A fundraiser to help raise funds for Galway-based artist Mohamed Alkurdi, a young Palestinian from Gaza, to get his family out of Gaza will take place on Sunday, April 21 in Nun’s Island Arts Centre.
The event has been organised by an ad hoc group of creatives who call themselves ‘Cuan’ (Irish for ‘harbour’ ). They are organising a sale of art works, rare books, and signed first editions, as well as so much more, which have been donated by artists and writers living in Ireland.
A spokesperson for the Cuan group told the Galway Advertiser that the group was initially set up to be an internet platform for Palestinian immigrants to connect and communicate, but it has “transformed into a fund for Mohamed and his family”.
Originally from Gaza, Mohamed graduated with a Master’s degree from ATU Galway last September and was on a visit home to his family when the violence broke out. He has recently managed to evacuate. Thanks to his residency permit, he was able to return to Ireland after enduring three months of uncertainty and struggle.
The rest of Mohamed’s family, however, is in Rafah, on the Egyptian border. It costs $5,000 per person to cross the border. Mohamed’s family still trapped in Rafah are: His father Majdi (60 ) – and his wife Iftikhar (48 ); his older sister Shereen (33 ) and her husband Mohamed (35 ) – and their five children between the ages of two and 12; his older brother Khader (32 ), his wife Ghada (23 ) and their two girls – the youngest of which is three months old and was born during the war; his brother Jalal (32 ) - and his wife Taghreed (30 ); his sisters Kawther (23 ) and Raghda (22 ), and his brothers Saleh (20 ) and Majd (11 ).
The entire family evacuated the North of Gaza as soon as they were ordered to leave. Their beautiful home, with garden and fruit trees, was bombed and is now completely destroyed.
The art sale and raffle will take place on Sunday, April in Nuns Island Arts Centre starting at 3pm. For the first hour and a half people will be able to browse and bid on artworks they wish to take home with them. After 4.30pm, the remaining pieces will be sold at set prices.
A spokesperson for the Cuan group stressed Cuan’s immense gratitude to the artists and encouraged people to come along for a great evening: “We are immensely grateful to the artists for their wonderful work that they have donated to us. The work is wonderful and of such a high standard. It will be a wonderful evening of Palestinian food, live music performances, and an open mic of readings and songs.”
There will be a donation box at Nuns Island to make a cash contribution, as well as a Gofundme campaign which has been running for the past two months and has raised almost €30,000 to date. The link to the Gofundme campaign is https://gofund.me/7d630389.
