John and I are taking on the Wee Beastie Aquathon in Loch Lomond on the 26 July to raise urgent funds to support my wonderful cousin Billie, her husband Abed and their family in Gaza.

Abed is a Palestinian refugee who grew up in Gaza. In his lifetime, Abed has already become a refugee twice. Firstly, in Gaza when his whole family was forcibly displaced from their home (land now occupied by Israel), and a second time in Europe after having fled Gaza to Europe in 2016. The rest of Abed’s family – and by extension our own – have been unable to leave. They are still located in the Gaza Strip. Billie and Abed have been living in Egypt for over a year supporting Abed's brother Izzeddin, who managed to evacuate Gaza a year ago.

On 31 October 2023, Abed’s brother, his wife, and their four small children (aged 2-12 years) were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit their home. Their names were Samer, Lobna, Mohammed, Layan, Jad, and Zain. They were the kindest and most loving family. They were very close to each other, with sweet children who adored their parents and worked hard in school with the idea to achieve big dreams that would lead them out of Gaza. At the time when they were killed, they were in their home trying to find safety.

Since then, the situation in Gaza has become an unbelievable horror. Abed and his family continue to receive news almost every day of extended family members, friends, neighbours and community who have been killed by Israel in its ongoing genocide in the Gaza strip. The amount of loss and pain is unfathomable.

Billie and Abed have been unable to properly grieve the deaths of their beloved family and continue to fight through each day; trying to find a solution for Abed’s brother, worrying constantly about their remaining family in Gaza whilst doing everything they can to ensure their ongoing survival. Like everyone in Gaza, their family are facing starvation and do not have access to clean water. Every day they face the threat of being killed. It’s terrifying watching things continue to deteriorate and the interminable nature consumes all of their energy to keep going.

In Egypt, Billie and Abed have been supporting Izzeddin in his recovery whilst also exhausting every available visa option to secure him a safe and stable future.This process has been gruelling, and countless meetings with lawyers and applications have led only to rejections. Each application costs an inordinate amount of money and resources are extremely tight. Billie and Abed also continue to support their family in Gaza. Due to the forced starvation imposed on the whole of the Gaza strip and the prevention of aid provision, buying the most basic items has become almost totally impossible. Prices have skyrocketed. For example, the last time they were able to find flour several months ago the cost of 1kg was approx £65. This means that the family is totally reliant upon external financial support to survive, and all funds raised have a direct and immediate impact on their ongoing survival.

We are trying to raise as much as we can to help support Billie, Abed, Izzeddin and their family in Gaza who are still enduring a violent and horrific genocide of their people. We are raising money in memory of Samer, Lobna, Mohammed, Layan, Jad and Zain who lost their lives at the hands of the Israeli military. We are raising money to show our solidarity and support for the people of Palestine.

We ask that you help support in anyway you can- even donating the price of a pint of a cup of coffee will go a long way <3.

We should also note that John and I have done absolutely no training for this- I have been in the pool 4 times this year- so the more donations we receive, the more motivated we'll be to actually reach the finish line! It will be tough!