861: Group Chat
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A quick warning, there are curse words that are unbeeped in today's episode of the show. If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, thisamericanlife.org. From WBEZChicago, it's this American Life, I'm Hannah Joffiwalt sitting in for Ira Glass. Family Group Chat created May 19th, 2023, two years ago, before. Yusuf Hamash, send this link to a seal, salsa bio, and heba, so they can enter the group. Manal, we are all gathered together. What a blessing. Heart emoji. I don't have Hassan or Ahmed. Yusuf must add them. I sent the link above you idiots, so you can send it to them. Yusuf reshares link. Send them the link. I sent it. Manal, we want to go out tomorrow to the beach. Okay, why is the group called the shitty family? Yeah, who's the son of a gun who names a group, laughing emoji? Please, isn't this Yusuf's doing? It's Yusuf. I did it for your sake, sister. God bless you, pride of the Arabs. But now I want to invite us to the beach, Hadeel. I want to take you to the beach. When? We're thinking either tomorrow or Monday. I will let my children go, but what day? We're thinking Monday. We need a watermelon. That's the most important thing. You're making conditions as well? The watermelon is more important than you. I'm being mocked. Yusuf, whoever wants to go with us, like this message, I will set up a time leader. Where? To the beach. But what day? Tomorrow, clown face. Yusuf, who started this group chat for his family, he's been on our show before. Yusuf Hamash. He was a humanitarian aid worker in Gaza. He grew up there, lived there his whole life. He started this group chat with his family months before the war, before October 7th, when Hamash attacked southern Israel. After that, Yusuf became responsible for moving his whole family, his four sisters, their extended families, from one place to another, trying to escape Israel's bombing. After six months of displacement and near-death experiences and worrying for his children, Yusuf did something he thought he'd never do. He left Gaza. This was last spring, he went with his wife, mother, and his kids to Egypt. His sisters decided to stay behind.
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