Help Baraa in Khan Yunis Survive and Escape Gaza

Hi, I’m John Urquhart, and I am running this fundraiser on behalf of Baraa Al-Arja. He is a student from Rafah who is displaced in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis. I stood for election in Cardiff West in June 2024. I am an activist in Cardiff. Please take the time out of your day to read Baraa’s testimony, and, if you can afford to give, I passionately urge you to do so.

I will be speaking regularly with Baraa and will pass on any kind messages you leave for him.

How You Can Help

✅ £40-80 – Provides food and clean water for Baraa ’s family.
✅ £190-£375 – Supports warm clothing, blankets, and survival essentials.
✅ £760+ – Helps reinforce their shelter and provide long-term relief.

A Plea for Urgent Action

Baraa is not asking for luxuries—only the basic right to feed his family and keep them warm. Every day that passes brings him closer to famine and further from hope.

💙 Please, stand with Baraa and his family. Your donation could be the reason they make it through this crisis.

🔗 Donate now to help Baraa & his family survive. ❤️

If you need to know more, please read on...

“Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.

“I am Baraa Al-Arja - a student from Gaza, from Rafah. I am displaced in the Mawasi area of ​​Khan Yunis.

“I had many ambitions and dreams for myself, my brothers and all my family of 9 people. Unfortunately those dreams were killed in the blink of an eye due to the difficult circumstances we live in in Gaza.

“They killed our dreams and destroyed our future.

“We used to live safely in a warm house full of beautiful memories, and now we find ourselves homeless and without the minimum necessities of life. We live a life of oppression and misery, suffering from a shortage of food, water, electricity, medicine and all the necessities of life. Our present and future are fraught with danger.

“I hesitated greatly before asking for help, but my fear for our future without your aid increases day after day. My extreme fear for my family is what finally pushed me to resort to this method and ask for help. I am a student who has been subjected to all kinds of torture, fear and terror. So I ask you to help me get out of Gaza and complete my studies where I was studying at university.

“My decision and resort to requesting your support through this link came because of the high travel costs required of us and because our financial income stopped during the past period - 15 months - due to the war, as most of our sources of income that we depended on stopped.

“We lost our loved ones, and we lost a lot of our possessions in this war. We were patient and endured in the hope of returning and repairing what was destroyed, but unfortunately the war is ongoing and has not stopped, and even if it stopped, we need a lot of time to repair what was destroyed. Now we have no choice but to try to leave the Gaza Strip to rebuild our lives and continue our studies, and then return to Gaza if complete calm returns to the region.

“Please do not blame us, as the damage we have suffered has become severe. I am a student who did not complete my university studies due to the war. The universities were bombed and we were unable to complete our education outside the Gaza Strip. Thanks to your support and assistance, we can reach safety.

“Thank you.”

Many in Gaza survive purely because of donations such as yours - so again, if you can afford to give, I urge you to do so. If you cannot, please share this with your friends, and on social media. Again: thank you so much for your time and your compassion.

Below is the original testimony, in Arabic, provided to me by Baraa. The above is a human translation.

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. أنا الطالب براء العرجا من غزة من رفح نازح في مواصي خانيونس، كانت لدي طموحات وأحلام كثيرة لنفسي ولإخوتي ولجميع أفراد أسرتي التي تتكون من 9 فردًا، ولكن للأسف الشديد قُتِلَت تلك الأحلام في غمضة عين بسبب الظروف الصعبة التي نعيشها في غزة، لقد قتلوا أحلامنا ودمروا مستقبلنا، كنا نعيش بأمان في منزل دافئ مليء بالذكريات الجميلة، والآن نجد أنفسنا مشردين بلا مأوى وبلا أدنى مقومات الحياة، نعيش حياة القهر والبؤس، نعاني من نقص الغذاء والماء والكهرباء والدواء وكل مقومات الحياة، حاضرنا ومستقبلنا محفوف بالمخاطر، ترددت كثيرًا قبل أن أطلب المساعدة، ولكنني شعرت باقتراب الخطر، ويزداد يومًا بعد يوم، خوفي الشديد على أسرتي هو ما دفعني أخيرًا إلى اللجوء إلى هذه الطريقة وطلب المساعدة، أنا طالب تعرضت لكل أنواع التعذيب والخوف والرعب. لذلك أطلب منكم مساعدتي للخروج من غزة واستكمال دراستي حيث كنت أدرس الجامعة، قراري ولجوئي لطلب دعمكم عبر هذا الرابط جاء بسبب تكاليف السفر الباهظة المطلوبة منا وبسبب توقف دخلنا المالي خلال الفترة الماضية -15 شهر- بسبب الحرب، حيث توقفت معظم مصادر دخلنا التي كنا نعتمد عليها، فقدنا أحبابنا، وفقدنا الكثير من ممتلكاتنا في هذه الحرب، صبرنا وتحملنا على أمل العودة وإصلاح ما دمر، ولكن للأسف الحرب مستمرة ولم تتوقف، وحتى لو توقفت نحتاج الكثير من الوقت لإصلاح ما دمر، والآن ليس لدينا خيار سوى محاولة مغادرة قطاع غزة لإعادة بناء حياتنا ومواصلة دراستنا، ومن ثم العودة إلى غزة إذا عاد الهدوء التام إلى المنطقة، أرجوكم لا تلومونا فقد أصبح الضرر الذي لحق بنا شديدًا، أنا طالب لم أكمل دراستي الجامعية بسبب الحرب، تم قصف الجامعات ولم نتمكن من إكمال تعليمنا خارج قطاع غزة. بفضل دعمكم ومساعدتكم، يمكننا الوصول إلى بر الأمان. شكرًا لكم