave their shelter.
My sister Hanan in Rafah-West near the coast was able to send me photos and videos of the people who arrived there today.
My sisters ask me:
How much longer? Is there an end?
What do they want to do with us? Where will they take us?
They should kill us, then we won’t have to live this misery.
😔
we still couldn’t reach my mother, brother and sisters in Gaza City. we hope they are still alive . 😔
