acepumpkinpatrick - Tumblr blog

[acepumpkinpatrick]

[acepumpkinpatrick]

"Keep Eyes On Sudan. Write to your media org. Your rep. Your mother. Your group chat!!! We need people to speak on what is happening in El Fasher. Today!" from Yasmin Abdel-Magied, 25/Apr/2024:

[acepumpkinpatrick]

Happy to report that I was finally able to donate eSims to gazaesims@gmail.com !!!!!

I followed instructions from @gothhabiba 's blog (their blog got all the information u need about this process) here's a master post with all the info about this

If you're more of a instructions-video kind of person, here's a reel by Islam on ig

There's also ppl giving out referral codes (It's like a discount coupon) for 1st time purchases on here. Just scroll through the most recent posts in the name tag of the app you're using.

It's important to keep donating eSims bc they're always short on them and alot of ppl need them and need alot of them. In an interview Anas Al-Sharif (one of the last remaining reports in the north of the strip) said that he goes through at least 5 of them each day. So keep on donating.

The information might be a little daunting at first and that's ok, the important thing is to be courageous and take action. You got this! Go donate <3

[acepumpkinpatrick]

Gaza has an urgent need for more e-sims as of December 31, 2023, according to organizer Mirna El Helbawi:

[ID: Tweet by Mirna El Helbawi (@Mirna_elhelbawi) reading: Bad news bad news: We are RUNNING OUT OF ESIMS! Please donate! #ConnectingGaza @Connectinghu_". An image is attached with text reading: Take a clear QR screenshot and send it to: gazaesims@gmail.com. Nomad (regional Middle East); Mogo (Israel); Holafly (Israel); Simly (Palestine); Airalo (Menalink / Discover)." The tweet was posted at 6:25 AM on 31 December 2023 from Porto, Portugal. End ID]

Gazaesims.com has a breakdown of how to purchase and send e-sims using different services.

Also see @blackpearlblasts's guide on how to purchase e-sims, including discount codes.

If you aren't confident with ordering an e-sim for yourself or can't afford a large plan (the largest plans on the apps currently being called for range from $40-69 USD), you can send funds to Crips for eSims for Gaza (donate link here) or to me (venmo @gothhabiba; paypal.me/Najia; cash app $NajiaK) and we will combine your funds to purchase and send e-sims to the Connecting Humanity team. It is better to purchase large plans if possible, since many people sometimes use one person's phone as a hotspot. It takes the CH team less time to connect people to plans that last longer than to repeatedly connect them to smaller plans.

If you sent an e-sim in October, November or the first two weeks of December...

...and it has not yet been activated (you will not get an activation e-mail from the CH team; you will need to go into the app and check your plans to see if any of them have been activated), reply to the e-mail that you already sent.

See this guide on how to tell whether an eSim you sent has been activated or not (and, if you've purchased multiple plans on the same app, how to tell which one has been activated).

[acepumpkinpatrick]

🍉🇵🇸 eSims for Gaza masterpost 🇵🇸🍉

Which eSims are currently being called for?

As of now:

eSim plans being called for are:

Nomad (“regional Middle East” plan): code NOMADCNG (can now be used multiple times from the same email)

Holafly (“Israel” and “Egypt” plans): code HOLACNG—be sure to include which plan it is in the subject line

Simly (“Palestine” and “Middle East” plans)

Airalo (“Discover” plans)

If you sent an eSim more than two weeks ago and it is still valid and not yet activated, reply to the email in which you originally sent the eSim. To determine whether the eSim is still valid, scan the QR code with a smartphone; tap the yellow button that reads “Cellular plan”; when a screen comes up reading “Activate eSIM,” click the button that says “Continue.” If a message comes up reading “eSIM Cannot Be Added: This code is no longer valid. Contact your carrier for more information,” the eSim is activated, expired, or had an error in installation, and should not be sent. It is very important not to re-send invalid eSims, since people may walk several kilometers to access wifi to connect their eSims only to find out that they cannot be activated.

If a screen appears reading “Activate eSIM: An eSIM is ready to be activated” with a button asking you to “Continue,” do not click “Continue” to activate the eSim on your phone; exit out of the screen and reply to the email containing that QR code.

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 using a mobile phone app, or on a desktop computer (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.

If you’re going to be purchasing many eSims at once, see Jane Shi’s list of tips.

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 when they are near expiry; but eSims must be stayed on top of, as you cannot top them up once the data has completely run out. Go into the app settings and make sure your "data usage" notifcations are turned on.

Simly Middle East plans cannot be topped up; Simly Palestine ones can. Unlike with Nomad, data can be topped up once it has completely run out.

Holafly has the most expensive data, and top-ups don't seem to work.

Mogo has the worst user interface in my opinion. It is difficult or impossible to see plan activation and usage.

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, and Holafly plans (they say you can top them up, but I haven't heard of anyone who has gotten it to work yet).

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. Go into the app’s settings and make sure low-data notifications are on, because a 1-GB eSIM can expire very quickly.

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; make sure your notifications are on.

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 can I tell if my plan has been activated? How do I top up a plan?

The Connecting Humanity team recommends keeping your eSims topped up once they have been activated.

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 and top them up.

Gaza Online (run by alumni of Gaza Sky Geeks) accepts monetary donations to purchase eSims as needed.

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.

Is there anything else I can do to help?

There is an urgent need for more eSims. Print out these posters and place them on bulletin boards, in local businesses, on telephone poles, or wherever people are likely to see them. Print out these foldable brochures to inform people about the initiative and distribute them at protests, cafes and restaurants, &c. Also feel free to make your own brochures using the wording from this post.

The Connecting Humanity team is very busy connecting people to eSims and don't often have time to answer questions. Check a few of Mirna El Helbawi's most recent tweets and see if anyone has commented with any questions that you can answer with the information in this post.

[acepumpkinpatrick]

HELPGAZACHILDREN!!!!!

Med @fairuzfan’s blog got terminated by tumblr which is obviously unjust for all the people who rely on them for resources on Palestine, but it now leaves Hussam’s helpgazachildren donation drive without a point of communication, and has deleted all previous information Med had shared about the drive.

Please remember to keep donating to helpgazachildren as Hussam’s hard work getting resources to families in Gaza should not have to be hindered while Med is working on getting their blog back 🤍🇵🇸

INFO ABOUT HELPGAZACHILDREN

DONATE TO HELPGAZACHILDREN

[acepumpkinpatrick]

HELPGAZACHILDREN!!!!!

Med @fairuzfan’s blog got terminated by tumblr which is obviously unjust for all the people who rely on them for resources on Palestine, but it now leaves Hussam’s helpgazachildren donation drive without a point of communication, and has deleted all previous information Med had shared about the drive.

Please remember to keep donating to helpgazachildren as Hussam’s hard work getting resources to families in Gaza should not have to be hindered while Med is working on getting their blog back 🤍🇵🇸

INFO ABOUT HELPGAZACHILDREN

DONATE TO HELPGAZACHILDREN

[acepumpkinpatrick]

[acepumpkinpatrick]

There are 7000 aid trucks waiting at the Egyptian border

[acepumpkinpatrick]

"It is so deeply cruel and unfair that our oppressors get to reach through time and hurt our children's children."

It is Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

And I have some big feelings, as a part of the diaspora. Remembrance Day is an inappropriate title for a time in which Armenians still face genocidal forces. Just last year, Azerbaijan, armed by Turkey, ethnically cleansed over 280,000 Armenians from Artsakh. The illegal colonizer state of Israel, currently in the midst of their 6+ month-long genocide against the Palestinians, has placed the Armenians who call Jerusalem home under threat and siege.

The Armenian struggle and the Palestinian struggle are deeply linked.

In his rise to power, Hitler is quoted to justify his actions against the Jewish, Roma, Queer, Disabled, and other victims of the Holocaust, to say "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Echoing these chilling words, Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish wrote:

Who Remembers the Armenians? I remember them and I ride the nightmare bus with them each night and my coffee, this morning I'm drinking it with them You, murderer - Who remembers you?

The trauma sustained during a genocide is not limited to the people experiencing it right now. The echoes of that trauma leak forward into the next generations, passed down through survival, and that is so insidious. My grandmother got to live, but did so believing that her parents did not love her, because the trauma they endured prevented them from expressing it. Abuse and unhealthy attachment were passed down because that starving hunger for love and acceptance was passed down. It is so deeply cruel and unfair that our oppressors get to reach through time and hurt our children's children.

We need to band together and stop the present-day abusers, the genocidal monsters that oppress the people of Palestine, Armenia, Congo, and so many others.

We need to uplift art made by those who survived, and by those who are surviving. Art is always targeted by the oppressor to erase cultural identity, to destroy legacy, and to break spirits. Support Palestinian and Armenian poets, and artists, and writers.

If you are one of the many who never learned about the Armenian Genocide, learn today. Ask yourself why people worked so hard not to educate you on this piece of history.

[acepumpkinpatrick]

[acepumpkinpatrick]

i am officially on summer vacation so all of you had better prepare to get your socks blown off. soon as i can put pen to paper (open up a google doc) it’s over for you bitches

[acepumpkinpatrick]

Hey remember how the zionazis accused the Qassam Brigades of mutilating, beheading, disemboweling children, and they were exposed for lying about it after not presenting evidence for months?

Guess what we have evidence happened at Al Nasser hospital? Guess what we have photos of from the zionazi siege on Al Nasser hospital?

[acepumpkinpatrick]

Watch this short report to get a glimpse of what Israel has been subjecting Palestinians it has taken captive since October 7, whose numbers have now surpassed 8,400 from the West Bank alone.

The conditions in Israeli prisons have intensified and men, women, children and elderly people are subjected to starvation and torture. 14 Palestinian captives have in fact died in Israeli prisons since October 7, which is an alarming and unprecedented escalation to the already dire humanitarian crisis taking place in Israeli torture chambers.

The family of the 74 year old man in the video, Omar Assaf, did not even recognise him. He describes the past 6 months feeling as though they were 6 years.

[acepumpkinpatrick]

While we're at it: using language that downplays genocide is a form of genocide denial.

Joe Biden isn't doing a bad job, Joe Biden is providing material support for genocide.

Israel isn't handling the situation badly, Israel is committing genocide.

Employing euphemisms minimizes the reality of this genocide. It's disrespectful and dangerous.

If you are more uncomfortable with the word genocide than you are with the reality of genocide, then you are not prepared to be part of any serious discussion. Work on that on your own time.

[acepumpkinpatrick]

this is unbearable. just a little while ago when the baby was born we were lamenting that refaat never got to meet his grandkid and now his grandkid, son in law, and daughter are dead too?! ايه القهر ده!