Carrying their boards past tents and bombed-out buildings, a small group of Gaza surfers made their way to the sea, looking for comfort in the waves despite the ever-present threat of Israeli attacks, AFP reports.
On the beach in Gaza City, the trio laid their boards on the sand while they stretched their limbs and prepared their gear. A few children splashed in the shallows as the surfers paddled out, battling the crashing surf.
“This sport is indescribable. When you catch a wave, ride it, and glide along it, that feeling can’t be put into words,” said 23-year-old Tahseen Abu Assi, who learned to surf from his father. “I used to see him practising at the beach with his father, and I watched and learned from them,” he told AFP.
“We learned little by little, and even with the war, the shelling, and the destruction, we’re still continuing with this sport, because it lets us breathe and makes us feel safe.”
A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas took effect in Gaza in October, following Israel’s devastating two-year war on the territory. However, the small coastal enclave remains gripped by violence, with each side accusing the other of near-daily violations. Even out at sea, the danger persists.
In mid-May, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis reported receiving two fishermen injured by Israeli naval gunfire near the beach in the southern Gaza Strip. A few days later, a Gaza security source said three fishermen were wounded by Israeli fire near the coast off Gaza City. “At any moment, shells or explosives could land near you,” one surfer noted.
Candle wax and treasured boards
Out on the water, the surfers glide smoothly across the wave crests, momentarily free from the harsh realities of daily life in Gaza. But severe shortages caused by the war and ongoing Israeli import restrictions have created obstacles for the sport.
“One of the biggest challenges and difficulties we face as surfers in the Gaza Strip is the lack of tools and equipment specific to this sport,” 19-year-old Abdel Rahim Ustadh told AFP.
“Surf wax, which we put on the boards, is not available at all in Gaza, so we resort to candle wax so we can keep this sport going,” he added.
Ustadh said preserving old equipment was also vital, clutching a battered red-and-blue surfboard that was nearly two decades old. “As surfers, we treat these boards like great treasures, because losing any board or having it confiscated threatens our ability to continue in this sport,” he said.
The devastating war on Gaza flattened large areas of the territory, displaced most of the population at least once, and left hundreds of thousands of people living in tents and temporary shelters.
Khalil Abu Jiyab, 18, said that before the war, there had been a team of 17 surfers in Gaza. Now, he said, there were just the three of them, pointing to shortages and a lack of boards. “I’ve been surfing for 13 years now, and my hopes have almost been shattered,” Abu Jiyab told AFP, but he still dreamed of one day competing in surf contests outside Gaza.
“There’s nothing in Gaza you can really look forward to except the sea,” he added. “The only outlet in Gaza is the sea; without it, life would have vanished long ago.”
