PCT Hike (for kids in Gaza and against family separation in US)

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Many of you have supported my past Pacific Crest Trail hikes/fundraisers, as I hike southbound along the 2,650 mile trail from Canada to Mexico. (I am picking up the trail in Belden, CA where I had to get off last year due to a knee injury and will try to make it all the way through the Sierras–a logistical challenge in this time of COVID!)

This year’s hike will support:

Abdallah:

Abdallah is an 11-year-old boy in Gaza who has a rare chest and lung disease which is potentially life-threatening. I first met Abdallah in 2015 when I was reporting in Gaza for Al Jazeera America. Your donations will ensure that Abdallah gets the best medical care available in Gaza, including a special diet to keep him strong and warm clothes for the winter to stave off illness.

Mohammed:

Mohammed is a 14-year-old boy in Gaza who (nearly two years ago) was shot above the knee by an Israeli sniper, severing his nerve and leaving him unable to walk. I first met Mohammed in early 2019 when I was reporting in Gaza for +972Magazine. Your donations will ensure that Mohammed has transportation to his school and a special diet to keep his muscles strong while he waits until his next opportunity for a nerve transplant surgery. (He already underwent two unsuccessful attempts.)

New DSP play about family separation in the US immigration system:

This documentary-style play will explore the complexities and horrors of the criminalized immigration system through a “mother and daughter” lens as they personally recount their immigration story and how this experience has transformed the love they have for one another. The play will focus on community organizer and storyteller, Alejandra, along with her mother as they navigate through mass incarceration and its cornerstone immigration.

Your donation will support the completion of the play, and allow the performances to be a part of mobilization and collective action to keep families together.

From the playwright Alejandra: I find it necessary to share my personal experience of almost ten years through the immigration system. Prior to that I never felt like I was “undocumented,” because I have been here all of my life. It wasn’t until I was became one of thousands in deportation proceedings (including over 25k inside immigrant prisons) that I realized I could be ripped away from my entire world at a moment’s notice. My drive to share our story is for everyone to witness a piece of our collective struggle against family separation.