Anas Al Borno was lying on a flimsy mattress with his wife and children in a Rafa refugee camp In January when they received very exciting news. They were informed that they were now eligible to make the trek across Egypt. This was exciting news to hear for this family and families like these because they haven’t had an opportunity like this since October 7th several years ago. This is what these families had been looking forward to for months. Although they have a hard journey ahead of them, they are ready for a new beginning and a new opportunity.
The main travel agencies have recently changed their was pertaining to traveling across the countries, these new laws allow Palestinians to cross the boarder even if they don’t have a passport. However there was a huge catch to this new law passing, the cost for Al Borno and his family to get out of the country would be $18,000, a lot more than most of these families could afford. This broke a lot of hearts of these families because they thought that they would be able to get across, and then this price is thrown in their face. This broke Al Boron’s heart had been shattered after his manufacturing business had gone bankrupt earlier in the year.
Unknowingly his lifeline came from a stranger over 8,000 miles away. A jewish graphic designer launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised money for many families that were trying to cross the border. This money was given to them a month later and allowed this family to have opportunities just like everyone else.
Al Boron said “This is my only hope in life — to get out of this war,” He stayed behind and also started raising money for himself and for other families to have the opportunity to flee the country. He now spends his days communicating with hundreds of people all over the world who have donated by helping his families and other families like his, He states that he feels like these people are his closest friends. On GoFundMe alone, the most popular platform, more than 12,000 active campaigns for Palestinians in Gaza, largely for evacuation, have launched since Oct. 7. They have raised over $75 million, according to a company spokesperson. Although these famous have been significantly helped they also still have a very hard journey and life a head of them.
