(WXYZ) — A Metro Detroit family is trying to make it back after getting stuck in Gaza.
The Alarayshi family moved from their hometown of Gaza to metro Detroit about 23 years ago amid violence. They never imagined they’d be catapulted right back into a war zone more than two decades later.
"We came here to seek for freedom, to seek for a life that most people in Gaza don’t have," said Yahya Alarayshi who has been watching the conflict unfold from the Detroit area. "We’re back 23 years to the same situation. It wasn’t that bad 23 years ago, but we did leave to have a better life."
Alarayshi says his parents went to Gaza recently to visit his brother who still lives there. They were supposed to come back at the end of this month but are now stuck amid constant air strikes.
"They’re not doing good at all. I talked to them about an hour ago. They’re jumping. They’re scared. They’re not happy. There is no place basically where they can be safe. We’re just hearing a bombing every hour," said Alarayshi.
The family is without water or heat and is now depending on legislators and the American embassy for a safe return home.
"What was a vacation turned out to be a nightmare for them. We have the public duty to make sure that they get here safe," said Mariam Charara with the Arab American Civil Rights League in Dearborn.
Charara is the executive director of the ACRL. She says been in direct contact with the family for the last several days working to get them home and she's unsure how many others are trapped.
"He’s done everything he could in regards to the protocol that the embassy has initiated and the response back is he’s going to have to wait for his interview appointment and that is a very long time from now," said Charara. This case in particular highlights the need for a robust support system and a contingency plan for US citizens that are in crisis."
Charara shared the following statement from Alarayshi's father Zak:
"We are trapped in Gaza amidst the ongoing conflict unable to leave. I was originally at my own home but due to the increasing threat of chaos in my neighborhood I had to seek refuge with other who were also in search of safety. Unfortunately, I am now in a dangerous situation with dangers surrounding me from all directions. What was meant to be a peaceful vacation was turned into an unexpected ordeal as i am caught up in the conflict right under the war zone."
-Alarayshi family
Alarayshi and the ACRL are calling on state legislators to get involved but say there's no estimated time frame for his parents to return to the States.
"Every minute counts over there, every hour, and all we’re asking is for them to get the border so they can leave the area," he added.
