🍉🇵🇸 eSims for Gaza masterpost 🇵🇸🍉

Which eSims are currently being called for?

As of January 29:

Be sure you're looking at the original post, as this will be continually updated. Any new instructions about replying to emails for specific types of unactivated plans will also appear here.

Check the notes of blackpearlblasts's eSim post, as well as fairuzfan's 'esim' tag, for referral and discount codes.

How do I purchase an eSim?

If you cannot download an app or manage an eSim yourself, send funds to Crips for eSims for Gaza (Visa; Mastercard; Paypal; AmEx; Canadian e-transfer; or to me (venmo @gothhabiba; paypal.me/Najia; cash app $NajiaK, with note “esims” or similar; check the notes of this post for updates on what I've purchased.)

You can purchase an eSim yourself in an app, or on desktop (with the exception of Simly, which does not have a desktop site). See this screenreader-accessible guide to purchasing an eSim through each of the five services that the Connecting Humanity team is calling for (Simly, Nomad, Mogo, Holafly, and Airalo).

Send a screenshot of the plan's QR code to gazaesims@gmail.com. Be sure to include the app used, the word "esim," the type of plan (when an app has more than one, aka "regional Middle East" versus "Palestine"), and the amount of data or time on the plan, in the subject line or body of your email.

Message me if you have any questions or if you need help purchasing an eSim through one of these apps.

Which app should I use?

Try to buy an eSim from one of the apps that the team is currently calling for (see above).

If the team is calling for multiple apps: Nomad is best in terms of data price, app navigability, and ability to top up. Mogo has the worst user interface in my opinion. Holafly has the most expensive data, but plans can be topped up. Simly Middle East plans cannot be topped up; Simly Palestine ones can.

How much data should I purchase?

Mirna el-Helbawi has been told that large families may all rely on the same plan for data (by setting up a hotspot). Some recipients of eSim plans may also be using them to upload video.

For those reasons I would recommend getting the largest plan you can afford for plans which cannot be topped up: namely, Simly "Middle East" plans. Note that Holafly plans can only be topped up on desktop, not through the app.

For all other plans, get a relatively small amount of data (1-3 GB, a 3-day plan, etc.), and top up the plan with more data once it is activated.

Is there anything else I need to do?

Check back regularly to see if the plan has been activated. Once it's been activated, check once a day to see if data is still being used, and how close the eSim is to running out of data or to expiring.

If the eSim hasn't been activated after three weeks or so, reply to the original email that you sent to Gaza eSims containing the QR code for that plan.

If you purchased the eSim through an app which has a policy of starting the countdown to auto-expiry a certain amount of time after the purchase of the eSim, rather than only upon activation (Nomad does this), then also reply to your original e-mail once you're within a few days of this date. If you're within 12 hours of that date, contact customer service and ask for a credit (not a refund) and use it to purchase and send another eSim.

How do I top up a plan?

See this guide on how to tell if your plan has been activated, how to top up plans, and (for Nomad) how to tell when the auto-expiry will start. Keep topping up the eSim for as long as the data usage keeps ticking up. This keeps a person or family connected for longer, without the Connecting Humanity team having to go through another process of installing a new eSim.

If the data usage hasn't changed in a week or so, allow the plan to expire and purchase another one.

What if I can't afford a larger plan, or don't have time or money to keep topping up an eSim?

I have set up a pool of funds out of which to buy and top up eSims, which you can contribute to by sending funds to my venmo (@gothhabiba), PayPal (paypal.me/Najia), or cash app ($NajiaK) (with note “esims” or similar). Check the notes of this post for updates on what I've purchased, which plans are active, and how much data they've used.

Crips for eSims for Gaza also has a donation pool to purchase esims, but I don't know about their practices regarding topping them up.

What if my eSim has not been activated, even after I replied to my email?

Make sure that the QR code you sent was a clear screenshot, and not a photo of a screen; and that you didn’t install the eSim on your own phone by scanning the QR code or clicking “install automatically."

Possible reasons for an eSim not having been activated include: it was given to a journalist as a back-up in case the plan they had activated expired or ran out of data; there was an error during installation or activation and the eSim could no longer be used; the eSim was installed, but not activated, and then Israeli bombings destroyed the phone, or forced someone to leave it behind.

An eSim that was sent but couldn’t be used is still part of an important effort and learning curve. Errors in installation, for example, are happening less often than they were in the beginning of the project.

Why should I purchase an eSim? Is there any proof that they work?

Israel is imposing near-constant communications blackouts on Gaza. The majority of the news that you are seeing come from Gaza is coming from people who are connected via eSim.

eSims also connect people to news. People are able to videochat with their family for the first time in months, to learn that their family members are still alive, to see their newborn children for the first time, and more, thanks to eSims.

Some of this sharing of news saves lives, as people have been able to flee or avoid areas under bombardment, or learn that they are on evacuation lists.

Why are different plans called for at different times?

Different eSims work in different areas of the Gaza Strip (and Egypt, where many refugees currently are). The team tries to keep a stockpile of each type of sim on hand.

Swimmin’ & snackin’ ducklings 🍉

Great! I was fired from my job in Germany today because I am Palestinian. :)

Hi, I'm Amal, a Palestinian architect from Gaza! I traveled to Germany two years ago to support my family back in Gaza. Since we lost our house, shops, and all our sources of income, I've had to shoulder the financial burden alone. It's been incredibly tough for me in the last eight months to send money to my family weekly, especially with the ongoing war destroying our income and causing prices in Gaza to skyrocket. There were days when I had zero money for days on end. I even had to downgrade from an apartment to a single room to cover my expenses and rent. I also lost my company; yes, I had a small architectural firm in Gaza. I had dreams of seeing it grow, but everything crumbled.

Now, both my family and I are without homes and jobs. This is unbearable! Is being Palestinian a curse, or what?

I really can't bear it anymore. Isn't it enough that our photos are all over social media platforms, appealing for donations on GoFundMe? What bothers me the most is that the innocent people who donate to us are just like us, struggling to pay rent and taxes, already burdened with their own hard lives. On top of that, I feel like a burden to them. Why should nations pay for the consequences of the stupidity and brutality of their leaders? They might start World War III instead of stopping genocide!

Four months ago, I fell victim to someone in a high position in Egypt who pretended they would evacuate my family for 20k, instead of the 40k. To some of you, this might seem like a small amount, but for me, it was all I had. Why does the world agree to suffocate us? Why do we have to pay money for our lives at all?

I feel daily ashamed for not joining the protesters; I keep asking myself if I get arrested, they'll kick me out. But to where? I am completely without a home to shelter me if I was kicked out! What will happen to my family? Who will support them? Why are we being exterminated, and our children slaughtered?

Why was I fired? 💔

Why is this world so cruel? 💔

A Thousand Whys and Whys!

I needed to vent my anger. Thank you to everyone who read this.

Title: A Normal Day for a Palestinian Abroad

I hate when I drink all of my drink and there's no drink left. What the fuckkkkkkk. #sickandtwisted

There is literally a professor at the school who's also with the NYPD and is being credited with the crackdown

images used to look like this

please don't buy keffiyah from unknown sources

for example: lots of keffiyah are being sold on amazon by chinese fast fashion companies

please buy keffiyah from palestinian sources

here is an example

here is another

if you can't for some reason, please consider the most ethical choice you possibly can, or just donating the money you would have spent on one to a gaza supporting organization instead

Bashar Murad in Klefi/Samed by Hatari ft. Bashar Murad because queer Palestinians exist and we shouldn't forget them

Reblog to show your followers Bashar Murad.

For more Palestinian musicians & gifs check my gif tag

From the river to the sea Palestine will be free

hey! you shouldnt make jokes calling cis people eggs, especially when they are real living breathing human beings with intelligent thought and critical thinking. if you do, you're weird and i think you should consider the effect your words more often, because as someone who was a very public facing cis person who had a lot of Egg jokes made about me before transitioning, it still makes me fucking sick to think about. it fucked me up so bad that i refused to transition until i quit my job and wasnt under the eyes of people making bets on my psychology. how dare you fucking speak down to me regarding my own identity. how dare you fucking claim to know me better than i know myself.

it is not the privilege of trans people to have their stated gender identity believed, nor is it a sin of cis people to acknowledge their option to transition and still remain cis. make egg jokes about fictional characters, fine. but accusing a stranger of not being the gender they claim to be is not something you get to reclaim when you're trans.

and no, i don't feel better about these jokes now that im out. you dont get to say "i knew it". that is the same exact thing, just played out retroactively.

WAIT I JUST FIGURED OUT WHY A FEW PEOPLE GOT SO MAD

you heard me say "don't make egg jokes to people who arent out" (a very specific direct action) and decided i meant "don't ever try to help your friends who might be struggling with their gender identity" (a very broad passive action).

damn. damn it is really sad that you want me to be wrong that bad. that you decided that's what i said.

the fascist states of america when for once a significant number of people in it dares question why tax dollars consistently fund a genocide thats been going on thrice as long as youve been alive