Gallery • 9 Photos

Von Smith

Syrian-American Huda Melby places a bid for a decorative vase during BGKY4Palestine’s Women’s Day Charity Auction for Palestine at the Islamic Center of Bowling Green, on Mar. 8, 2024. “This is a good cause for Gaza’s children and all who are struggling in Palestine,” Melby said.

Bowling Green for Palestine hosted a silent charity auction on Women’s Day, March 8, 2024, at the Islamic Center of Bowling Green to support the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. 

All proceeds of the auction went to the Keshta family who moved as refugees to Calgary, Canada seeking a better life. The family now accepts donations to support other families still living in Gaza. Proceeds additionally went to the humanitarian network Red Crescent, an affiliate of the Red Cross, providing aid in Gaza. 

Community members were able to bid over guitars and religious artworks, share tea and coffee, and enjoy Mediterranean food and music. Auction organizers adorned in Keffiyeh scarves laughed with bidders and delivered potent Palestinian coffee to attendees. 

Across the room, a projector screen depicted images of decimated apartment buildings and wounded refugees, along with messages like “Palestinians are being starved to death,” and “More than 8,352 children have lost their mothers,” since the start of Israel’s military campaign last year.

“We can feel powerless because of these atrocities, this is a good way for the community to come together and raise money for these families,” BGKY4Palestine organizer Emily Wittihuhn said. 

The auction garnered a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds from Bowling Green’s community. A prominent portion of the auction attendees were survivors of the War in Bosnia 30 years ago. 

“I lost 27 members of my family in 3 days. July, 11-13 of 1995, I was 18. When the war stopped I was 22, now I am 50,” Bosnian-American Scnad Mehmedovic said.

“It’s not the exact same story, but it is similar,” mental health specialist and Bosnian refugee Mersiha Demirovic said, comparing the Bosnian genocide of 1992 to the situation in Gaza today. 

Despite the context of the humanitarian crisis, auction bidders enjoyed a night of laughter and light competition. Event organizers scrambled to coordinate bid winners after an unexpectedly large turnout, and lucky bid winners went home with gift baskets and calligraphic artworks depicting sacred surahs of the Quran.