County Derry woman taking on fasting challenge to raise funds for Palestinian friend

A Dungiven native is using her free time to fundraise for her friend Mohammed who has been caught up in the war in Gaza.

Michelle Farrell first connected with Mohammed through the online platform Instagram.

The young Palestinian man needs urgent care for a routine kidney stone procedure.

Michelle said “He has suffered in pain and sleepless nights for the duration of the ongoing war and tried several medicines which do not work.

“The hospitals are under severe pressure in Palestine but Mohammed has told me that a field hospital near his camp is willing to do the procedure at a cost of 1,000 Euros.”

Michelle has recruited seven friends to fast with her for 15.6 days (365 hours) which represents the year of suffering in Palestine.

Michelle said: “The absolute legends who have volunteered are Francesca, Eileen, Amy, Shauna, Waad, Sarah and James. The fasts will be two days for each person and will be completed in the same manner as Ramadan to reflect their local beliefs.

Michelle got involved with campaigning for Palestine in Dublin where she currently resides.

She said: “I first got involved in campaigning through a friend who organised Parties for Palestine in connection with an organisation down here called ‘Gaza Go Bragh’. Over three parties she raised €11k and all that money went directly to supplies for people in Gaza. along to one of the events and got chatting and meeting people. I saw what she was doing through the events so I decided to get involved and do what I could do. I did a 100k walk in August which raised nearly €1k for Gaza Go Bragh. This meant that they were able to supply over 100 hygiene products to families in Gaza.”

Michelle continued: “I started looking online at supportive pages for Gaza. I made a comment on one of the pages and started getting messages from people in Gaza. I started talking to four families in Gaza. I'm now talking to six.

“Mohammed was the first person to contact me. I was worried that some of the messages could be scams but I noticed he was already following my friend Niamh who ran the parties for Palestine. So I thought he must be legit.

“So Mohammed and I got talking and he told me of his kidney problems and how he needs surgery. He told me how he isn’t sleeping a wink and how the pain he is in is unbelievable. He told me of how he has tried all medications that the pharmacist can give him. He explained how he and his family haven’t been able to get fresh food since the start of this month. They are eating canned food only.”

Michelle explained that Mohammed shared with her that he was worried he wouldn’t be able to raise the 1k needed for the surgery.

She continued: “So I started messaging people that I had met campaigning asking if they would be up for doing a fundraiser with me. Friends got on board and said they would do a few days here and there. I tried to make the fundraising and campaign relevant so I decided we would fast for 365 hours to represent the year of the war.

“When I said to Mohammed I was going to take on the challenge he said there is no way you are going to fast for 24 hours for me. He started saying to me ‘Why don’t you do it in the style of Ramadan?’ So I thought that would be good as it ties in with his culture. One of my colleagues and volunteers is from the Middle East as well so she informed me and helped me on what way Ramadan works. It works from sunrise to sunset, no food no water, then when sunset comes you can eat what you want.”

Speaking on how the volunteers have been getting on Michelle continued: “A couple of the ladies have already done their fasting days. The feedback so far is that the thirst is unbelievable. They have said it just makes you think what the people out there are going through. At the end of the day we are only touching the surface of what they are going through.”

Michelle shared her thoughts on how the public can help the people of Gaza.

“Even if you feel like you are hopeless about what to do for the people of Gaza. Even if you can’t give money, start connecting with people there online. Sometimes sparking up that conversation is enough. You can share or promote whatever family you meet. Go out, and start going to campaigning events, connect with people there. You can make a difference. It’s heartbreaking watching what they go through every day so I felt I had to do something.”

Michelle also has drawn attention to the Occupied Territories Bill.

The Occupied Territories Bill (OTB), when enacted, will result in a complete ban on the import of goods and services produced in illegal settlements, including from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 was introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black long before the current wars in Gaza and Lebanon. It is aimed at banning trade between Ireland and Israel’s illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories. While the Bill passed various stages in the Oireachtas, it has stalled at committee stage in the Dáil since 2020.

You can sign the petition for the Occupied Territories Bill via bit.ly/3BYCuyX

If you would like to donate to Michelle and her friends campaign you can do so via gofund.me/93abc1c6