I am an adult Palestinian national with refugee status in the UK applying for my elderly parents and niece to obtain UK immigration permission to enable them to join me in the UK. I have been advised that it would be beneficial to the applications to obtain expert medical evidence commenting on how the separation from my family is impacting my mental health. I am seeking funds to be able to instruct an expert as well as funds for an interpreter to attend the sessions with the expert.

My elderly parents remain in Gaza alongside my niece and are currently living in a tent. They have narrowly escaped death on a number of occasions. Both my parents have health concerns especially my mother whose mobility is severely limited which puts her at increased risk. My mother is unable to obtain the treatment she requires in Gaza and my family struggle on a daily basis to obtain basic needs such as food and water. My family has suffered immense loss and trauma that can only be remedied in any extent by us reuniting in a safe environment to heal together.

I have now been separated from them for over three years. Each day feels like a year without them — especially since the war began. I live in constant fear for their safety, day and night. Every notification on my phone, every news alert of another attack, makes my heart race with terror that I might lose them too, after already losing so many relatives, friends, and neighbours, along with our home, memories, and everything we once had. I have always been very close to my family, especially my parents, whom I cared for deeply before we were separated. The distance has devastated my mental and physical health. I have been diagnosed with severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and my medical tests show serious vitamin deficiencies and low immunity. I rarely leave my home, spending days or even weeks without sunlight, overwhelmed by anxiety and grief. Every night I wake from nightmares fearing they are gone. My only wish is to be reunited with them — to care for them, to help them heal, and to begin my own recovery, which my doctors say depends greatly on being with them again. Any contribution, no matter how small, from those who believe in compassion and family, will help bring us back together and restore life to our souls, which now feel like bodies without spirit.

Thank you so much for your support. I truly appreciate every contribution, no matter how small.