After the cannon's sound overshadowed every beautiful sound...

These words, taken from my life and steeped in disappointments, victories, and mundane thoughts, are for anyone who has felt a spark of humanity:

 

My name is Raouf. I spent years of my life striving to become a global artist. I learned singing and playing the oud and piano through personal effort because there was nothing in our city to support the arts. I nurtured my talent by learning online until I became a music teacher, instructing students in several places. I missed out on many opportunities and international engagements due to the blockade and closures that drained the vitality of my youth. If I had seized those opportunities, you would be hearing my story differently now. I completed my university studies and held my concerts in my beloved city of Gaza, eagerly awaiting the moment when I could convey a message of peace to the world through my talent. Apart from working as a musician, I invested in a seaside cafe to support me and my future wife where people could come enjoy beautiful views and music. Now my cafe, my belongings, my home, my city have since been entirely destroyed. 

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My mother is ill and can no longer wait. She has become exhausted and fears that the war will continue forever. She requires serious medical attention to prevent losing her sight, but there are no hospitals in Gaza now.

My brother Islam, who is 25 years old, has had a serious deterioration of his mental health. His depression has reached a point where he no longer feels any interest in building a future for himself. 

My older brother, Muhammad, is sick with a thyroid disorder and cannot receive treatment due to the lack of medications and blockades on aid.  He has 3 children who are like the rest of the children in Gaza, have had to witness horrors that no child should ever see. They have witnessed wounded and dead bodies to the point that they have become desensitized. Their childhood is forever ruined.

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My brother Rami is like many residents of the Gaza Strip. He lost his job and his home due to the war. He has two children and is now waiting for a new baby, which rather than bringing joy, brings only distress given that childbirth is extremely dangerous without proper medical resources and there aren't proper conditions to treat neither babies or mothers should any complications arise.

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My father is the artist Zuhair Al-Balbisi. What impressed me most about him was that he was always dreaming and creating. Now he has lost his passion and spark for life. The curtain fell, the stage was bombed, and the lights faded. All that remains is a tent without any lighting, in which my father and his younger children live now

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This event is to raise the necessary funds to help my family relocate outside of Gaza, get the proper medical care needed, and start a new life for ourselves.