Lilly is a queer/non-binary Palestinian from North Gaza who has survived forced displacement over 9 times since October 2024, and in recent days received orders of forced evacuation by the IDF.
We are extremely worried for Lilly's safety. The funds raised will be used to move Lilly from their current neighborhood towards the South and eventually across the border into Egypt. These costs are estimated at $12,000 for the evacuation plan, including $5,000 minimum just for the border crossing.
Initial Fundraiser Goal: $12,000
Food & Living expenses for a month: $1,500
Transportation to Rafah border crossing: $500
Crossing of the border to Egypt and transportation to Cairo: $7,000
Fees to lawyer + local help in Cairo: $3,000
Please read words from Lilly:
"I can't taste sleep anymore as fear, anxiety and worry suffocate me keeping me awake all night. I've lost all energy to even HOPE. I'm psychologically devastated, physically destroyed, emotionally burnt out, spiritually numb and mentally paralyzed. I feel like I'm trapped in a dark, narrow place where thinking about tomorrow seems impossible because, at any moment, I might die from a random bombing or blind shrapnel.
When I talk about it to my friends on the other side of the world, they say "stay safe, find a safe place, it will pass...", then I regret that I talked about it to someone who DOESN'T KNOW the meaning of the danger I'm in, and I be like "A SAFE PLACE!!??" What does “safety” even mean when I’ve never felt it? It’s supposed to be where fear doesn’t control your every breath, where your heart isn’t racing every second, where you can close your eyes without wondering if you’ll wake up. But here, SAFETY DOESN'T EXIST. It’s not real, not for me. Safety is a cruel illusion, something other people talk about, but for me, it’s a dream that will never come true.
Now as danger is closing in, and surrounding us from all directions, I feel like death is flying around. Yet, I don’t want to die like this. I dreamed of living in a world of peace, where I could spread love, not witness the hatred and violence. I wanted to experience life fully, not have it stolen by the horrors of war. If I must leave this world, I want it to be in the arms of someone who loves me, someone who will care for my body with tenderness. I can't stand the thought of being ripped apart by bombs, of my body shattered in a war I never wanted. I want to be treated with dignity, not left in pieces or lost under the rubble."
-Lilly (they/them)
What is TRANS ASYLIAS?
We are an NYC-based 501(c)(3) non-profit humanitarian organization, founded in December 2021, with the mission of providing resources for transgender and non-binary asylum seekers and resettling them in safe countries.
Our founder, Iman Le Caire, is an Egyptian trans asylee who is dedicated to helping our fellow TGNB siblings in need of asylum and relocation support.
Please share Lilly's fundraiser widely in your networks, and donate whatever you can. Thank you for your support.
Iman Le Caire, founder of TRANS ASYLIAS