Follow-Up to 'Eight Families in Gaza' Event + An Update

Last weekend I gave a presentation for the "Eight Families in Gaza: Amplifying Their Voices" event, offered in affiliation with the Whatcom Coalition for Palestine. I remain grateful to the families who shared so generously shared their photos, their words, their writing, their videos, and their voices.  Everything I presented during this event was developed in collaboration with members of the families who were featured, and it was shared with their permission and blessing. 

I have the deepest respect for these families. While I know my presentation was not enough to do them justice, and while I wished to center them, what I shared was also filtered through my own personal feelings and experiences. But I still hope that it brought these families closer to all of us, that the attendees came away from the program changed by what they saw and heard, and that local support for these families and for Palestinian justice will only grow stronger.

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the event, and also to those who made financial gifts to  the families. It was heartening to hear from those who passed their support on to me to disperse, and also to see familiar names on the donor pages over the following days. And with the increasingly dire and dangerous conditions created by Israel's continued violation of the ceasefire agreement and international & humanitarian law, combined with their increased military aggression and violence, what was already an overwhelming challenge to find and secure food, water, medicine, and basic necessities has only intensified. 

Israel has completely blocked trucks and supplies from entering into Gaza, which means there is once again a severe fuel and food shortage. Prices have skyrocketed and continue to rise. The donations made by event attendees after Sunday's event are helping people get through this terrible week. Currently the families I am in direct contact with are struggling, trying to take things one day at a time, but despair is getting harder to repel. 

Ramadan started last weekend, and there is often not enough food to adequately sustain them when they are able to break their fast. They are mainly forced to rely on often canned food with low nutritional value purchased at high prices. They are hungry and exhausted, and without adequate shelter, and there has recently been a serious flu outbreak that has affected many. And with the continued uncertainty, when experience has only shown them that with time conditions worsen, hope is getting harder and harder to find or feel. 

Tomorrow I am sending a transfer of funds to the two families whose campaigns I personally host and manage, and then I will begin again more attempts to raise more support to help them get through the next week.  And all the while I hope and pray for an end to Israel's illegal and immoral blockade and their use of forced starvation and collective punishment as yet another way to escalate their genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.   

During last weekend's event Q & A following the presentation, it became clear that there is also an interest in learning more about various grassroots groups, programs, and initiatives led by Palestinians in Gaza which we can support. I explained how direct aid is what is most urgently right now, and that donating to NGOs won't have the impact that is being requested from people in Gaza, but there are a number of Palestinian-led collectives, campaigns, and projects doing critical work.

I have created a page which lists some of the groups and projects I am most familiar with and know the most about, and I also try to promote awareness about them on social media, and support their work financially when I can.

I share this now as a follow-up to last weekend, and to thank everyone again for the support. I thank the families in Gaza who so generously shared with me, and I thank everyone who came to and helped with the event. And those who made donations to the families who were featured. And I also thank you for reading this, and for your desire to figure out what more you can do, and your commitment to action.

---March 6, 2025