Well, I cannot really argue with that. Sad, but true.

However (I know this is highly speculative, but still possible scenarios), in these cases it could still make a positive impact overall if you donate:

1. This is more likely: there are 2 million people there, and by the nature of money, even in these poor conditions there are richer and poorer. It’s possible that some families who have more cash reserves could hoard some of the precious food while others don’t have a chance. So basically your donation helps with equalizing the rations.
2. This is highly unlikely: as the food prices are continuously increasing, there’s a point where no one will be able to afford any of the food items anymore, and the food stocks will rot unsold.

In any case, probably there’s no point in trying to justify help. And it’s s tragedy that besides this family there are others, who also need help and we cannot help everyone. I guess, this is the typical “paralyzed victims on the tram tracks” problem in real life, and it’s extremely cruel, beyond comprehension.

In the end of the day, it’s up to us if we try to help. They are humans. We are supposed to be humans too.

And make no mistake: yes, absolutely, simultaneously we must work hard to achieve this genocide to end and give their life and dignity to those people back. Donating to individual families is not the solution, but it’s necessary to avert their immediate starvation.

Other very important things to do:

• Spread the word
• Reach out to your government representatives and express your concerns and demand urgent actions
• Go to the streets if there’s a demonstration nearby

I used to think this too in the past - in my country I never voted for those who supported the genocide, and in the country I live in now, in the case where I was eligible to vote, I also didn’t vote for the genocide supporters. I also am too poor to have any power. Only rich people have power, and the majority of them are pro-genocide, so that’s what’s happening, they decided it for all of us.

But the more I’m thinking about it, the more I realize we’re indeed fucking monsters. How did we allow this to happen in the first place? There are more of us than rich people. We outnumber them. Why are we so incapable? Why don’t we just stand up from work, go to the streets, all at the same time, and throw those out the window, who make those decisions to deliver those weapons? We’re cowards, that’s why.

The fact that we live in this kind of world shows we are a failure. As the old quote goes “Every nation gets the government it deserves” - a quote I also disagreed with in the past, but eventually I understood the meaning. It’s not about whom you’re voting for. Hell, there are countries where you cannot even vote. This is more like about people accepting what’s given, and not even trying to do more. We all are a failure.

The money on the fundraiser link is going to a family who needs it. In the end I’m pretty sure too, it will go to Israel, which is very sad, but at the moment there’s no other way to save lives.

1. First the money goes to the person who created the fundraiser (honestly, I don’t know who he is; I do know that one of their siblings has been living in Spain and he’s also helping obviously, but I haven’t asked about the one in Canada. He might be a friend or family, I don’t know).
2. The family in Gaza has direct access to the money from the fundraiser
3. They have to go to some merchants, where they transfer the money online and receive cash in exchange, and during this process they incur an outrageous 40% or higher surcharge.
4. Using the cash they can buy food.

So yes, in one way or another, in the end the money will end up in Israel, which is sad, but again, at the moment there is no other way to help them survive the famine.

Donating to people within Gaza does nothing to solve the issue.

I cannot disagree with that - in fact, that’s how I started my comment above. Normally I’d agree with donating to journalists and aid organizations instead, but in this case that doesn’t really work.

First of all, the key issues are already all in the news. It wasn’t always the case, but by now they clearly show the depth of this genocide. They aren’t showing everything, but they definitely show enough to convey what’s going on. Those who don’t understand it from this, won’t understand it from anything. That being said, yes, donate to journalists - theirs is one of the most important jobs in the world, and probably the most dangerous too, especially in Gaza - but I’d say, priorities have shifted a little bit.

Secondly, those people in Gaza are starving! They haven’t had a proper meal in weeks, and they are already collapsing in the streets, tens or hundreds are dying every day, not including those who are killed at “food distribution points” used as a bait. These people need help right now, this very moment. This won’t solve the root issues as we both agree on this, but it helps at least some of the people to survive a bit longer. The money that goes into solutions that will solve the core issues is very important too, but those will take a very long time. Time that these people don’t have, because they only have merely days or a week at best, some only hours.

It only drives up the price.

This is so little in this mayhem, I’m pretty sure these donations have little or no effect on that. Prices are already skyrocketing, the available food items cost 15-50 times as much as they used to. Like $60 for 1 kg flour. And if it drives the prices up even more, then what? We have to, we need to, and we will donate more. I know this isn’t sustainable on the long term. In the meantime we have to go to demonstrations, we have to keep pushing our governments until they finally realize that something isn’t right and they impose sanctions on Israel. But what’s the point if in the meantime, those whom we’re trying to protect, starve to death?

I’m not gonna downvote your comment, you do have a point, but I have to say I don’t like this negative attitude.

Hey, thank you if you consider donating!

The link is from @NouranKhaledGh@mastodon.social (with her consent I’m putting her profile here), and her interactions seem legit to me. Pictures of her siblings seem to be original, as I haven’t found them anywhere else, and I haven’t seen any signs of AI tampering. I even asked questions that I didn’t fully understand from the story in the fundraiser description, and her answer was plausible to me. I can confidently say this isn’t a scam.

I know this is not much of a help, and definitely doesn’t stop the root cause of the issue. But as the famine is decimating the Gaza population, right now it is top priority to help them find something to eat. And as aid agencies are blocked from entry, no matter how much we donate them, if they cannot deliver the aid.

Therefore we must directly help those inside Gaza. Here you can help one family: https://chuffed.org/project/121561-urgent-help-for-ahmads-family

And I highly encourage everyone to return and donate more, because as long as this genocide is ongoing, we’re not done. That means, we also might have to make sacrifices in our budget. I’m not saying we should also go full starving mode out of solidarity, no. I’m just saying, we should be able to give up some non-critical goals, postpone some purchases, preferably don’t waste food, and whatever we can save up this way, offer them as a contribution, because to them, this buys another hour of chance for survival.

I know food prices skyrocketed in Gaza, but together we can help them survive.

The link above is for one very kind family. Feel free to find other fundraiser campaigns as well, just be sure to check thoroughly to make sure it’s not a scam. At least this one I checked. They’re grateful beyond words for every contribution!

I fully agree, we’re fuckin’ mosters, every single one of us for allowing this genocide to happen. Those were my exact thoughts as well. Helping one family doesn’t change that, but at least it raises their chances for survival, and I want to believe that it is something.

Thank you everyone, who helps!

I’ve been wondering a lot, for over a year. The solution is to donate money. Right now that’s the most important thing you can do, because people are dying of starvation, and this is their only chance to buy something to eat.

And yes, it’s really hard to find a legit way to donate. It’s not like Ukraine, where there’s an easy central donation platform like united24 plus various other foreign platforms. Since the world fails to even acknowledge the genocide, individual people must take the matter into their hands. Everyone. Every single person who considers themselves a human.

Here’s an example: https://chuffed.org/project/121561-urgent-help-for-ahmads-family

I briefly talked to one of the kind family members on Mastodon in an attempt to verify whether it’s a scam, and it seems very legit. And they really appreciate all donations.

I guess, there are plenty of other similar fundraisers as well. Do some background check, and donate, and share the link!

Another important act was this: https://apnews.com/article/greece-israel-gaza-protest-syros-cruise-ship-69735c4ab6a7d19752d304c92ffc03fc

Protest! Show some solidarity towards Palestine.

And last but not least, do vote on elections. Preferably for those who are not completely incompetent for leading your country, and their foreign policy is in its place as well.

I don’t understand the motivation in these kinds of attacks.

It’s easy: Houthi terrorists are backed by Iranian terrorists and Muscovy terrorists, and all they want is more chaos in the world. That’s what terrorists do.