Hey ,
I hope you're having a great start to your week. I wanted to email you to tell you a quick story about some children from Gaza that I was honored to meet last week. I also want to take the time to tell you about our plans for this weekend.
Last week, I had the honor of meeting two siblings from Gaza who were evacuated for medical treatment to Chicago. Their names were Jehad and Jana, 9 and 8 years old, and they were evacuated with both their parents, which is rare considering that from the 100's of families we met in Turkey, it was always one parent/guardian that was allowed to evacuate with the child.
I had seen them briefly the day before at the airport when they flew in and then again the next day at my good friend Saif's (Modernwallart) home. I got to meet the family, and we sat as they told me heartbreaking stories about Gaza.
I was standing outside with Jehad, a hilarious young boy who loved football and talked like an adult. What made me laugh is that Jehad adds hot sauce to all his food even though his mother told us he doesn't really like it; he just does that to seem more grown.
A plane flew by, his eyes widened, and fear filled his eyes. He asked me in Arabic, "Is that a war plane?" I reassured him that it was just a regular plane, like the one he flew in to Chicago. Another one flew by 5 seconds after, and again he asked, "How about that one?" I told him not to worry for there are never warplanes here. He didn't understand how we live without destruction and fear. I stayed silent as the little boy continued to stare at the sky. Tears filled my eyes as I blankly looked up at the commercial planes. Jehad can't use the bathroom alone because an airstrike hit his home while he was in the bathroom. So he fears bathrooms. Everywhere else in the house, he can walk to, alone. Just not the bathroom. His sister Jana whispers when she speaks, she doesn't like loud noises. These children are traumatized beyond belief.
I tell you this story today to remind you what we're all fighting for. We're fighting for the future of all children everywhere. What's happening in Gaza is bigger than just Palestine. What we let happen in Gaza, as it's live-streamed to our phones, will be normal everywhere else.
This brings me to my next part of the email. We've now been able to, with all your help, donate over $1.3 million in the last year to Gaza just from the sales of our Palestine Collections. These funds have gone to feed families in Gaza and evacuate children like Jehad and Jana. The funds have gone towards hygiene kits, water tanks, medical treatment, and much more.
This year, we will not be having a sale on our Palestine Collections because the decrease in price takes away from the donations. Instead, we will be giving out thousands of free gifts. We are having a tiered-based free gift weekend, and the products we're giving away in each order are exclusive designs that will only be available as free gifts for 96 hours. We will send an email soon explaining it all!
I want this to also to serve as a reminder to shop smart and not shop from companies that are complicit in the genocide. There are so many small businesses that stand against what's happening. This weekend, our goal is to donate as much as we can for Gaza and many other global humanitarian issues.
Thank you for being a part of this journey and for being a part of this family. May the world see peace soon.
Peace and blessings,
Murad
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