Hi all! I have been connected now to Seraj Aburaida, a Palestinian youth, since January 16, 2024. When we were first connected, he was staying in the camps in Khan Yunis but everything there was bombed. He lost everything, again, except for the clothes off his back and his phone, and was displaced for the 3rd time to Rafah. At the beginning of May, the start of the Rafah invasion forced a 4th displacement on Seraj’s family. They moved their tent to Khan Yunis again. 

Seraj was supposed to evacuate to Egypt in the days following the occupation of the Rafah border crossing. Instead of leaving to find safety and secure a future for his family, Seraj was forced to spend the money he had saved for travel on internal relocation costs.

When fundraising for Palestine, the news changes things almost daily. We are keeping our goals flexible to provide for Seraj’s family under constantly evolving circumstances.

Operation Olive Branch

You can find Seraj on line 319 of the Operation Olive Branch spreadsheet. For additional verification, the majority of Seraj’s fundraising team has gotten to video call with him and see proof of his location.

Donate to Gaza Relief | Seraj’s Priorities

Priority- Your donation to Seraj will first go towards urgent survival needs:

1 - Water, food, medicine for his family members, blankets, a clay oven to cook, pay back the telephone he had to get in order to receive his donations, gas, and sanitary needs. He is very generous and always helps out the families and children around him, but he tends not to keep enough for himself!

All basic necessities are astronomically priced right now, as aid into Gaza has been heavily thwarted by border blockades.

2 - unexpected costs of survival

Then eventually, donations will go towards helping Seraj not only survive but also thrive:

3 - ⁠Laptop for studies

4 - ⁠Books and materials for college

Options for Donating to Gaza Relief

Seraj and our whole fundraising team are looking forward to a future where Palestine is free. In the meantime, it’s crucial for us to support Palestinians however we can. If you aren’t able to donate right now, please consider bringing some of our flyers to a Palestine protest, encampment, or event!

Seraj’s GoFundMe is our primary donation method. However, GoFundMe does take a large fee and does not immediately release the funds.

If you’d like to donate quickly to Seraj, you can Venmo our comrade Rebekah at @rebbiest

Seraj also has PayPal, which he can access with his phone, but he has a withdrawal limit every month.

Please do not use any related emojis (such as the watermelon or the Palestine flag) when using payment apps!

Whichever donation method you choose, every penny of the funds (minus any platform fees) will get to Seraj’s bank account as quickly as possible. Our team works hard every day to get him his donations as quickly as possible.

In Seraj’s Own Words

“Hello everyone,

I am Seraj, a 20 year old young man from Gaza. I lived with my parents and 5 siblings. Before the war in Gaza I was living my life like anyone else. My dream was to live in peace, in tranquility, to achieve my wishes and the wishes of my family, to seek a safe and wonderful future, to obtain a university degree, and to obtain a profession, a job!

But suddenly there was this day of disaster.

On the seventh day of October 2023 I was going out to university in the morning. I could not even imagine that the normal life we were living would change in the blink of an eye! As if we were in hell. I came home to see the news and unfortunately, everyone was surprised by this. The start of this war and what happened after the 7th of October till this day took away all of our dreams and wishes.

I had reached the third level in university and spent two full years studying. I specialized in the field of information technology, mobile programming branch. But now, I can not complete my studies. My university is destroyed and my MSI laptop is gone. I bought it for exactly $1,500 but it was there at the university, in the lab room (full of equipment) when the university was bombed. On Saturday I should have had a practical test on my laptop, but unfortunately I didn't have the chance to do the test.

Despite the fact that everything I worked for is gone now and we are unsure when this war will end and what will happen to us in the coming days and weeks, I keep dreaming. I always said: “You will not achieve your dreams if you do not dream”.

My dream now is to live through this war, buy me a new laptop and complete my studies abroad, outside Gaza.

It is really expensive but at least I can try.

I hope you can help me regain my studies, my dream, and my future. Help me reach my goal please by donating to this campaign.

Don't leave me stuck like this! Please share this campaign with your family, friends, donate as much as you can, I really need your help. I would be forever grateful if you will help me to have a future. For my family, for me, for Gaza.

Thank you so much❤️ [red heart emoji]

Seraj”

Stay Connected with Seraj

- Follow Seraj’s new Instagram at @just.ser3jo⁩ (his previous 3 accounts have been deleted)

- Add Seraj on Whatsapp at +972 59-321-4359 to make sure you stay connected to him.  Instagram has deleted his last 2 accounts, and is trying to censor Palestinians on the ground showing the world the truth of what is happening to them.

If you have any questions for me (Sky) you can DM me at @RebirthGarments or  @RadicalVisibilityCollective