Dear Mr. Santa,
This might be unusual request coming from someone who is a Muslim, but the fact I have few things on my mind.
Could you please swing by Palestine, and in particular to a place called Gaza this year. It is not too far from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, who is ‘the reason for the season’. There are 1.5 million people who are starving there in Gaza and have been under siege from air, sea, and ground for almost three years. You may ask what is the reason for that? Those people wanted to be free and independent just like us here in America.
Over 51% of the population is under the age of 15. Among those people are solid 3,000 Christians also. Statistically speaking, there should be about 1,500 of their Christian children who will not be having a merry Christmas this year for lack of basic necessities to survive such as food, water, fuel, and medicine. Animals are in a worse shape than humans in Gaza. There is no grass or animal feeds left in Gaza. Parents and children alike are dying daily because they are unable to get medical attention inside or outside Gaza due to the blockade. The U.N. is no longer able to deliver food anymore because of border closings, and has also warned of impending human disaster..
The children of Gaza do not need toys or video games as they do in other parts of the ‘Cristian’ world, so I suggest the following:
Baby formula
Bottled water
Candles
Vitamin supplement. I heard many suffer from severe malnutrition
Clothing and toiletry
Batteries (all sizes)
Hearing aids for children
Animal feeds. I heard that a local pet store here is having a great bargain, buy one get one free!
Meal Ready to Eat [MRE]. The same kind used by the military.
No need for desert, there is one inside the MRE package. However, if there is some ginger bread man on special, I recommend taking several boxes. I am sure the children will enjoy it and will talk about it for years to come.
Thank you in advance. Have a safe trip. May Allah [God in Arabic] be with you, and as you would say; Ho, ho, ho.
Sincerely,
Mahmoud El-Yousseph
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Related: America's Christmas Gifts to Afghanistan
