Sorry for posting this in the wrong category, as I couldn't find a better category for this.
Yesterday morning, I received a desperate call for help via a mass email from Gaza-based type designer Hasan Abu Afash, who is looking for funds to help his family of 6 cross the Rafah border into Egypt.
I donated some money but then found that it would be a good idea to start a more coordinated effort to reach the funding goal.
Please try to share this far and wide (even tho Instagram doesn’t allow sharing) and of course donate if you can.
Please follow the Linktree via my bio to reach the campaign website, or use this link: https://gofund.me/39ae9000
Comments
2. The border is closed except for "VIPs" who can bypass visa applications by paying an Egyptian firm with links to the security establishment by getting on a list. The list is currently closed, but is expected to be reopened. This is the strategy here.
3. The name dropping was about trust-building. I thought it would be better if I stand with my own name for the whole thing, which so far seems to work out. But it's a fair remark and I've added a note about that.
Later today I'll add photos I've received from them.
Donations to aid organizations, while surely important, still mean that Gazan people will be stuck in a hellish open-air prison for the rest of eternity. Freedom of movement means that it should be up to the individual people of Gaza to decide whether they want to stay in the prison forever and accept a little piece of bread as aid as long as the suffering is shared amongst all, or escape into a much saner and freer life outside of Gaza.
It was the expressed wish of Hasan Abu Afash to escape, and I’m just trying to help.
(A selection of Hasan’s work)
Here’s a small update about the campaign: With just over 25,000€ it looks well-funded, but the single-largest donation of 9,500€ is from a direct friend of Hasan's, and without this donations it's actually looking not as bright.
Meanwhile, GoFundMe's legal compliance team has screen the campaign for compliance and has given the green light. I've received most of the donated funds already.
Also, I've been wanting to post some photos for a while now.
Below you see photos of the house they had to leave behind destroyed, the family before they found a shelter, as well as the shelter they currently live in in Rafah.
I wanted to send a reminder to everyone to consider a donation or even top up their previous donation to reach the funding goal.
As previously mentioned, Hasan Abu Afash is desperately looking for the financial means to escape Rafah into safety in Egypt. Although the Rafah border is officially closed, there is a possibility of paying large sums of money to an Egyptian firm called Hala that has close ties to the Egyptian security apparatus and that semi-officially takes people out of Gaza since 2019.
Here’s the campaign:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-type-designer-hasan-abu-afash-from-gaza
In the name of Hasan and family, I thank you for your support in this most difficult time.
Hasan says the waiting period may now be up to one month, which will definitely be another really difficult period for them, but they can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
This means that all future donations will help cushion their arrival in Cairo, given that all goes well now and they arrive safely. So if you can, please don’t stop donating: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-type-designer-hasan-abu-afash-from-gaza
In the name of Hasan and family I'm once again deeply thankful of your existing donations.
The campaign to evacuate type designer Hasan Abu Afash and family from Gaza has reached its funding goal.
An anonymous person from the type industry has completed it in one go.
I received the funds directly onto my bank account, hence it’s marked as “offline”.
Amazing!
Now they need to survive Rafah.