California Inmate Donates Salary for Relief Efforts in Gaza

A California inmate has donated his paycheck of $17.74, earning 13 cents an hour doing janitorial and porter work to support relief efforts in Gaza.

The Los Angeles-based filmmaker Justin Mashouf, who has been in correspondence with the 56-year-old man, known only as Hamza, said he had met him in 2009 through a friend in Los Angeles' Muslim community who conducted prison outreach to Muslims serving prison sentences.

Hamza Donates Salary for Gaza

According to The Guardian, Mashouf posted images on social media of Hamza's October time log and a check of $17.74 with the caption, "California department of corrections and rehabilitation." The time log showed 21 days of work, totaling 136.50 hours.

Mashouf wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "An incarcerated brother I am in correspondence with donated $17.74 for relief efforts in Gaza." He continued that this donation was the sum of 136 hours of his labor in prison working as a porter and janitor and hoped that the Creator would multiply his sincere donation.

His tweet on Hamza's donation immediately went viral, receiving over 24,000 likes and over 8,200 retweets.

"The incarceration system in the US and in occupied Palestine are ultimately extensions of the same imperial project - one that seeks to criminalize the existence of the oppressed, to render them invisible, and to neutralize them as a threat to the dominant social order," the grassroots organization Palestinian Youth Movement wrote in response to Hamza's Instagram story.

The Washington Post reviewed court records and found that Hamza was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder in 1986 and was sentenced to 15 years to life. Hamza was still in his teen years during his guilty plea.

In a GoFundMe campaign page Mashouf set up for Hamza, he said that in the 1980s, Hamza accidentally fired a gun at a loved one, which killed the victim, leading to his imprisonment for over four decades. He noted that he had to endure for decades the daily anguish of losing a family member due to his error.

Furthermore, he noted that Hamza converted to Islam while incarcerated and has been begging for release from prison for many years.

Mashouf wrote in a statement on the campaign page that Hamza is scheduled to be released at the end of March.

The campaign has raised $102,187 for Hamza's re-entry journey since it began. The campaign said the funds will be used for cell phone services, clothing, job search and training, utilities, and rent.

Hamza Suspends Campaign

On Wednesday, Mashouf published a statement announcing Hamza's decision to halt the campaign on X, formerly Twitter. Hamza thanked everyone for their generosity and kindness in donating funds to help and assist him with his release from prison.

However, Hamza urged people to consider the suffering children, mothers, and fathers of Palestine, Yemen, and Africa living under inhumane conditions, who are being bombed every hour of the day without water, shelter, medication, and food.

Furthermore, Hamza's contribution to Gaza's humanitarian efforts comes as Israel continues to attack Gaza.