Human Lives Caught in the Crossfire - One UCD Student’s Struggle to Evacuate his Family from Gaza

Image Credit: nour tayeh via Unsplash

UCD Student Mohammed Alsaqqa is organising a fundraiser to rescue his relatives from the war torn Gaza Strip.

UCD student Mohammed Alsaqqa and his brother Nour are organising a fundraiser on the online crowdsourcing platform GoFundMe to evacuate their family members from the Gaza Strip. The two brothers, both resident in Ireland, are also working with UCDSU to organise fundraising events in support of their beleaguered family. The money raised will be used to cover the costs of evacuating their family members via the Rafah crossing into Egypt, shelter and accommodation when in Egypt, medical care and assistance for their elderly father Khalil, and educational costs to assist their younger sister in completing her Bachelor’s degree.

Despite the heartbreaking scenes of anguish and suffering afflicting the people of Gaza, the Alsaqqa family remain resilient, and continue to pray for better days to come. The University Observer is currently in contact with Alsaqqa in order to gain further insight into this developing story. UCDSU organised a table quiz fundraiser in support of the Alsaqqa family this week. In a statement, the family said: "My family has been forced to flee their home, becoming displaced, and uprooted from everything they once knew. The relentless bombing forced them to be displaced many times."

UCD students who have been affected by this are welcome to share their story with us to raise awareness and draw attention to campaigns aimed at assisting civilians in the region.

The online fundraiser can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-evacuate-my-family-from-wartorn-gaza?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-171313200275-66c116e0faaa11ee&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B1137-update-supporters-v5b.