#Refugee support efforts

[lifes-little-corner]

Strategies for Motivating Volunteers in Immigrant Support Programs

I remember the day I first stepped into a local immigrant support center. The energy was high, but so was the challenge. How could we keep our diverse volunteers engaged and motivated? This question has guided my volunteer management ever since. Motivating volunteers in immigrant support programs is tough. It needs a deep understanding of human nature, cultural sensitivities, and the challenges…

[robotpussy]

Sudanese fundraisers that have yet to reach their goals:

Help Mohamed Evacuate & Finish Education

Sudan War, Help Asmaa's Family

Help Aalaa's Family Escape to Safety

Emergency Fund: Medical, Shelter, & Edu (Sudanese Refugees)

Support Sakina's Family's Journey to Safety

For Sudan: Help support families in Kassab IDP camp

Our home bombarded and destroyed

Evacuate a family from the war

Help Abudjana rebuild after war

One Million Sustainable Pads Campaign

Fight Hunger in Sudan: The Khartoum Kitchen appeal

Help Randa's Family flee war in Sudan

Help my family escape Sudan's war

Sudan Emergency Medical Appeal- Help Children & War Victims

Join the effort to save Jameela and her family!

Help ThomaSerena recover from war

Escaping Hell: A Family's Fight For Survival

CAIRO SUDAN AID

[theabsolutebee]

Hi,

I am Amani, and as you know, my sister Eman and I are currently living in the besieged Gaza Strip. We are the only ones left from our family. We live with our children in a tent, experiencing the worst living conditions. We are still suffering and struggling to provide water, food, and other necessities. Basic living conditions are not available, and we are living in extremely difficult circumstances.

Our homes have been completely destroyed, and our future shattered. We no longer have a house or anything we own. We have been displaced four times, facing exhaustion and severe illness, including gastroenteritis, high fever, cough, and amoebiasis due to contaminated water and malnutrition. Despite our efforts, we struggled to find the necessary medicine. Here we are now in the Mawasi Khan Younis area, where the intense ongoing bombardment continues.

My brother created this donation link to help us reach safety and save our lives and our children’s lives. Here in Gaza, we find nothing, and the truth is we are fighting to survive. We appeal to the entire world to move to a safe place where we can rebuild our lives in peace. Travel costs are high, but it is the best solution.

Your support means a lot to us.

Thank you very much for your understanding and assistance ❤️

https://www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-appeal-help-evacuate-my-family-to-safety

Dear Amani,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your story. My heart goes out to you, Eman, and your children during this incredibly difficult time. The conditions you are enduring are unimaginable, and your resilience is truly inspiring.

I understand the gravity of your situation and the urgent need for support. The loss of your home, the health issues caused by the dire living conditions, and the constant threat of violence are devastating. Your plea for help is clear, and I want to do whatever I can to assist you and your family in finding safety and stability.

I will share your donation link with my network and encourage others to contribute to your cause. It’s crucial that we come together to support families like yours, who are facing such severe hardships. Your fight for survival and desire for a peaceful future are deeply moving, and I hope that with enough support, you will be able to relocate to a safe place and start rebuilding your lives.

Please stay strong and hold on to hope. You are not alone in this struggle, and there are many people who care and want to help. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

With sincere sympathy and support,

THEABSOLUTEBEE

[fairuzfan]

UPDATE: Ramadan Kareem!

Thanks to all your donations, we were able to meet our goal of $25k for North Gaza in one week! Yay! You guys are AWESOME, please give yourselves a pat on the back for all your efforts in this campaign 💜 Visual receipts will be sent as soon as we receive them from Mahmoud! Literally cannot tell you how thankful I personally am for all your support.

Today starts the Month of Ramadan around the world, a month for fasting and religiosity for all Muslims. Hussam started a new goal of $50k for the month, which he will be using to provide necessities to more than 6000 refugees living in tents on his land. We will let you know what he plans specifically in the coming days.

Let's help him out with his mission by keeping up donations.

Thank you again for everything. Here’s a video of Ramadan decorations that they managed to make in preparation for today!!

HelpGazaChildren Notion Site || #helpgazachildren tag

GoFundMe Link

ID: [Video of two large cardboard lanterns decorated in Islamic patterns with children surrounding them. We see a shot of children watching as a man climbs a poll to hang up the latern. The children are dancing to music and clapping.]

[zvaigzdelasas]

In the week since the International Court of Justice ruled that the Israeli government is plausibly committing genocide and ordered it to prevent potential further acts of genocide, Israeli forces have only continued committing atrocities against Palestinians.

Buoyed by the staying support of American officials, Israeli forces have killed at least 874 Palestinians and injured at least 1,490 in Gaza since last week’s ICJ ruling, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures from Saturday, January 27, to Friday, February 2. That’s not to mention other acts of Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.The loss of life should not be dismissed as “collateral damage,” contrary to what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.[...]

Backgrounding the atrocities in Gaza is the broader misery the entire population faces. The BBC noted that UNICEF’s biggest concern is the “estimated 19,000 children who are orphaned or have ended up alone with no adult to look after them.” CNN reported that Palestinians are eating grass and drinking polluted water amid famine conditions. The Guardian reported that 50-62 percent of all buildings in Gaza have likely been damaged or destroyed.

Earlier this week, a federal court affirmed the ICJ’s finding that Israel may be carrying out a genocide and warned the Biden administration to reconsider its unconditional support for Israel’s war effort. [...]

The Intercept asked Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to comment on the court rulings that the accusations of genocide by Israel are credible. “I don’t accept that. I reject [the ruling of the International Court of Justice]. I don’t believe that is Israel’s intention: to commit genocide,” said Fetterman, who has emerged as one of Israel’s most staunch Democratic defenders, on Thursday. “I do believe that their goal is to neutralize or dislodge Hamas from that. And I believe that they certainly do not want to take the lives of any innocent Palestinians and I certainly don’t assign higher value to my children versus a Palestinian child. I mean, I wouldn’t want anybody to die throughout all this tragedy, and it’s just an awful situation.”

Within hours of the ICJ issuing its ruling last Friday, Israel alleged that 12 of 30,000 — 0.04 percent — employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East were involved in Hamas’s attack on October 7. The United States immediately suspended its funding of UNRWA, the largest provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza, spurring a cascade of other nations to follow suit.

Sky News later obtained an Israeli document that actually downgrades the allegation to 0.02 percent of UNRWA staff (six people) being involved in Hamas’s attack. Sky News reported that the documents, which allege further ties between UNRWA and Hamas “make several claims that Sky News has not seen proof of and many of the claims, even if true, do not directly implicate UNRWA.”

The contrast between the U.S. decision to pause funding based on unverified allegations and its unwillingness to reconsider its military funding of Israel, despite serious allegations of genocide, is stark.

Fetterman also said that he supports the suspension of funding to UNRWA. When asked why the standard of suspending funding while investigating serious allegations doesn’t apply to the Israeli government, Fetterman dodged the question.

Fetterman: Well, again, it — well, it’s not. We need a full investigation and find out just how much a part of it was about that and how much, you know, the old question: how much they knew and when they knew that.

The Intercept: So you’re saying that for Israel as well?

Fetterman: Yeah, OK, so good, all right, well good.[...]

Reporter Said Arikat confronted State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on the tension Wednesday. “I’ll say with respect to the charges of genocide [at the International Court of Justice], we believe that they’re unfounded,” Miller said. “We continue to support Israel’s right to take action to ensure that the terrorist attacks of October 7th cannot be repeated, but we want them to do so in a way that complies with — fully with international humanitarian law.”

Miller was then asked about Israel receiving aid even as Israeli government officials call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and maintain good standing in government.

“When the secretary traveled to Israel on his most recent visit,” Miller said, “he made clear that he thought it was important that the Israeli government speak out against those matters and those comments publicly and reiterate that it is not the policy of the Israeli government to force Palestinians from Gaza.”[...]

Two days after the ICJ ordered the Israeli government to prevent and punish incitements of genocide from public officials, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich were among 11 cabinet ministers and 15 coalition members of the Knesset who rallied at conference hosted by hundreds of settlers calling for the settlement of Gaza.

On Tuesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that afte​​r their military campaign ends, Israel will maintain military control of Gaza, so it can operate similarly to the way it does in the West Bank.

On Thursday, Smotrich said that allowing aid into Gaza contradicts the goals of Israel’s campaign, and that he spoke with Netanyahu, who supposedly assured him that things will change soon. Israeli ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot reportedly called to limit humanitarian aid as well. Meanwhile, at aid crossings, people in Israel have taken cue from their leaders, attempting to block aid trucks from entering Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people — including the hostages held by Hamas — are at risk of starvation and malnutrition, every day since the ICJ ruling.

One clip even shows a right-wing activist telling an aid truck driver, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, that “I am the owner here, you are a slave here.”

2 Feb 24

[northgazaupdates]

Qusay❤️ Ghina❤️ Saba❤️

These beautiful children are part of the Abu Alwan family. Qusay and Saba are twins, born in a refugee camp just a few months ago. Ghina is 4 and just started learning the alphabet. They live with their father Mohammed and their mother Samar in a tent in Gaza. I cannot name a specific region of Gaza, because they are forced to move often due to IOF bombings and ground attacks.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, they are also subject to starvation and medical deprivation. The IOF blockade and its deliberate sabotage of Gazan infrastructure has resulted in the collapse of Gaza’s food distribution and medical care systems. The children are malnourished, which could be devastating for their developing brains. It is also difficult to find diapers for the twins, something which is necessary for the comfort and health of the twins and everyone around them.

Further, Saba is suffering constant, severe diarrhea and vomiting. Her parents have risked their lives to find medical assistance, but to little avail. They are currently waiting on some test results that may indicate what is causing Saba’s symptoms. In the mean time, however, Saba continues to suffer immensely. She requires antiemetic and antidiarrheal medication, as well as safe food and water. All of these things are extremely expensive and difficult to find in Gaza.

You can help the family in 2 ways:

1. Supporting them via GFM so that they can save enough funds in the long-term to arrange for evacuation when the border reopens, or support themselves in the mean time

2. Supporting them via MoneyGram or similar services so that they can receive cash transfers, which will help them in the short-term to buy basic necessities like Saba’s medication, formula and diapers for the twins, food and water for the whole family, and building supplies to reinforce their tent

These children deserve to live. They deserve to be happy and comfortable. They deserve to grow and learn. The occupation is trying to stop this. We can counter their efforts by supporting this young family. Message us for details.

Thank you❤️

[qqueenofhades]

“U.S. President Joe Biden issued a memorandum on Thursday requiring allies who receive military aid from the U.S. to provide ‘credible and reliable written assurances’ of their adherence to international law including international human rights law,” the Times of Israel reported. Israel will need to supply written assurances within 45 days or risk loss of aid. The report added, “The memo did not mention specific countries who would be held up to the new standard, but came amid increasing calls in the U.S. to condition aid to Israel due to concerns over its military operations in Gaza which were triggered by the Oct. 7 attacks, in which Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253.” No one should underestimate the impact of the decision. The Associated Press explained, “Democratic senators on Friday called Biden’s directive — meant to bring breadth, oversight, deadlines and teeth to efforts to ensure foreign governments don’t use U.S. military aid against civilians — historic.”

[.......]

Biden also pressed on with intense one-on-one diplomacy. After his comment on Thursday evening that Israel had been “over the top” in Gaza, Biden engaged with Netanyahu on Sunday in a 45-minute conversation — unusually long by most diplomatic standards (and even more so given that no time had to be spent on translation with English-fluent Netanyahu). According to the White House readout, Biden insisted Israel make “credible” arrangements to protect civilians before launching a widely criticized military plan for Rafah, where civilian casualties could mount. He also pressed Netanyahu again to increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Biden’s patient approach with Netanyahu over months has gradually transformed into a private and public pressure campaign. A Biden official told The Post that the leaders had “a pretty detailed back and forth on that.”

-- Biden delivers tough love, takes historic step: Conditioning aid to Israel

Meanwhile Trump?

Trump has said he would implement travel bans on people from certain countries or with certain ideologies, expanding on a policy upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. Trump previewed some parts of the world that could be subjected to a renewed travel ban in a mid-October speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and "anywhere else that threatens our security." During the speech, Trump focused on the conflict in Gaza, saying he would bar the entry of immigrants who support the Islamist militant group Hamas and send deportation officers to pro-Hamas protests.

Also: Trump vows to expand Muslim ban and bar Gaza refugees if he wins presidency

Really, really not sure how much clearer I can make it here for y'all, but sure. Something something Trump's actually a better choice on this issue/overall (sarcasm).

[fishyartist]

INFORMATION: https://decolonizepalestine.com/faq (information about Palestine)

https://www.ochaopt.org/crisis (up to date information on reported death tolls)

https://bdsmovement.net/what-is-bds (information about the BDS movement)

https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2023/11/09/antisemitism-dangerous/ (short article about the difference between antisemitism and anti Zionism, and why conflating the two is dangerous. More articles from the same site here)

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

https://cartoonist.coop/journal/cartoonist-cooperative-buy-an-e-sim-for-gaza-donation-drive/ (esims allow Palestinians to contact each other+the outside world during Israel-created blackouts. Through this you can donate esims and get cool art)

https://donate.unrwa.org/-landing-page (UNRWA is a UN program created to provided lifesaving assistance, employment and direct relief to Palestinian refugees. Their funding was cruelly cut severely by several countries, including the US, during the humanitarian crisis in Gaza)

https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Against-These-Companies-Profiting-From-Genocide (Palestinian-lead movement to challenge international support for Israeli apartheid+colonization through boycott, divestment, and sanctions [hence BDS]. Linked to their site earlier for more info, this is specifically what they’re calling on us to boycott+pressure and why, while emphasizing a need to focus effort on vocally boycotting a small number of brands for maximum impact)

LINK (CLICK ME) TO MORE WAYS YOU CAN HELP

[amjad-danaf99]

In the heart of war-torn Gaza, where devastation and loss have become daily realities, lies the poignant story of Amjad Danaf and his family. Amid relentless airstrikes,And it wasn’t just my home that was destroyed. Years of effort and dedication were wasted in moments, and here I am standing in the ruins of my home, as I stand in the ruins of my life, trying to collect the remains of my dreams and memories. This house was a source of safety for me and my family, but the war left us nothing, and we face an ambiguous and difficult future.

Now, after all this destruction, my family and I live as displaced people, homeless and unemployed, with no clear future for us. Every day is a struggle to find food for my family, who have been deprived of every chance at a normal life by this war. Once upon a time, we lived in Gaza, in northern Gaza, where we had a home, a life,But now, after being displaced more than nine times, we find ourselves in the refugee camps in Deir al-Balah, and the war has stripped us of everything: our homeland, our security, and our future. Our daily lives have become a constant search for basic necessities, a far cry from the life we ​​knew before.

The dreams I had for my family now seem like distant memories, overshadowed by the relentless challenges of survival. Each day brings new doubts, as we navigate this harsh new reality, clinging to the hope that one day we may be able to rebuild what we have lost.We urgently call on everyone who stands in solidarity with us, and every supporter, to help save what remains of our lives. Your help, even in small ways, can make a big difference in helping us rebuild and restore our broken world. Rebuilding seems like an insurmountable task, but with your help, we can begin to piece together what we have lost. Your contributions, no matter how small, can provide the foundation we need to start over, and provide hope and a chance for a better future for our family. Your solidarity means the world to us as we face these difficult times.

Thank you for your compassion, your time, and your commitment to freedom and justice.

Please help me to Share the post

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@shellofashadow @revcuse @imlizy @tamamita @triptrippy @turtletoria @northgazaupdates2

[robertreich]

Why Trump Is Partnering With Christian Nationalists

Donald Trump is portraying himself as a religious savior. He says Election Day will be: …”the most important day in the history of our country, and it’s going to be Christian Visibility Day.”

Trump has repeatedly compared his criminal trials to the crucifixion of Jesus, promoted videos calling his reelection “the most important moment in human history,” and that describe him as a divinely appointed ruler.

He claims to be a holy warrior against an imaginary attack on Christianity.

TRUMP: They want to tear down crosses//But no one will be touching the cross of Christ under the Trump administration. I swear to you.

He’s even selling his own version of the Bible.

Trump is playing to a rising white Christian Nationalist movement within the Republican Party.

Christian Nationalists believe that the law of the land is not the Constitution, but instead the law of God as they interpret it. Under this view, atheists and people of other faiths (including Christians of other denominations) are all second-class citizens.

Trump’s supporters are increasingly overt in their calls to replace democracy with a MAGA theocracy.

The idea that the will of voters is irrelevant because God has anointed Trump was a recurring message in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

In previous videos, I’ve highlighted how MAGA Republicans have embraced core elements of fascism. They reject democracy, stoke fear of immigrants and minorities, embrace a gender and ethnic hierarchy, and look to a strongman to lead and defend them.

The combination of fascism and Christian Nationalism is called Christofascism, a term first used half a century ago by the theologian Dorothee Sölle. Fascists rise to power by characterizing their opponents as subhuman. Christofascists take it a step further by casting opponents as not just subhuman, but actually demonic.

Framing opponents as enemies of God makes violence against them not only seem justifiable, but divinely sanctioned, and almost inevitable.

Christofascists want to strip away a wide range of rights Americans take for granted. Former Trump staffers involved in developing plans for a second Trump term have called for imposing “Biblical” tests on immigration, overturning marriage equality, and restricting contraception.  

And MAGA-aligned judges are already setting their dogma ahead of the Constitution. In his concurring opinion on the case that declared frozen embryos are people, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker cited God more than forty times and quoted the Book of Genesis and other religious texts.

Nothing could be more un-American than the Christian Nationalist vision. So many of America’s founders came here as refugees seeking religious freedom. The framers of the Constitution were adamant that religion had no role in our government. The words “God,” “Jesus,” and “Christ,” don’t appear anywhere in the Constitution. And the very first words of the Bill of Rights are a promise that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Christofascism, or any religion-based form of government, is a rejection of everything America has aspired to be — a secular, multi-racial society whose inhabitants have come from everywhere, bound together by a faith in equal opportunity, democracy, and the rule of law.

Beware.

[opencommunion]

"Israeli forces launched a military offensive on Jenin and its refugee camp on Tuesday morning, killing seven Palestinians in the first few hours, including a child on his way to school, in addition to a teacher and a doctor while heading to work. The child was identified as Mahmoud Hamadneh, the doctor as Usaid Kamal Jabari, a general surgeon at the Jenin Governmental Hospital, and the teacher's name was revealed to be Allam Jaradat.

In its statement, Hamas said that Resistance in the occupied West Bank is escalating despite the sacrifices. The group also pointed out that 'the Jenin massacre is a continuation of the occupation's series of crimes involving killing, siege, and starvation in Rafah, Jabalia, and various areas of the Gaza Strip.' However, the Israeli crimes 'will not weaken the steadfastness of our people and will not stop their Resistance and determined efforts to liberate their land and holy sites.'

Israeli media reported that over 1,000 soldiers are taking part in an attack on the area, which is expected to continue for several days. Palestinian Resistance fighters are engaging in intense armed confrontations with storming forces and ambushing their convoys with IEDs. For their part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) stated that the brutal massacre committed in Jenin and its camp is the result of clear US support for the occupation entity in its genocide against the Palestinian people."

21 May 24

[sayruq]

Dear Friends, My family has faced an unimaginable tragedy over the past four months, subjected to a genocide that has taken away our loved ones and the roof over our heads. My sister, now residing in Rafah camp, is enduring conditions no human should ever have to face, especially after recently giving birth. Alongside her husband and three children, they are caught in a relentless cycle of sickness, starvation, and the terror of ongoing bombardment. Their home in North Gaza was destroyed, and despite our best efforts, accessing basic necessities remains a daunting challenge due to the brutal situation in the Gaza Strip. I am reaching out to you in desperate need of your support to rescue my family from this relentless nightmare and ensure their safe evacuation before it's too late. Your contribution could be the lifeline they desperately need. We are seeking funds solely for the purpose of their safe passage through the Egyptian border. The financial barrier is steep, with costs exceeding $5,000 per person, but your generosity could make all the difference in their world. Please, consider extending a helping hand to my family in this critical hour. Your donation could be the key to their survival. Thank you for your compassion and support.

Reham has managed to escape to Egypt but now faces a new daunting challenge

Dear friends, Thank you for checking my campaign. Whether you're a previous donor or new to our cause, your kindness has brought us closer to safety and reunification. I'm reaching out today to provide an important update and to ask for your continued support as we face the next critical steps in our journey. I am working to raise the necessary funds to help my sister and her family reunite with the rest of my family in Belgium. After the generous and inspiring support, you showed in funding her evacuation, she now lives in Cairo, away from the genocide committed against our people in Gaza. Reham is one of 100,000 Gazans who have crossed into Egypt, where they lack the necessary papers to enroll their children in schools, open businesses or bank accounts, travel, or access health insurance. In addition to that, the Egyptian government has recently increased the fee for refugees to $2,000 USD, making matters worse. Her family has been asked to seek asylum in another country, but we have exhausted all avenues to get them to countries that grant Palestinians asylum and a chance to restart their lives. We are currently exploring possible routes for her family to reach Belgium or Oman. It is urgent that we raise the necessary funds for travel expenses, including visa fees, flight tickets, and basic living expenses during the initial days of transitioning to a new home country as refugees. We urgently need some relief to help them get through the next 4-6 months required to finalize their travels. We are asking for $16,800 as essential relief for the five-member family, who have lost their income, their home, and belongings and depleted their savings during the brutal war. Your help will make a tremendous difference in ensuring their well-being now and in the near future. We understand that the funds might seem steep, so here is a breakdown of everything we would need it for: $4500 towards housing (750 per month). $2000 towards flight tickets. $7000 towards travel documents such as visas and other government-mandated paperwork from various ministries, including financial proofs and statements.$800 for GFM fees. $2500 essential living expenses. Your support is crucial in helping Reham and her family find safety and stability. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

This GFM hasn't received a donation in 2 months. Please boost. Donate if you can

[fairuzfan]

"We have come together as Palestinian academics and staff of Gaza universities to affirm our existence, the existence of our colleagues and our students, and the insistence on our future, in the face of all current attempts to erase us.

The Israeli occupation forces have demolished our buildings but our universities live on. We reaffirm our collective determination to remain on our land and to resume teaching, study, and research in Gaza, at our own Palestinian universities, at the earliest opportunity.

We call upon our friends and colleagues around the world to resist the ongoing campaign of scholasticide in occupied Palestine, to work alongside us in rebuilding our demolished universities, and to refuse all plans seeking to bypass, erase, or weaken the integrity of our academic institutions. The future of our young people in Gaza depends upon us, and our ability to remain on our land in order to continue to serve the coming generations of our people.

We issue this call from beneath the bombs of the occupation forces across occupied Gaza, in the refugee camps of Rafah, and from the sites of temporary new exile in Egypt and other host countries. We are disseminating it as the Israeli occupation continues to wage its genocidal campaign against our people daily, in its attempt to eliminate every aspect of our collective and individual life.

Our families, colleagues, and students are being assassinated, while we have once again been rendered homeless, reliving the experiences of our parents and grandparents during the massacres and mass expulsions by Zionist armed forces in 1947 and 1948.

Our civic infrastructure – universities, schools, hospitals, libraries, museums and cultural centres – built by generations of our people, lies in ruins from this deliberate continuous Nakba. The deliberate targeting of our educational infrastructure is a blatant attempt to render Gaza uninhabitable and erode the intellectual and cultural fabric of our society. However, we refuse to allow such acts to extinguish the flame of knowledge and resilience that burns within us.

Allies of the Israeli occupation in the United States and United Kingdom are opening yet another scholasticide front through promoting alleged reconstruction schemes that seek to eliminate the possibility of independent Palestinian educational life in Gaza. We reject all such schemes and urge our colleagues to refuse any complicity in them. We also urge all universities and colleagues worldwide to coordinate any academic aid efforts directly with our universities.

We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the national and international institutions that have stood in solidarity with us, providing support and assistance during these challenging times. However, we stress the importance of coordinating these efforts to effectively reopen Palestinian universities in Gaza.

We emphasise the urgent need to reoperate Gaza’s education institutions, not merely to support current students, but to ensure the long-term resilience and sustainability of our higher education system. Education is not just a means of imparting knowledge; it is a vital pillar of our existence and a beacon of hope for the Palestinian people.

Accordingly, it is essential to formulate a long-term strategy for rehabilitating the infrastructure and rebuilding the entire facilities of the universities. However, such endeavours require considerable time and substantial funding, posing a risk to the ability of academic institutions to sustain operations, potentially leading to the loss of staff, students, and the capacity to reoperate.

Given the current circumstances, it is imperative to swiftly transition to online teaching to mitigate the disruption caused by the destruction of physical infrastructure. This transition necessitates comprehensive support to cover operational costs, including the salaries of academic staff.

Student fees, the main source of income for universities, have collapsed since the start of the genocide. The lack of income has left staff without salaries, pushing many of them to search for external opportunities.

Beyond striking at the livelihoods of university faculty and staff, this financial strain caused by the deliberate campaign of scholasticide poses an existential threat to the future of the universities themselves.

Thus, urgent measures must be taken to address the financial crisis now faced by academic institutions, to ensure their very survival. We call upon all concerned parties to immediately coordinate their efforts in support of this critical objective.

The rebuilding of Gaza’s academic institutions is not just a matter of education; it is a testament to our resilience, determination, and unwavering commitment to securing a future for generations to come.

The fate of higher education in Gaza belongs to the universities in Gaza, their faculty, staff, and students and to the Palestinian people as a whole. We appreciate the efforts of peoples and citizens around the world to bring an end to this ongoing genocide.

We call upon our colleagues in the homeland and internationally to support our steadfast attempts to defend and preserve our universities for the sake of the future of our people, and our ability to remain on our Palestinian land in Gaza. We built these universities from tents. And from tents, with the support of our friends, we will rebuild them once again."

[ana-bananya]

Some resources for Congo

On the ground efforts in the DRC to support:

Focus Congo

Friends of the Congo

Action Kivu

Iheartafricadotorg

City of Joy women's community

Panzi Foundation

The Ntibonera Foundation

Save the Children

Humanitarian support for displaced civilians in the DRC

Konzo

Voluntaryism In Action - Community gardens in the DRC

Malaika

Emmanuel's Peace African Hope Organization ($5,441/$45,000)

The Humanitarian Crisis in Congo will not go unheard (£4,049/£10,000)

Agissons Ensemble ($10,375/$20,000)

Goma Upendo ($18,205 CAD/$50,000 CAD)

Goma Actif (€57,561/€75,000)

Support displaced women in eastern DRC, organized by the Congolicious Foundation (€12,478/€50,000)

Medical and sanitary supplies to support women & children in Congo, Nigeria, and Sudan ($425 CAD/$3,000 CAD)

Give2Goma ($57,434/$100,000)

Together for Congo (€6,886/€12,000) *The gfm is till set at the initial goal of €6k but €12k is the next target to help fund a second shipment of aid

Nurses For Humanity ($4,686/$50,000)

BEL AV ($2,690/$30,000)

Support Congolese Refugees: Help Us Bring Hope to Refugees ($16,729 CAD/$100,000 CAD)

Relief for displaced civilians in the DRC (€6,929/€20,000) *the funds from this campaign will help ship clothes and shoes to deliver to displacement camps

Congolese families that need your support:

The Busimba Family ($15,110/$20,000)

Leon's Family ($1,492/$25,000)

Amina'a Family ($1,161/$5,000)

Help Mugisha come to Columbia ($1,952/$2,500)

Additional resources

Send a Letter to U.S. Lawmakers to demand that Your Tax Dollars Stop Funding Conflict in the Congo

Amnesty International report on cobalt mining in the DRC

Amnesty International report on human rights abuses in the DRC

Understanding the Congolese Crisis: A Starting Guide by @/baobaboperation on ig

Info, updates, and resources on Congo and Sudan by @/red_maat on ig

Who is funding the violence in the Congo? by @/voluntaryisminaction on ig

[probablyasocialecologist]

Interviews with current and former US Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department officials, aid agencies working in Gaza and internal USAID documents reveal that the administration rejected or ignored pleas to use its leverage to persuade its ally Israel – the recipient of billions of dollars of US military support – to allow sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza to stop the famine taking hold. The former officials say the US also provided diplomatic cover for Israel to create the conditions for famine by blocking international efforts to bring about a ceasefire or alleviate the crisis, making the delivery of aid almost impossible. “This is not just turning a blind eye to the man-made starvation of an entire population, it is direct complicity,” former State Department official Josh Paul, who resigned over US support for the war, told The Independent.

[...]

From the time of the first warning signs in December, intensive US pressure on Israel to open more land crossings and flood Gaza with aid could have stopped the crisis taking hold, the officials said. But Mr Biden refused to make US military aid to Israel conditional. Instead, the Biden government pursued novel and ineffective aid solutions such as airdrops and a floating pier. Now, some 300,000 people in Gaza’s north are experiencing a “full-blown” famine, according to the World Food Programme, and the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza is experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger. The level of dissent within the US government agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and combating global hunger has been unprecedented. At least 19 internal dissent memos have been sent since the start of the war by staff at USAID criticising US support for the war in Gaza. In an internal collective dissent memo drafted this month by numerous employees of USAID, the staff assail the agency and the Biden administration for its “failure to uphold international humanitarian principles and to adhere to its mandate to save lives”. The leaked draft memo, seen by The Independent, calls for the administration to apply pressure to bring “an end to the Israeli siege that is causing famine”. Not acting upon repeated warnings like these was a political choice.

[...]

At least 254 aid workers have been killed throughout the conflict, including 188 UN staff – representing the highest number of UN personnel killed in a conflict in the history of the organisation. Multiple aid convoys have come under Israeli fire. UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, said that despite sharing GPS coordinates, the number of trucks and the contacts with the military, three of their aid convoys have been hit by Israeli naval artillery and gunfire.