The Editor,
My name is Saadiya Joha. I immigrated to Canada in 1999 and I live in Coquitlam with my family.
I attend the Free Palestine rallies in Coquitlam on Sunday in hopes that we can help my family members who are in Gaza facing violence by the Israeli military.
At these rallies, I find support, and I am raising money in hopes that I can help them escape Gaza and save their lives.
I want to share some stories about my family members.
Gaza has become one of the most dangerous places on Earth.
I want to save my sister and her family, and take them to a safe place, away from the constant dangers they face.
No one in the world would want to leave their loved ones to die without offering help.
Gaza is no longer habitable for either humans or animals. The people of Gaza are human beings like us, and they deserve to live in safety and peace.
My sister Nisreen used to live in northern Gaza, on the Al-Zeitoun street. During the displacement, she and her five children moved to the south of Gaza.
As they fled, they walked over the bodies of the dead without their shoes, and my sister lost consciousness for several minutes due to the horrific sights around her.
Her eldest son, Rami, had a broken arm before the war, and underwent surgery. The surgery was unsuccessful. He now needs another surgery and cannot lift anything with his broken arm.
Her youngest daughter, Sewar, lost her eyeglasses during the displacement and can no longer see clearly.
They have been living in a tent for over a year now.
One night, as they slept in darkness, they were suddenly awakened by the sound of a dangerous, vicious dog barking.
Nisreen quickly turned on her phone’s flashlight, only to find the large dog standing over her daughter, Swaar.
She woke her husband, who rushed to protect their daughter — almost too late.
The stray dogs in Gaza have become a serious threat to people because of the extreme shortage of food, and they have started to attack humans.
Life in Gaza has become unbearable: There is no medicine, no food and even the water supply is scarce.
My father is ill and in need of medication and special food for diabetes patients. He has had heart surgery and cannot sleep at all due to the constant bombardment by Israel on Gaza.
My father’s wife is also in need of medication for cholesterol. My sister Abeer has a son, Bilal, who is non-verbal and has diabetes. He requires insulin and is in urgent need of medication.
My sister Mona’s house as well as her married son’s house were destroyed in the bombings. Her 17-year-old son, Waseem, was shot in the leg at the start of the war while fetching flour for his mother. She took him to the hospital, but the doctor could not remove the bullet from his leg, saying that he would bleed excessively.
Due to the lack of supplies in Gaza, the doctor instead inserted a metal rod into his leg, but the bullet remains lodged there. It has been nine months, and the bullet is still in his leg. The doctor said he’s going to remove the bullet after the war ends.
My sister, Samah, and her family are currently enduring severe hardships in Gaza. I have submitted a temporary resident visa application for them to come to safety in Canada but have not yet received a response.
Samah, who resides in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza, has been forced to relocate more than seven times from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip, despite being pregnant. She and her family are now in Al-Mawasi, living in a tent under dire conditions.
She gave birth to the baby, Leem, in the tent. Her young son, Malik, has lost his ability to speak due to the terror caused by relentless airstrikes.
Her daughter, Lian, pleads for their lives, expressing a desperate desire to live in peace. On her recent birthday, when asked what gift she wanted, Lian heartbreakingly replied that she wished for a pair of shoes, as she has been walking barefoot. This response was devastating to hear.
One cold night, Samah awoke to find her now three-month-old daughter, Leem , unresponsive, with no detectable heartbeat. In a panic, she and her husband tried to warm the infant, and after several agonizing minutes, Leem’s heartbeat returned. Leem, along with her siblings, suffers from malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies.
Lian is often lethargic and unable to move due to the lack of proper nutrition.
I earnestly appeal to human rights organizations and the Canadian government to expedite the process of bringing my sisters and their families to safety in Canada before it is too late.
While the rest of the world celebrates the new year and Christmas, Gaza suffers.
We ask for peace and hope to escape this nightmare. Why must we live in constant fear while others celebrate life? Please stop the savage war against Gaza. We can’t bear what we see on the news anymore.
It has broken something inside me and I am suffering from severe psychological distress. I am always fearful, always anxious because of the horrors I see.
This is not war — real war has rules and this is beyond anything humane.
Please save all people in Gaza. They deserve to live a happy life.
The movement in support of Palestine that is underway across the country is not a movement of hate: It is a desperate response to the excessive violence that the people of Palestine face.
The people of Canada should stand against this violence and stand up for the innocent civilians of Palestine.
Please help my family in any way you can.
-Saadiya Joha, Coquitlam
