This article has been updated to correct “Durango Palestinian Solidarity Coalition” to Durango Palestine Solidarity Coalition. The “International Criminal Court” has also been corrected to “International Court of Justice”, and “Tura Campanella” has been corrected to Tura Campanella Cook.
The Durango Palestine Solidarity Coalition, a Durango-based Palestinian advocacy group, organized a “Yard Sale for Gaza” event to raise funds for families trying to evacuate the besieged territory.
On Saturday, a makeshift bazaar set up by organizers on East Third Avenue sold food, refreshments, handcrafted jewelry and other goods on top of hand-me-down clothes, used books and other yard sale knickknacks, raising $4,100 to be evenly divided among four families confined in the war-torn strip.
The Durango Palestine Solidarity Coalition formed in the aftermath of Oct. 7 and their activism has included organizing weekly protest marches in Buckley Park, movie screenings and other educational events, as well as petitioning the Durango City Council to adopt a cease-fire resolution.
“Remember, It’s a donation,” Coalition organizers called out as Durangoans wandered through the tables and tents.
While not every shopper was well versed in the details of the polarizing conflict – which has been characterized as an unprovoked act of terrorism on Hamas’ side and labeled a “plausible genocide” on Israel’s part by the International Court of Justice – no one, at least vocally, protested the Coalition raising funds for displaced families.
One shopper at the yard sale, Kee Nataz, said, “It’s a religious war, right? I’m anti-religion so I think they’re all full of (crap). But I like supporting people.”
Another shopper, Tura Campanella Cook, a member of the anti-Zionist Jewish organization Jewish Voice for Peace, shared her perspective: “I stand for liberation for everyone. In this country, in the Middle East. Period. We’re all freer and safer if everybody is.”
Coalition members made contact with the four Palestinian families through social media, where the families have been sharing their stories of displacement and dispossession since the conflict began.
“I talk to them every day,” said Sarah Sanchez Armstrong, a coalition organizer. “They’ll send messages and ask, ‘Please send prayers, there’s bombing close.’ Sometimes they spend all day trying to get water to drink or food to eat.”
Organizers said funds raised went directly to the families, who are all trying to save up until they can afford to evacuate from Gaza.
“All the families we’re working with are trying to evacuate to safety,” said Jodi Underwood, another coalition organizer. “It’s $2,500 for a child to get out and $5,000 for an adult.”
The names of the four Palestinians whom Coalition members have been working with for months to raise funds for their evacuations from Gaza are Ebtihal, Muhanned, Abdallah and Ali.
These are their stories:
Ebtihal Abu Yaseen, 30, is from northern Gaza and has two children, a daughter and a son. According to her *spotfund, Ebithal and her two children were displaced after an Israeli airstrike destroyed their home on Oct. 10. Since then they’ve been displaced from Al-Jala to Khan Yunis and finally to Rafah, where they’re currently living in a tent. Coalition organizers said Ebithal has begun teaching children out of her tent, as have others in the aftermath of Israel destroying nearly the entirety of Gaza education.
“Our daily life is beyond tough as my son has been infected with hepatitis A due to consuming contaminated water and food,” says Ebtihal’s *spotfund. “My kids have turned into ghosts missing the feeling of security when doing basic things like eating or playing”
Muhanned Shaheen is a young Gazan man whose family of six was displaced after their home was destroyed. According to his GoFundMe, Muhanned’s father's health is failing, and funds raised for Muhanned’s family will go toward his father's treatment as well as financing their departure from Gaza. The other members of Mohanned’s household are his mother and three brothers Samer, Muhammed and Safwat. Before the conflict, Muhanned had been an artist who posted his work on social media and dreamed of pursuing a creative career.
I graduated in the year 2022 and I had many dreams,” Muhanned said. “I had a talent for drawing on wood with nails and threads. I was working hard on design programs.”
Abdallah Ahmad is a civil engineer from Gaza who was displaced along with his wife and 2-year-old daughter after their home was destroyed and now lives in a tent in Rafah. According to Abdallah’s GoFundMe, his family must cook all their meals over a fire because of gas shortages and the little water they can get is unhealthy and polluted.
“Abdallah dreams of nothing more than securing his family's safety and providing his daughter with a chance at a brighter tomorrow,” says Abdallah’s GoFundMe.
Ali is Ebtihal’s brother. After the conflict destroyed his home and Ali was displaced to southern Gaza he managed to evacuate to where he’s currently staying in Egypt. According to Ali's *spotfund, funds he raises will go toward paying for the rest of his family's evacuation, which includes his two brothers Abdelrahman and Abdelfattah, his two sisters Wisal and Ebtihal, and his nieces and nephews.
Ali’s *spotfund says after the conflict is over he dreams of, “Rebuilding my future, which was all destroyed, and nothing came back from it, such as work, obtaining a master’s degree in managing productive factories, marriage, building a family, and building a small house.”
To donate
Ebtihal: “*MyChildrenAreDying – Fundraiser By For Palestine” on *spotfund
Muhhaned: “Help my father get out for treatment. Help my family get out of the Gaza strip” on GoFundMe
Abdallah: “Help Abdullah and His Family Escape the Genocide” on GoFundMe
Ali: “*SupportAliAndHisFamilyInGaza” on *spotfund
A previous version of this story contained several errors, including misstating the name of the Durango Palestine Solidarity Coalition; giving an incorrect name for the International Court of Justice; and updated Tura Campanella Cook’s name to include her married name.
