Every time we think we’ve seen the worst, reality in Gaza shows us there’s still further to fall. It has been confirmed, Maryam’s home has been reduced to rubble. More than 40 cats were trapped inside for weeks without food or water. None of them appear to have survived.
It took about four weeks before Maryam could return, after the military withdrew from her neighborhood. What she found was a nightmare: total devastation. And while searching through the rubble for any surviving animals, she told us that soldiers opened fire on her once again, so once more, she had to flee.
Over the past year, thanks to generous support from all over the world, Maryam was able to care for 65 cats — until the violence brought it all to a sudden and heartbreaking end. She now has six cats left in her care. Earlier this week we transferred the usual €1,000 to her so she can continue to buy food for them.
As an organisation, we have closed Maryam’s project page on our website. We support shelters — and in light of this devastating tragedy, there are no longer enough animals to justify listing it as an active shelter project.
However, we know that many of you still want to support Maryam and her remaining six cats.
That’s why we’ll keep the donation form open for her own Facebook page and continue to forward 100% of the donations we receive for Maryam directly to her, for as long as needed.
We all worked so hard over the past year to keep Maryam’s cats alive — each of you, in your own way. And against all odds, we actually succeeded.
Until a month ago.
No humanitarian effort can withstand the level of destruction shown in the video below. We may not have been able to save most of Maryam’s cats, but at least we tried. And more than that — we proved that even in one of the darkest places on earth, a spark of humanity still exists.
For that, we, at Animal Heroes, thank you.
Video: The place where Maryam’s house used to be.
Source: M.Saed.Gaza
Source image: Hani (Photo made in Gaza, but not in the area where Maryam is from).
