Friends,

The board of the Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project (ORSCP) has applied to the City of Olympia for recognition of formal sister city status between Olympia and Rafah, Palestine. The City Council will make a decision on the matter at the end of February.

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For the official website for this campaign, click here.

On June 9th, 2006, the Ghalia family was severely hit in an Israeli attack, during a picnic on the Gaza beach. The incident received worldwide attention mostly due to the horrifying video footage taken minutes later of devastated Huda Ghalia (11 y.o.) next to the dead body of her father, Ali (43 y.o.).

In the attack, 7 family members were killed (Ali 43, his wife Raisa 36, their children: Haytham 8 months, Hanadi 2, Sabrin 7, Ilham 17, Alia 24) and 7 more were injured (Hamida, Amane 22, Ayham 17.5, Adham 12, Huda 10, Hadil 6, Latifa 4). The family has already been hit in the past as result of the ongoing Israeli shelling into civilian neighbourhoods of the densely populated Gaza strip. On January 4th, 2005, an Israeli shell killed 8 and injured 5 in the family’s strawberry field. 9 of the 13 were members of the family.

The family has literally lost everything: most of the working men are either dead or injured, enormous amounts of money are being spent daily on the medical treatment and on the special needs for the many wounded and handicapped, and the family agricultural land is inaccessible due to repeated bombings.

All of these are in addition to the general situation in Gaza, which include constant closure by air, sea or land, lack of electricity during most of the day, inadequate medical care and medical supplies, lack of food and more. (more…)

The sister city project operates on a small budget, but does depend on donations for many projects to continue.

ORSCP is a private non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to creating a lasting friendship between people in Rafah, Palestine and Olympia, Washington.

We have many projects to accomplish and every donation is precious to us. Thank you for your generous contribution and remember, your donations are tax deductible.

Please make checks payable to: “ORSCP” or the “Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project” and mail it to:

If you’ve ever been interested in learning more about the Middle East, Palestinian culture, or finding out what you can do that wil have a positive impact on people living in the current situation in Gaza, consider coming to an ORSCP meeting. We value new ideas and involvement. See the real side of the people you’ve been reading about and seeing in the news. Learn who they are, what their history is and what their lives are like.

Olympia-Rafah Sister City Project meetings are on the 1st Thursday of each month at The Olympia Center (222 Columbia Street) at 7 p.m. Get updates, find out how to participate and share your ideas. Contact ORSCP.