Doing this "Filipino Literature in exchange for donations to Palestinian families" project during the start of the ao3 donation drive and only getting a grand total of one (1) proof of donation submitted while the fanfiction slop website gets over $200,000 and counting really brings home, above all, the fucked up priorities of all of you fAnDom-FaNdoM people during a literal genocide but also how juvenile your tastes in reading material is and how much you all lack commitment to actually seeking out so-called "marginalized voices" in art and literature.
I could not be more digusted, but I'm gonna keep going. Helping get aid to families in Gaza is what matters.
Hello, I am reading Filipino short stories, and in exchange for a minimum £5 donation to the fundraisers below, you can listen to me read it:
Karam's fundraiser, last donation 7 days ago:
Hi there, my name is Lauren, I live in the UK, and I am hoping to r… Lauren Robson needs your support for Help Karam, Maram, and Baby Anas R
Ismail's fundraiser, only 2 donations in the last 12 hours:
My name is Ellen, I live in the United States, and this is a fundraiser for Ismail Al-Ruba… Ellen Campbell needs your support for Help Ismai
Rewaa and @mohamedmoner1994 's fundraiser, last donation 3 hours ago:
Muhammads words
Hello, my name is Muhammad Munir. I’m a Palestinian from Gaza City. … Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP REWAA CANCE
@yousefmoner's fundraiser, last donation 2 hours ago:
Urgent: Help Youssef's Family Escape Gaza to Safety
Dear friends,
… Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP THE MUNIR FAMILY START
I will be reading another, different short story this week. Please look out for the posts I will make about it in the following days.
Please let this incentivize you into donating to Mohamed and Yousef's families above, but if you really have no interest in what I'm doing and would still rather read your fanfiction, at the very least be motivated by compassion for these families, and don't give any more money to the already $200,000-rich fanfic site.
Below is an audio excerpt of my recording for the story last week. I sent a full copy to the one user who submitted proof of donation, but you can still listen to the whole thing if you want. Just donate, send an ask with the screenshot, and indicate you would like to receive THIS particular story:
A slur for Romani people is used once to refer to one of the characters
Use of an exclamation with racially-charged undertones
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌙🌟🌟🌟🌟
MAY DAY EVE
The old people had ordered that the dancing should stop at ten o’clock but it was almost midnight before the carriages came filing up to the front door, the servants running to and fro with torches to light the departing guests, while the girls who were staying were promptly herded upstairs to the bedrooms, the young men gathering around to wish them a good night and lamenting their ascent with mock sighs and moanings, proclaiming themselves disconsolate but straightway going off to finish the punch and the brandy though they were quite drunk already and simply bursting with wild spirits, merriment, arrogance, and audacity, for they were young bucks newly arrived from Europe; the ball had been in their honor; and they had waltzed and polka-ed and bragged and swaggered and flirted all night and were in no mood to sleep yet—no, caramba, not on this moist tropic eve! Not on this mystic May eve!—with the night still young and so seductive that it was madness not to go out, not to go forth—and serenade the neighbors! cried one; and swim in the Pasig! cried another; and gather fireflies! cried a third—whereupon there arose a great clamor for coats and capes, for hats and canes and they were presently stumbling out among the medieval shadows of the foul street where a couple of street lamps flickered and a last carriage rattled away upon the cobbles while the blind black houses muttered hush-hush, their tiled roofs looming like sinister chessboards against a wild sky murky with clouds, save where an evil young moon prowled about in a corner or where a murderous wind whirled, whistling and whining, smelling now of the sea and now of the summer orchards and wafting unbearable childhood fragrances of ripe guavas to the young men trooping so uproariously down the street that the girls who were disrobing upstairs in the bedrooms scattered screaming to the windows, crowded giggling at the windows, but were soon sighing amorously over those young men bawling below; over those wicked young men and their handsome apparel, their proud flashing eyes, and their elegant mustaches so black and vivid in the moonlight that the girls were quite ravished with love, and began crying to one another how carefree were men but how awful to be a girl and what a horrid, horrid world it was, till old Anastasia plucked them off by the ear or the pigtail and chased them off to bed—while from up the street came the clackety-clack of the watchman’s boots on the cobbles, and the clang-clang of his lantern against his knee, and the mighty roll of his great voice booming through the night: “Guardia sereno-o-o! A las doce han dado-o-o!”
And it was May again, said the old Anastasia. It was the first day of May and witches were abroad in the night, she said—for it was a night of divination, a night of lovers, and those who cared might peer in a mirror and would there behold the face of whoever it was they were fated to marry, said the old Anastasia as she hobbled about picking up the piled crinolines and folding up shawls and raking slippers to a corner while the girls climbing into the four great poster beds that overwhelmed the room began shrieking with terror, scrambling over each other and imploring the old woman not to frighten them.
“Enough, enough, Anastasia! We want to sleep!”
“Go scare the boys instead, you old witch!”
“She is not a witch, she is a maga. She was born on Christmas Eve!”
“St. Anastasia, virgin and martyr.”
“Huh? Impossible! She has conquered seven husbands! Are you a virgin, Anastasia?”
“No, but I am seven times a martyr because of you girls!”
“Let her prophesy, let her prophesy! Whom will I marry, old gypsy? Come, tell me.”
“You may learn in a mirror if you are not afraid.”
“I am not afraid, I will go!” cried the young cousin Agueda, jumping up in bed.
“Girls, girls—we are making too much noise! My mother will hear and will come and pinch us all. Agueda, lie down! And you, Anastasia, I command you to shut your mouth and go away!”
“Your mother told me to stay here all night, my grand lady!”
“And I will not lie down!” cried the rebellious Agueda, leaping to the floor. “Stay, old woman. Tell me what I have to do.”
“Tell her! Tell her!” chimed the other girls.
The old woman dropped the clothes she had gathered and approached and fixed her eyes on the girl. “You must take a candle,” she instructed, “and go into a room that is dark and that has a mirror in it and you must be alone in the room. Go up to the mirror and close your eyes and say:
Mirror, mirror,
show to me
him whose woman
I will be.
If all goes right, just above your left shoulder will appear the face of the man you will marry.”
A silence. Then: “And what if all does not go right?” asked Agueda.
“Ah, then the Lord have mercy on you!”
“Why?”
“Because you may see—the Devil!”
The girls screamed and clutched one another, shivering.
“But what nonsense!” cried Agueda. “This is the year 1847. There are no devils anymore!” Nevertheless she had turned pale. “But where could I go, huh? Yes, I know! Down to the sala. It has that big mirror and no one is there now.”
“No, Agueda, no! It is a mortal sin! You will see the devil!”
“I do not care! I am not afraid! I will go!”
“Oh, you wicked girl! Oh, you mad girl!”
“If you do not come back to bed, Agueda, I will call my mother.”
“And if you do I will tell her who came to visit you at the convent last March. Come, old woman—give me that candle. I go.”
“Oh, girls—come and stop her! Take hold of her! Block the door!”
But Agueda had already slipped outside; was already tip-toeing across the hall; her feet bare and her dark hair falling down her shoulders and streaming in the wind as she fled down the stairs, the lighted candle sputtering in one hand while with the other she pulled up her white gown from her ankles.
She paused breathless in the doorway to the sala and her heart failed her. She tried to imagine the room filled again with lights, laughter, whirling couples, and the jolly jerky music of the fiddlers. But, oh, it was a dark den, a weird cavern, for the windows had been closed and the furniture stacked up against the walls. She crossed herself and stepped inside.
The mirror hung on the wall before her; a big antique mirror with a gold frame carved into leaves and flowers and mysterious curlicues. She saw herself approaching fearfully in it: a small white ghost that the darkness bodied forth—but not willingly, not completely, for her eyes and hair were so dark that the face approaching in the mirror seemed only a mask that floated forward; a bright mask with two holes gaping in it, blown forward by the white cloud of her gown. But when she stood before the mirror she lifted the candle level with her chin and the dead mask bloomed into her living face.
She closed her eyes and whispered the incantation. When she had finished such a terror took hold of her that she felt unable to move, unable to open her eyes, and thought she would stand there forever, enchanted. But she heard a step behind her, and a smothered giggle, and instantly opened her eyes.
Hey guys. Today (10/29/2024) is my 32nd birthday. Please consider donating to the following fundraisers for me since I'm unable to donate as our finances are going to be strained again in the next couple of months because of the typhoon.
Yousef's gfm
(£8,881 / 50,000) only 1 donation in the last 11 hours:
Urgent: Help Youssef's Family Escape Gaza to Safety
Dear frien… Layla Ashoor needs your support for Secure a Safe Future for Youssef’
Ismail's gfm
($790 USD / 50,000) only 1 donation in the last 6 hours and before that was 10 days ago. URGENT. Ismail is in the north, he's all alone, his friends have been martyred, and he has NO FOOD. He's been separated from the rest of the family for a year.
My name is Ellen, I live in the United States, and this is a fundraiser for Ismail Al-Ruba… Ellen Campbell needs your support for Help Ismai
Karam's gfm
(£1,765 / 25,000) No new donations for 17 days! Karam and his wife are taking care of their newborn baby, Anas.
Hi there, my name is Lauren, I live in the UK, and I am hoping to r… Lauren Robson needs your support for Help Karam, Maram, and Baby Anas R
Mohamed and Rewaa's gfm:
(£21,752 / 50,000) Mohamed and Rewaa's son Siraj has been sick for a few days now. Just a few hours ago, Mohamed reported that Rewaa's uncle have been martyred 💔. This is Rewaa's mother's brother. Rewaa's mother herself was martyred 15 years ago when she was very young, shot by an IOF soldier.
Muhammads words
Hello, my name is Muhammad Munir. I’m a Palestinian from Gaza City. … Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP REWAA CANCE
You can also send even just a couple dollars to the family's paypal account, a more direct way they can access money for emergency expenses and to buy everyday essentials. They desperately need to buy winter clothes.
I got my first salary in my new part-time job today and after paying my debts I had a small amount left so I donated £5 to @mohamedmoner1994 and Rewaa's gofundme. Please consider matching my donation.
I haven't been able to boost and push Mohamed's and @yousefmoner's fundraiser because I've been sick for a few days and took a break from tumblr. I'll try to send out messages again to look for people who can match even just my £5 donation.
Please don't be mad or annoyed if you receive my asks; my goal will be to look for people with the ability to donate a minimum of £5 because both Mohamed's and Yousef's fundraisers are still so far from their goal nearly 5 months since they started their gofundme.
Please be assured that this is a vetted fundraiser. Mohamed's is number #66, line 70 and Yousef's is #65, line 69 in the vetted Gaza fundraisers spreadsheet. I also have countless of posts with updates from their family on my blog, tagged with their tumblr urls. Mohamed, Yousef, and Rewaa are also on instagram - pls consider following them, interacting with their posts, and sharing and collabing with their reels because the family have been struggling to promote their content on the platform. They've been asking people to help them reach a wider audience and they can really use everyone's help:
Mohamed's insta: mohamed_moner1994
Yousef's: you2.ef_
Rewaa's: rewaaamohamed
Layla, their gfm organizer: only_one_lulu
Mohamed has also started an account on tiktok, please do follow him there as well: mohamedmoner79
Mohamed is still only at £11,275 / £45,000 with only 2 donations so far today:
Muhammads words
Hello, my name is Muhammad Munir. I’m a Palestinian from Gaza City. … Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP REWAA CANCE
Yousef is at £7,794 / £50,000 with only 1 donation 1 day ago:
Urgent: Help Youssef's Family Escape Gaza to Safety
Dear frien… Layla Ashoor needs your support for Secure a Safe Future for Youssef’
They have another brother, Karam, with a different fundraiser for himself, his wife, and their newborn son. I haven't been posting about him a lot because I tried to focus on Mohamed and Yousef's fundraisers first, but they also badly need donations. Their fundraiser is very new and is still only at £1,461 / £25,000 with the last donation being 3 days ago:
Hi there, my name is Lauren, I live in the UK, and I am hoping to r… Lauren Robson needs your support for Help Karam, Maram, and Baby Anas R
The last update I read from Layla was that their sister Sahar and mother Nadia went and joined Mohamed and Rewaa in Deir al-Balah, along with Karam's wife, Maram and their son, leaving behind Yousef, Karam, and father Munir in Azdaa, where there were intensified clashes and shelling that reached their encampment. Yousef, Karam, and their dad had to flee from their tent several times and sleep on the streets. When they got back to their tent, most of their belongings had been stolen.
Please help match my donation to any one of these fundraisers. If you can donate to all three, please do so. I can only afford to give £5 because of the high exchange rate here in my country, but if you have the ability to give more, your donation would go a long way to help these people and their family.
Please guys. Someone who can afford even just the minimum amount please donate to any of the Munir family's fundraisers. All four of @yousefmoner, @mohamedmoner1994, Karam and Dina's fundraisers have stagnated. Karam just messaged me asking if I can donate even just a little so they can buy a carton of milk for their baby, and it broke my heart but I literally have zero money right now.
I'll make a separare post for Yousef and the others, but please can someone send Karam even just a little amount today? Their last donation was 5 days ago (!!!!) and they still only have just £422 on their gfm:
Hi there, my name is Lauren, I live in the UK, and I am hoping to r… Lauren Robson needs your support for Help Karam, Maram, and Baby Anas R
Tagging for reach below the cut, I'm very sorry for bothering, but if you can help me reblog this I'd be so grateful:
Can I interest you in some Filipino short stories (written in English)?
Every week, I plan to choose a short piece of Filipino fiction and record myself reading it.
In exchange for proof of donations of at least £5 to any of the Palestinian fundraisers listed below, I will send a copy of the audio file along with a PDF version to your email (or a link to a gdrive folder where you can download it, if you prefer).
Please consider supporting these families with your donations:
Fundraiser for Rewaa, @mohamedmoner1994 and their children
Muhammads words
Hello, my name is Muhammad Munir. I’m a Palestinian from Gaza City. … Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP REWAA CANCE
Fundraiser for Karam's Family
Hi there, my name is Lauren, I live in the UK, and I am hoping to r… Lauren Robson needs your support for Help Karam, Maram, and Baby Anas R
Fundraiser for @yousefmoner, Sahar and their parents:
Urgent: Help Youssef's Family Escape Gaza to Safety
Dear friends,
… Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP THE MUNIR FAMILY START
Fundraiser for Ismail:
My name is Ellen, I live in the United States, and this is a fundraiser for Ismail Al-Ruba… Ellen Campbell needs your support for Help Ismai
I unfortunately have neglected these families for the past several months now because of my own personal issues, but my friends need help now more than ever. None of them were evacuated during the brief and cruel ceasefire, even Rewaa, who should have been in the priority list for evacuation given her cancer. Their situation is becoming more and more dire.
As you may know, Israel has blocked ALL aid to the Gaza strip, and their attacks on civillian encampments have become even more extreme. There's been several evacuation orders and these families are being forced to flee from place to place. This requires money, on top of the funds they need for basic needs, and the prices for commodities are now unbelievably high.
Please, if you were thinking of cancelling any of your streaming subscriptions, or skipping out on a badly-reviewed movie, or thinking twice about purchasing a book, game, or album, now couldn't be a more perfect time to do it. Instead, I encourage you to direct your money to the fundraisers above, and donate to at least one of them, or to all of them if you are able.
And in return, I will tell you a story.
Please send a screenshot of your donation to my inbox here (I am able to accept asks with media; the submit a post button is also enabled). Kindly indicate as well if you would like to receive a gdrive link or an email with the audio file and pdf, and if the latter, include the email address you want me to send it to.
Donations are still practically stagnant for the following fundraisers:
Youssef Munir's ( @yousefmoner ) fundraiser is only at £4,907 of their £50,000 goal. The last donation before the £7 I was able to give just now was 2 days ago. Please help him get to 5,000 today by donation matching with me.
Youssef's fundraiser is also included in @rafflesforpalestine. If you donate at least £5, you can have 1 entry to win a crocheted market bag.
Urgent: Help Youssef's Family Escape Gaza to Safety
Dear frien… Layla Ashoor needs your support for Secure a Safe Future for Youssef’
Muhammad Munir's ( @mohamedmoner1994 ) fundraiser is only at £9,293 of their £45,000 goal. He's only had 1 donation today amounting to £10 and the one before that was 2 days ago. Their priority now is to evacuate and get treatment for Muhammad's wife, Rewaa, a cancer patient whose condition is getting worse because of having no access to treatment for months. Please donate to their gofundme today.
Muhammad's fundraiser is also included in @rafflesforpalestine. A £5 donation will give you one entry to win digital coloring pages.
Muhammads words
Hello, my name is Muhammad Munir. I’m a Palestinian from Gaza City. … Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP REWAA CANCE
Karam is Youssef and Muhammad's brother and he is fundraising for his wife Maram and their baby, Anas, who was born during the war. Their fundraiser is new and has only raised £372 of their £25,000 goal. Last donation was 1 day ago and before that was 4 days ago. Please consider donating as Karam and his wife and son are striving to reunite with Muhammad, Youssef, and the rest of their family:
Hi there, my name is Lauren, I live in the UK, and I am hoping to r… Lauren Robson needs your support for Help Karam, Maram, and Baby Anas R
Dina is Youssef, Muhammad, and Karam's sister and she is fundraising for her husband and three children. Dina and her family has been able to evacuate to Egypt but is still badly in need of support, as they used up all their savings to pay the crossing fee and are having difficulty finding jobs in Egypt. Their gofundme is also new and has only raised $715 USD of their $50,000 goal. Their last donation was 8 hours ago and before that was 2 days ago. Please send them what you can today as they are struggling to pay the rent and might be kicked out by their landlord if unable to pay:
Hello, my name is Erica from the United States and I’m starting th… Erica Harmon needs your support for Help Dina and her family survive dis
I was able to sell some handmade items again and donated all the money earned to Youssef's gfm, but I was only able to earn a very small amount (just Php450 and I added some 50 more pesos to get to £7). All of you first world people with higher currencies than us please consider matching my donations to any one, two, three, or all 4 of these fundraisers.
Proof of donation under the cut, posted twice to cut the length:
I've sent the audio file and pdf copies of this week's story to those who sent me proof of donations 🩷 Please check your email or inbox to see if you've received it, and if I somehow failed to send you one despite submitting a screenshot, please shoot me another message so that I can send it to you as well.
I don't know if I will be able to record a story this week because things are a little busy again at home since my mother will be away to visit my grandmother. But you can still listen to/read the stories I've read these last 2 weeks. Just send me proof of donations and tell me which short story you would like to receive 🧡
And please keep sharing the links to the gfms of Rewaa,Yousef, Karam, and Ismail. Even if you don't wanna read/listen to Filipino short stories, I encourage you to donate and support these families:
My name is Ellen, I live in the United States, and this is a fundraiser for Ismail Al-Ruba… Ellen Campbell needs your support for Help Ismai
Hi there, my name is Lauren, I live in the UK, and I am hoping to r… Lauren Robson needs your support for Help Karam, Maram, and Baby Anas R
Urgent: Help Youssef's Family Escape Gaza to Safety
Dear friends,
… Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP THE MUNIR FAMILY START
Muhammads words
Hello, my name is Muhammad Munir. I’m a Palestinian from Gaza City. … Layla Ashoor needs your support for HELP REWAA CANCE
Hi everyone, I've been planning on making a series of videos like the above on Instagram and Tiktok to help make content that will boost @mohamedmoner1994 and his wife Rewaa's fundraiser. I plan on making some for @yousefmoner's fundraiser as well.
I haven't been on here much because if you've seen my posts on my blog, things have been kind of hard in my personal life lately, and me and my family are currently trying to recover from the recent typhoon that devastated our region. So, I don't know if I can promote fundraisers much here on tumblr aside from reblogging, but I am still trying my best to help promote Mohamed and Yousef's campaign on other platforms. Layla, their organizer, has said that what's important is to make constant content and updates and make sure not to let a long time pass that people would start overlooking Mohamed and Yousef's campaign, so I thought this project might help with that somewhat.
So on that note, aside from reblogging this post, can I also ask you, if you have accounts on Tiktok and Instagram, to please like, comment, save, and maybe share on your stories this reel that I posted yesterday?
Link on Instagram
Link on Tiktok
And while you're on both these apps, please do follow the family's accounts and interact with the first few posts or the pinned posts on their grid:
Mohamed's Insta
Yousef's Insta
Rewaa's Insta
Karam's Insta
Laylay's Insta
----
Mohamed's Tiktok
Yousef's Tiktok
Karam's Tiktok
Layla's Tiktok
Please do take a little time from your day to give these accounts some engagement. If you are unable to donate, this is another way you can help aside from reblogging here on tumblr. Layla says that only the same people have been donating to their fundraisers and she has to beg every single one of them for just a few dollars. Help me bring more eyes to their campaigns.
You can also join me in my 1000 cranes project so that more content will be made that will promote their fundraisers.
(I will put on a separate post after this one the updates to the goals for each of these campaigns. Please help me reblog that one as well)
