Vidisode 4: Help the Watfa Family Evacuate Gaza

The Amalgamation with Bruce Reyes-Chow

A few weeks ago, we were connected with the Gaza Solidarity Network to get matched with someone in Gaza who is trying to raise funds to evacuate. This is obviously not the ideal solution (ceasefire and rebuilding are), and it is unfair that some families will get paired while others will not. Occupation and genocide are also not fair, so we do what we can.

From @GazaSolidarityNetwork

Our philosophy: We approach evacuation efforts from a mutual aid model of "solidarity not charity." Therefore, instead of painting certain Gazan families as perfect victims or exceptionally "worthy of saving," we seek to help as many Gazans as possible from a place of respect and joint-struggle. At the same time, we must balance the inherent contradictions that come with crowdsourcing within the attention economy of social media, which requires that Palestinians share intimate details of their lives and trauma to gain visibility via social media algorithms.This project seeks to connect as many individuals as possible with vetted campaigns so that we can all leverage our personal networks to support individual families while partaking in collective coordination with one another.Join us in the movement toward repairing humanity. Thank you for reading.

As of this posting, they have helped raise over $100,000, so if you want to be matched with a family, here is the form to fill out. Please keep in mind that this is completely run by volunteers (and I suspect young folks), so there is a huge backlog. They vet the GoFundMe so you can be assured that you support an actual family. *Sigh* Sucks that so many take advantage of these situations. We were matched with a family of nine, the Watfa, and are getting to know them via text/talk. We just posted our first video and would appreciate you sharing, giving, and following as you can!

Greetings from the RCP Family!

Like many of you, over the last six months, our family has wanted to do more to impact the lives of those experiencing genocide in Gaza. Thanks to the work of the Gaza Solidarity Network, we are now engaged in mutual aid campaign to help a family raise money to evacuate.

We have been matched with a family currently living in one of the camps in Gaza: Samah and her husband Ahmed and her father and mother and siblings: Muhammad, Youssef, Abdul Rahman, Hanaa, and Hadeel. We have contributed to the effort and will now help them raise the rest. While making refugees raise $5000 per person is not an ideal solution to what is happening in Gaza, this is what it takes to cross into Egypt and to safety. Our family is getting to know them via talk and text and would like you to meet them now too.

Until we raise enough to bring them to safety, we will share glimpses of their lives, plead for your spare resources, and encourage you to do your part in calling for the safety, justice, and rebuilding of Palestinian lives and homes. As we have shared in our communications, “We hope to meet one day after the war” so please help this become more than a hope, but a reality. Please follow @samah_safi132 and @ahmedwatfa039 on Instagram, reshare and repost, and give as you are able.

Sent with love, Bruce, Robin, Ev, Abby, and Analise

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