Colorado family raises thousands for Palestinian refugees after violence in Gaza
LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The violence between Israel and Palestine dates back a century, and is a complex situation for adults to understand, let alone children.
After escalating tensions and recent violence between Israel and Palestine, Lakewood mom Faseeha Khan-Jensen wanted to find a way to explain the situation to her two young sons.
The event that really impacted Faseeha was the story of a five-month-old Omar, who was pulled from the rubble after an Israeli air strike destroyed an apartment building in a Gaza refugee camp. Omar’s mother and four siblings perished in the attack.
“That really broke my heart,” says Faseeha, “I had to sit down and really think about, ‘How do I speak to my 8-year-old and my 5-year old about this?’ How do I balance the need for them to be active, caring world citizens with their innocence? And the answer is, there’s no more protecting them at the expense of this five-month-old being pulled from the rubble.”
While tensions have always been high between Israel and Palestine, the latest violence began this spring when Israeli forces blocked Palestinians from worshipping at Al-Aqsa Mosque—one of the holiest sites in Islam—at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Another spark for the violence between Palestinians and Israelis was the planned eviction of Palestinian families in favor of Jewish settlers in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
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What followed was 11 days of fighting between Israeli and Palestinian forces that left more than 200 people dead, a vast majority of them Palestinians in Gaza. More than 60 Palestinian children were killed. Twelve people died in Israel. A cease-fire was reached last week.
After talking as a family, “it was actually my 8-year-old [Junaid] that said, ‘Maybe we can do something to help [the victims],’” explained Faseeha.
5-year-old Thor suggested something with glitter, and the idea for a GoFundMe fundraiser was born.
The family set their goal at $2,000 and offered handmade peace flowers and posters to thank donors for their generosity.
“We are raising money for Palestinians who need more medical supplies, because people are getting hurt,” says Junaid. “We thought peace flowers would be something we could craft and mail.”
All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to nonprofit Beirut and Beyond to directly support medical aid for the people of Gaza. Faseeha has been involved with the organization’s Denver chapter.
“They are a non-political, judgement-free organization that seeks to raise awareness about the Palestinian people,” says Faseeha.
The fundraiser has currently surpassed its original goal of $2,000 and sits at $2173 as of May 25.
Junaid sums up the family’s motivation for the fundraiser: “We want all people to live safely and in peace.”
Alexis Kikoen is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org.