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"I wish we had never existed": Sondos in Gaza and why her life matters
- Erica Linde
- Sep 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 7
Sondos Althraiwy should not be a statistic. She should not be reduced to a headline. She is not a pawn in some geopolitical chess game. She is a daughter, a sister, a human being with a family of ten who once had a life full of laughter, arguments about nothing, shared meals, and the small joys of ordinary existence.
But now, in the middle of the exodus in Gaza, Sondos says words no young woman should ever utter: “I wish we had never existed. Nothing matters anymore.”
I read those words, and I sobbed. Because they are not the words of someone living—they are the words of someone being erased in real time.
The Crime of Dehumanization
People who don’t support Palestinians often find ways to justify their apathy: “It’s complicated.” “It’s religious.” “They brought this on themselves.” These are the lies we tell ourselves to sleep at night while entire families like Sondos’ are bombed out of existence.
Genocide requires more than weapons. It requires dehumanization. It requires making us look at Sondos and not see a human being but instead a “conflict,” a “problem,” or worse, an “enemy.”
But Sondos is not an enemy. She is a 21-year-old woman terrified she will not see tomorrow, holding her brother Amr close as their family of ten flees yet again.
A Family of Ten, a World of Love
Think about that number: ten. Ten people, each with their quirks, their inside jokes, their rhythms of love. Families like this anchor communities. One brother might be protective, another silly. A grandmother might cling to the rituals of tea. A father might stubbornly save every receipt, a mother might hum lullabies she can’t stop herself from singing.
Ten people is not a statistic. Ten people is a world. And that world is on the brink of being annihilated—not because of who they are, but because of where they live.
“Nothing Matters Anymore”
When Sondos says “nothing matters anymore,” it’s not despair in the abstract. It’s the result of watching the international community scroll past her existence. It’s what happens when people with power choose apathy.
But the truth is: everything matters. Every single life matters. Every single word of hers matters. Every single plea for survival matters.
And if you call yourself human, you cannot read her words and shrug.
To Those Who Still Look Away
If you’ve said to yourself, “I don’t take sides,” I ask you: since when is refusing genocide a “side”? Since when is seeing the humanity in a young woman controversial? Since when is protecting children a partisan issue?
This isn’t about religion. This isn’t about ethnicity. This is about humanity versus indifference.
If you can see the humanity in a child in Ukraine, in a farmer in Sudan, in a mother in Israel, then you must see it in Sondos. Because humanity is not a buffet where you pick and choose. It is all or nothing.
What You Can Do Right Now
Say her name. Share Sondos’ words. Make her visible. Do not let her wish—to “never have existed”—be fulfilled by silence.
Support aid. Donate to verified humanitarian relief funds that directly support families in Gaza. Every small act ripples.
Demand action. Call your representatives. Tell them a ceasefire is not politics—it is humanity. Ask them what they are doing to stop the slaughter of families like Sondos’.
Break the cycle of dehumanization. When you hear someone dismiss Palestinians as “other,” interrupt. Say, “Her name is Sondos. She has a brother named Amr. She has a family of ten.”
The Answer to Despair
Sondos says, “I wish we had never existed.”
Our job is to answer: You do exist. You matter. You are loved. You deserve to live.
The only way to resist genocide is to keep insisting on the full humanity of those it tries to erase. That’s why I’m writing this. That’s why you’re reading it. That’s why you must share it.
Sondos is still alive. Her words are still reaching us. Let them not be a eulogy, but a call to action.
👉 Share this post. Donate if you can. Speak her name. Pressure leaders.
Because every life matters. And Sondos Althraiwy’s life matters.
Update: Forced to Evacuate
Today, Sondos and her family of ten received a terrifying message: leave your home or die.
The Israeli army dropped evacuation fliers across Gaza, ordering entire neighborhoods to flee. International news outlets including Reuters, CNN Arabic, Al Jazeera, and Quds Press have confirmed that these orders went out in recent days, triggering panic and mass displacement across Gaza City. Families like Sondos’ have been told they have no choice but to abandon what little remains of their homes.
“The army asked us to evacuate the entire area or we will die,” Sondos wrote to us today.
They are now packing their lives into a few bags. Every possession they can carry is weighed against survival. Displacement is not just exhausting — it’s devastatingly expensive. Fuel, transport, food, and the constant scramble for shelter now cost hundreds of dollars each time they are forced to move.
The grief of leaving your country, your street, your home — and knowing you may never return — is a pain that no human being should endure.
And yet, this is Sondos’ reality today.
What This Means
The evacuation is real. Independent sources confirm leaflets were dropped, forcing civilians to flee.
There is no safety. Families are told to move, but nowhere is truly secure.
Costs are crushing. Just moving once can cost hundreds of dollars — far beyond what families already under siege can afford.
How You Can Help Right Now
💙 Donate through this website (safe and secure).
💙 Or, if you prefer, use the direct GoFundMe link provided.
💙 Join the Ripple! All money raised goes directly to families, like Sondos's.
💙 Share this update. Say her name. Refuse to let Sondos and her family be erased.
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