Gazans seeking to escape war are increasingly crowdfunding to flee to Egypt
Thousands of Gazans desperate to flee have increasingly turned to crowdfunding, raising money to enter Egypt with the support of a growing cadre of strangers.
Anas Al Borno was lying on a flimsy mattress with his wife and children in a Rafah refugee camp in January when a relative texted with a rare piece of good news. For the first time since Oct. 7, Al Borno and his family were eligible to cross into Egypt.
The main travel agency that arranges such crossings had changed its rules, allowing Palestinians without foreign passports through the land border. But there was a catch — the price to get out for Al Borno and his family was at least $18,000, far more than he could afford.
“I didn’t have any money,” said Al Borno, 36, whose livelihood had been shattered after his small manufacturing business was bombed early in the war. “I had no options; how could I live? How could I eat? How could I travel, me and my family?”
His lifeline came in the form of a stranger 8,000 miles away — a Jewish graphic designer from California who launched a crowdfunding campaign that ultimately raised most of the money needed for Al Borno’s wife and children to cross the border a month later.
Left, Anas Al Borno with his wife, Yasmine, and children Yazan, Abdel Rahman and Julia before the war. Right, his company's Gaza City warehouse after it was bombed in the fall.Courtesy Anas al Borno“This is my only hope in life — to get out of this war,” said Al Borno, who stayed behind and continued raising money for himself and other family members to flee. He now spends much of his day communicating with the hundreds of people who have donated.
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