A human connection became a collective refusal to look away
Before the organisation, there was a family, a community, and the conviction that solidarity could become practical action.
These are the steps that led to the creation of Human Sea Bridge (Pont de Mer Humanitaire). The full account is set out in the founding case file. Here, the essentials: how a citizen mobilisation showed that a lasting framework was needed to connect care, education, stakeholders and decision-making.
A mobilisation born of a real situation.
In 2025, citizens in Brittany rallied around Yaser Al Rayyes and his family, who had remained in Gaza. Time, skills, public attention, individual gestures: everything converged into a concrete humanitarian effort.
The experience revealed the strength of solidarity. And how difficult it is to turn it into coordinated medical, administrative and institutional action.
A personal link, declared and governed by rules.
Human Sea Bridge grew out of the bond between Yaser Al Rayyes and his host family in Brittany, Jérôme and Emna Tinard, now the association’s President and Secretary General. We do not hide it: it is where our commitment began.
This link is governed by written rules. Under the Code of Governance and Ethics (Articles 8 to 10), Jérôme and Emna Tinard take no part in any decision concerning the Al Rayyes family: those decisions rest with the board members who have no conflict of interest in the matter, Amélie Brégeaut and Gaïa Lassaube. Our articles of association prohibit selecting or prioritising anyone because of a personal or family link (Article 3): everyone is supported according to their needs.
Attention turned into the ability to act.
The organisation grew out of experience, not an abstract project. Each stage added a skill and a responsibility.
A community comes together
Collectives, volunteers, associations and supporters spread the word about the family’s situation. Local initiatives made the family’s situation visible and brought resources together.
A case file takes shape
Medical, administrative, humanitarian and diplomatic exchanges showed the need for a reliable framework: verified evidence, identified contacts, clear responsibilities.
Human Sea Bridge is founded
On 16 February 2026, experience on the ground became a non-profit association, with one aim: to reopen routes to care and education. The founding story sheds light on the mission; it does not sum it up.
An image from the story that made the mobilisation visible. Image: © Yaser Al Rayyes and his family.
The press documented the mobilisation and its place in the public sphere.
A family together on a coach during the evacuation.
A father and son reunited after the crossing.
Continuity is still being built after the evacuation.
“I could only dream that there was a bridge over this sea.”
Yaser Al Rayyes · founding testimony, the origin of the organisation’s name.
“I left Gaza, but Gaza has never left me.”
On 7 October 2026, Yaser Al Rayyes wrote to the members of the support committee. His full text, published in his own name, is now in our Voices section.
Building a lasting ability to document, connect and coordinate.
Create and collect
Translate and explain
Advocate and follow up
Hundreds of individual acts made the first pathway possible.
Stalls, handmade crafts, fundraising, translation, advocacy and follow-up: every contribution found its place.
No single act was enough. Together, they made it possible to gather information, stay in touch with the family, raise the alarm, fund certain steps and engage with those who could act. The independent media that followed this journey offer an outside perspective on it.
The human connection remains our starting point.
The organisation can grow. Its role remains precise: understand the situation, document what matters, connect the right stakeholders, make the next step possible.
The founding story taught us one thing: an evacuation, an admission or an institutional response does not mark the end of the work. Care, housing, procedures, education, funding and integration must hold over time. This commitment to continuity now underpins our programmes.
Revisit the story through the media that followed it.
The press review brings together the articles that followed the mobilisation and its milestones.
Continue the story with a practical contribution.
Join the network, offer expertise, build a partnership or fund the steps that make care and education possible.
