I’ve gotten a some asks to help spread the word on Palestinian gofundmes - so I’m putting it all into one post with the hope they’ll get better visibility. all have been vetted by either @el-shab-hussein, @nabulsi, or @90-ghost
if you can donate, consider it
if you can’t, sharing is hugely helpful too
talk to your family, your friends, your coworkers, your elected officials. go to protests if you can. don’t let anyone forget what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank
from the river to the sea my friends
Youssef Helles (@4-zien-yousef) is trying to get his wife and five kids out of Gaza which require legal costs, housing, healthcare, food, basic necessities, emotional support, etc. He’s also had his tumblr deleted 3 times which is absolutely fucking ridiculous
€8459/23000
My name is Youssef Helles, 42 years old. In 2019, I left Gaza in search of a better l… Omar yousef needs your support for A Father's Plea: H
Tahani Shorbajee (@tahanibaby), her husband, her kids, her parents, her brothers, and her sister have lost everything. Her niece in the US is trying to raise funds to get them to Egypt which is 5k/adult and 2500/child.
ALSO Tahani studied chemistry and was an assistant prof which is hella cool. she’s looking to connect with fellow science nerds so go talk to her (whatsapp is on her page)
$17909/50000
With a heavy heart and a plea for urgent assistance, I am reaching … Renna Sharif needs your support for Please Help Tahani save her ch
Eman Zaqout (@emanzaqoutt) and her husband and two kids are in a similar situation. Their entire neighbourhood was destroyed and were evacuated from their home in the north to south Palestine. They need food clothes medicine literally basic necessities that have become even more scarce as the violence continues
Eman also got awarded to do her PhD in Malaysia but she can’t get out!! LET THE WOMAN GO TO SCHOOL AND REBUIKD A LIFE
$11779/40000
Dear friends, family, and compassionate supporters,
My name is Eman Za… Mazin Fakak needs your support for Help my family survive famine an
Raghad Qanou (@rhq2744) is a medical student at Al-Azhar university who is trying to get her family out Gaza. She’s managed to get out on a medical scholarship but her family is stuck. Not only are hygiene/sanitary infrastructure and health care inadequate but there’s costs when they get out. The family have done their best to figure out it but they need help now
£5467/55000
Hello,
My name is Bridget and I'm managing this fundraiser for Raghad and her family. Raghad and… Bridget Pallas needs your support for Hel
Jad Al-Haq (@falestine-yousef) is a new mom. She has a three month baby. She’s healing, having a hard time providing milk, there’s no diapers available or medicines or vitamins. Her fathers had a stroke and her mother has alot of chronic health issues. She and her family need to get back on their feet
$4495/40000
Hello all,
I am Palestine, Jad Al-Haq, I am 36 years old, married, a… Jacob Thompson needs your support for Help Palestine and Family Survi
it’s okay to do things that make your symptoms worse (as long as you’ll stay safe)
every once in a while you need to eat something yummy. or go on a walk. or a trip to the zoo. take a hot shower. cry your eyes out. dance. listen to music. draw for way to long. write. laugh. sit in a cafe with a friend. paint your nails. dye your hair. go on a run. pet a cat
sometimes you need to do things that are cathartic or make yourself feel alive. sometimes you need the reminder of why you’re fighting so hard to stay alive
this is your reminder that just because it makes your symptoms worse, it isn’t always the wrong thing to do. there can be value in these actions
If you think about it too, abled people do it all the time. Deciding to drink to excess at a party knowing they'll have a hangover. Going to a theme park knowing walking all day is going to hurt their feet by the end. We have the right to make those same decisions.
This is called Dignity of Risk, and it's an important concept in disability justice.
Everyone weighs their physical and mental/emotional health against one another in constantly shifting balance; inevitably, there are times when we choose to accept consequences to one for the sake of the other.
Infantilsing us by undermining our agency in the name of "protection" or "care" is yet another way that we are disabled by society.
"[...] Understanding the world as a collection of aesthetics, of brands, instead of a series of philosophies and power struggles means focusing on how things appear, and not how or why they work. It’s bad enough to think about art this way, but thinking of yourself this way is a real disaster, [it] means neglecting what drives you, what fulfills you, what makes you human. The invented lifestyles of these aesthetics offer no path to embodiment, because they aren’t designed for entities with bodies. They’re designed for TikTok, and hashtags, and the wiki."
I think it’s important to be able to recognize the different between our emotional response, our moral response, and what we believe should be our legal response.
For example, emotionally, I genuinely think less of someone who buys into stupid conspiracies about organ donation. I think that morally, if you are unwilling (unwilling, not medically unable) to donate organs, you should not be an organ candidate. I don’t think you should be able to say ‘If I’m dead I want all of my organs to rot, even if they could save lives. But I also want to benefit from other people’s sacrifice.’ Fuck you.
But I do not believe it would be ethical (or practical) to legislate that. I think it would be a horrible ethical violation and medical coercion. I recognize that, even as I’m disgusted by people who would let someone die when saving lives would cost them nothing.
Legal codes and ethical guidelines shouldn’t be based around our feelings.
Not long ago, there was an attempt to pass a law where if a baby was born sick and addicted to drugs, the mother could face child abuse charges and have parental rights terminated. Stepping back from any emotional response—either to the criminalization of addiction or to the suffering of newborns—is extremely difficult. I don’t know if it’s a subject that I could have that level of clarity on because it’s such an emotional topic.
But what I want to highlight is the political bloc who were most effective against the law, and led to its defeat: community healthcare workers who were on the frontlines, whose careers very often were at that intersection of drug abuse and child suffering.
Their argument wasn’t primarily about the parental rights of the mothers, or about the criminalization of substance use disorders. Instead, it was about what public health policies work in the real world, and what policies cause more harm. They argued these women would be afraid to access resources for harm reduction during pregnancy. This would result in heavier drug usage during pregnancy than if they were able to access harm reduction strategies and resources. There would also be an increase in abandoned infants, babies who are very sick and need immediate medical help. Fear of punishment wouldn’t help anyone.
In a practical manner, this legislation would likely do more harm while not addressing the actual problems. Several different policies were instituted instead, ones that had been proven effective in practice. I think that there are some situations that we can only find solutions if we can step away from our immediate emotional response to think, or understand that we aren't the right person to try to fix this problem, and focus on where we can make a positive impact instead.
