"What we are going through is a test, and we must be patient and stay strong until these difficult days pass." - Jamal Eyad Shakshak

Jamal Eyad Shakshak, his sister Leen, and six other members of their family connected with me virtually from their homeland in Gaza, where they are currently living through the ongoing genocide being enacted against the Palestinian people.

Jamal and Leen are prolific in sharing their experiences through words, photos, and videos posted to social media accounts and on their fundraiser at chuffed.org: https://chuffed.org/project/136182-do-not-forget-to-support-me-and-my-little-sister.

Social media accounts like theirs are not uncommon in my experience, and any critical eye is going to come to the valid question of whether an account like this, and many more like them, are authentic. 

At best, we want to know that money and attention is being given to the right people. 

At worst, a dismissal takes life-saving resources from people who need them. At even worse, this opens a pattern of hardening hearts against opening up to any Palestinian voices, people just as worthy of dignity, shelter, food, and water as any other person, people who are speaking from and about horrors that we need to see, absorb, and do what we can to stop immediately. 

Leen spoke to this exactly when she said that responses to her family’s chuffed.org fundraiser are few, and that the financial needs of her family are not being met. 

She described living in tents after the destruction of her family’s home as a place where “we get water through UNICEF cars, but it is not healthy, frankly,” and that she, Jamal, and her family are doing what they can to meet their fundraising goal “to save my family and get out of Gaza.”

After messaging back and forth with Jamal and Leen, and getting a trusted opinion on whether our conversations and the content they were sharing are genuine, I can say with all confidence that these are very real people with pressing needs in a living situation as dangerous as it is tragic. 

It is not wrong to have a healthy amount of doubt, but once we know someone is in need, whatever we are capable of doing to help, however and whenever possible, does well to follow. 

I am humbled and honored to share a short interview I had with Jamal, in hopes that doing so will bring more support and better, safer times for him and his family:  

What is your full name, age, and birthplace? 

My name is Jamal Eyad Shakshak, I am 19 years old, and I was born in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, where I grew up and spent most of my life with my family.

Where are you located now, and how long have you been there?

I currently live in Gaza Strip, where I have lived all my life. I live with my family in a tent due to difficult circumstances. We face extremely harsh humanitarian conditions every day, and try to cope as best as we can.

My life was also difficult before these circumstances, but it was not as severe as it is now. Despite the challenges, life was somewhat normal, and I had hope for building a better future.

How are you able to get online?

I access the internet with great difficulty through an eSIM card that I activate every month. This is expensive and limits my ability to connect. As for water, food, energy, and shelter, we obtain them with great difficulty, often relying on help from some people or the few available aid resources.

What sources of hope are you drawing on?

My source of hope is my faith that God does not forget His servants. What we are going through is a test, and we must be patient and stay strong until these difficult days pass.

What do you want people in the United States to know about you and your family?

I want people in the United States to understand the real suffering we live through. Our lives are full of fear and hardship, and I hope people hear our story and help us if possible, especially in covering the costs and coordination to leave Gaza, so we can live in a safe place and build a better future.

If money was not a factor and you had total freedom to pursue any interest you like, what would it be? 

If money were not an obstacle and I could pursue any dream, I would like to become a business manager in the future, but unfortunately, the situation in my city does not allow me to achieve this dream now.