From Gaza to Ireland: Survived but Nightmares Make me Wish to Die
Before I open my heart to you guys, please check out the vetting/verifications posts below.
3. My latest blog titled "Traumatized in Ireland While my Family is Facing Death and Starvation in Gaza" shared widely HERE
The short video will give you a quick glimpse of my story: 1. A young university lecturer in Gaza
2. Then displaced with my family and losing our house
3. Then traveled to Ireland to study and try to support and evacuate my family.
Every night I sleep in Ireland while my family sleeps under bombardment face starvation, fear and the cold of winter in tents.
People sleep to rest.
I sleep to see nightmares.
Every night feels like a horror movie I must live, not watch.
I wake up tired, shaken, and broken by the images my mind creates.
I had an amazing stable life with my family in Gaza before the war turned our world upside down.
I was a young, ambitious lecturer at the Islamic University of Gaza, teaching English and linguistics. I loved to motivate and empower my students so they can reach their full potential.
When the war broke out, I was displacement with my family multiple times in places I did not know existed in the Gaza Strip. Sometimes we literally ran for our lives under heavy bombardment and learned what a near-death experience actually meant.
Five months into the war, my Irish university managed to get me out of Gaza. Ever since I evacuated and left my entire family in Gaza (parents, siblings, nephews, nieces), I woke up every day so tired from horrible horrible horrible nightmares, wishing to end my life.
But then I remember:
If I give up, who will help my family survive?
Who will help me get them out when the crossing opens again?
I saw the constant bombardment every day live in the news, and my family was dispersed in different places in the Gaza Strip, running for their lives, struggling to survive.
The misery and suffering continue until today after we lost our house and the cold of winter if freezing them all, especially my elderly parents and young nephews and nieces.
HOWEVER...
Hard times do not only create strong people; they also reveal the goodness and humanity in others.
And Gaza needs the world’s goodness now more than ever.
My family lost their home.
They now live in tents, shivering in the cold.
Rainwater enters every time it rains.
They have no electricity, no clean water, no cooking gas, and no safety.
Survival itself has become a battle.
I have been dedicating all my efforts to helping my family survive in the current situation in Gaza and apply for reunification visas with the support of my college and friends here in Ireland.
Every single member of my family counts the seconds until the day we all reunify in Ireland and live a safe, normal life like we have been dreaming for more than two years
This can only be possible with your kindness, support and humanity.
Please consider donating if you can, share our story, reblog our post, and amplify our voice. You have no idea how much you can help in getting my family out of the living hell of Gaza to safety.
When the world becomes numb to Palestinian suffering, please choose not to turn away.
Please 'follow' me to stay updated!
Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring.
Mahmoud