My name is Tariq Halil from Gaza (Palestine). I am writing this after much thought and hesitation. But the urgency and need to save my family is greater than my ability to hold on. I am deeply asking for your generous support to help me evacuate my family (parents, wife, two children, three sons and a sister) from Gaza. I will remain in Gaza in the meantime to help my people. I worked at the Abdul Shafi Health and Community Association as a radiologist and was among the last people to evacuate it, and I have been a volunteer at the various medical points remaining since then in Khan Yunis and Rafah. I am committed to staying here and saving lives in Gaza, but now I have reached a point where I feel desperate and I urgently and humbly ask you to help me save my family's lives by getting them out of Gaza because nowhere is safe. It occurs in Gaza due to slow deaths due to hunger, drought, displacement, the spread of diseases and constant bombing. Choosing to leave is an extremely painful decision, but the situation has become unbearable. It has been 4 and a half months of hell and horror. This genocide has gone on for too long, and our mental health and lives are in constant danger. (I can't describe enough what I've been dealing with on a daily basis at the medical points for the past 133 days or so, I've been unable to count it). We have reached a point where there is no longer hope for us here in Gaza as we are unfortunately waiting for our turn to die, and even if there is a ceasefire, the devastation in Gaza cannot be quickly repaired. Please help me get them out, I would sincerely appreciate any donation, even a small one that would make a huge difference in alleviating our suffering. Please consider sharing my campaign widely with your family and friends to reach my goal as soon as possible because every second is a risk of death in Gaza. I will be forever grateful for your kind assistance in this difficult time. Thank you again for standing with us in solidarity and making a positive impact in the lives of those affected.

ROAR works to strengthen connections and respect among all people in our mountain communities by countering systems of oppression through education, outreach, empowerment and mutual aid. October Message from ROAR: It’s hard to believe that it has been a month since Helene hit, causing the worst flooding in recorded history for WNC. Time no longer makes sense. It feels like it has been only a week and yet also a lifetime ago that we woke up to this hell. It is estimated that that the storm caused 1,400 landslides and damaged over 160 water and sewer systems, at least 6,000 miles of roads, more than 1,000 bridges and culverts and an estimated 126,000 homes. There have been over 230 confirmed deaths, across 6 states, with over half being recorded in NC, making this the second deadliest hurricane ever recorded in the US, after Katrina. Admidst the unbelievable destruction there has also been the most beautiful flourishing of solidarity and mutual aid amongst friends, neighbors, strangers and even those who once called each other enemies. Thanks to this cooperative spirit, we have been able to mobilize an incredible amount of support that has enabled us to open a mutual aid hub that is open 6 days a week and distribute nearly 100 generators, 20+ cords of firewood, hundreds of heaters, camp stoves and propane tanks, $75,000 (and counting) in direct financial aid, in addition to other basic survival needs like food, medical supplies, clothing and sleeping bags. We’ve also been able to send out dozens of crews to do wellness checks, clear trees from roads and houses, and deliver prescription medicine to households cut off by the floods. Altruism and cooperation are innate human traits that our capitalistic, dog eat dog world tries to beat out of us. We have the spirit of solidarity in all of us, sometimes it just takes a major rupture to wake us from the spell. As Rebecca Solnit put it in her excellent book A Paradise Built in Hell “If paradise now arises in hell, it’s because in the suspension of the usual order and the failure of most systems, we are free to live and act another way.” The incredible amount of support, supplies and money that have poured into region from near and far is living proof that we do indeed have the ability to work together to make sure everyone’s needs are met. As “normalcy” slowly trickles in to some parts of WNC, many of us have to return to work, get the kids to school, and pay bills. But that does not mean we have to return to the old normal, where the scarcity mindset prevails and we find ourselves only looking out for me, myself, and I. We can see clearly now that when we come together and work in cooperation with each other, we are indeed surrounded by abundance. Now that we are “free to live and act another way” we can carry this spirit of mutual aid and solidarity forward to ensure that everybody in our community has their basic needs met for the days and years to come. We look forward to building this new normal with you. We again thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the continued support. We couldn’t do it without you.

MAC envisions a world in which all people have access to safe, free, legal abortions wherever they live. As a practical abortion fund, MAC helps people traveling to, from, and within the Midwest access a safe abortion by assisting with travel coordination and costs, lodging, food, medicine, and childcare. We are a small but mighty team of staff and volunteers based in the Midwest. Founded in 2014, MAC has supported just under 5,000 people from 30 states.