[News] Gaza's blue gold

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://electronicintifada.net/content/gazas-blue-gold/22051


  Gaza's blue gold

Mohammed Asad <https://electronicintifada.net/people/mohammed-asad> and 
Tamara Aburamadan 
<https://electronicintifada.net/people/tamara-aburamadan> - 24 October 2017


Being a fisherman in Gaza 
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/gaza-fishermen> means to practice 
one of the world’s most dangerous professions.

Israel severely restrains Palestinian fishermen’s access to the sea and 
regularly fires on fishing crews, damaging and confiscating their boats, 
and often detaining the fishermen as well.

Two Palestinian fishermen have been killed by Israeli naval forces 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/gaza-fisherman-second-killed-israel-year> 
this year alone.

Because of Gaza’s chronic electricity crisis, a direct result of 
Israel’s repeated military assaults and decade-long blockade, 100,000 
cubic meters of raw sewage are pumped into the Mediterranean Sea each 
day <https://electronicintifada.net/content/life-septic-tank/20826>, 
polluting fishing waters.

A sharp increase in poverty since the siege was imposed means that fewer 
families can afford to put fish on the dinner table – half of Gaza’s 
population of 2 million is moderately to severely food insecure.

All of this has taken a hard toll on Gaza’s fishing industry, upon which 
more than 35,000 Palestinians still depend 
<https://www.ochaopt.org/content/restricted-livelihoods-gaza-fishermen>.

But crab season offers a respite – and rare period of profit – to Gaza’s 
beleaguered fishing families.

/All images by Mohammed Asad, a photojournalist based in the Gaza Strip./

/Reportage by Tamara Aburamadan, a lawyer and a writer based in Gaza City./

“I wake up at daybreak, take my paddle and head to the sea to pull in 
the fishing nets that I threw out the day before,” Abu Foul told The 
Electronic Intifada.

During crab season Abu Foul needs to replace his nets every few days, as 
the animals’ pincers tear them up when they are caught. Each net costs 
around $70.

“All fishing materials in Gaza are scarce because of the siege,” Abu 
Foul said.

Abu Foul’s 10-year-old son Muhammad helps his father with the catch.

Muhammad has been learning the fishing trade from his father since he 
was 7. The profession is traditionally passed down from one generation 
to the next.

“My father can depend on me to sail alone with the paddleboat,” Muhammad 
said. “When I am off from school I rush to the sea and help him.”

Some other children of fishermen, however, are not being encouraged to 
pursue the trade. Their families want them to continue their education 
to secure a white-collar job with a stable income.

But that’s not the future Muhammad envisions for himself.

“I want to become a fisherman like my dad; my favorite thing to do is to 
catch fish and crabs with him,” he said.

Mohammed Zidan, 36, has been fishing for 20 years.

“The amount of crab caught each time is not consistent; it depends on 
the luck of our catch,” Zidan said. “Crab season is definitely our 
salvation. The rest of the year is so harsh; days and months might pass 
without catching or selling anything.”

Sewage pollution initially deterred buyers this season.

“People were afraid at the beginning to buy crabs, thinking they are 
full of sewage, but it looks like they couldn’t stand to go the whole 
season without tasting the gold of the sea,” Zidan said.

Abdel Fattah Abd Rabou, a teacher of environmental sciences at the 
Islamic University in Gaza, said that it is safe to eat Gaza crab 
provided it is caught 200 to 300 meters from the shore. Raw sewage 
affects areas some 100 to 150 meters from the shore, which fishermen avoid.

“Many people were reluctant to buy fish this year, but as I’ve stated 
many times on public TV, it depends on the fishing area and it is mostly 
not dangerous to eat the fish as long as it is caught away from the 
sewage pumping area.”

Mohammed’s 9-year-old daughter, Safaa, helps by untangling crabs from 
the fishing net.

“I enjoy helping my father during crab season; it is a festive time for 
our family,” Safaa said.

Mousa Abu Riyala, better known as Abu Hatem, has worked as a fisherman 
since 1973. The 54-year-old was arrested by Israel in 1987 and 
imprisoned until 1995.

Mousa and his 49-year-old wife Hanaa, nicknamed Um Hatem, sell crabs in 
front of their home in Beach refugee camp.

The couple is one of the camp’s more successful sellers, and they are 
well known in their community.

“People in the camp call us ‘the love birds’ – we never leave each 
other’s side. In the morning we’re catching crabs from the sea, and in 
the afternoon we sit on the beach and have our cup of tea together,” Um 
Hatem said.

None of the couple’s five children will continue the family business. 
The Abu Riyalas worked hard to provide their children a high level of 
education and boosted socioeconomic status.

Outside of crab season, the couple can go days without catching 
anything, Abu Hatem said.

But during crab season, he explained, “in the worst case we make $6 a 
day, and in the best case, $85 a day.”

A seven-kilogram box of crabs costs around $15. It’s a good deal for the 
average family in Gaza, and makes a sweet profit for fishermen, as the 
demand for crabs is higher than any other kind of catch.

“Imagine having a barbecue of crabs right on the coast with your 
friends; it’s like a holiday by which we celebrate crab season,” Abu 
Hasira said.

Crabs are a traditional staple of Gaza cuisine. On Fridays, families 
gather for meals of fish, with a big dish of grilled crabs in the center 
of the table.

“This year’s demand for crabs is higher than any other,” al-Ruwadi said.

“Gazans have crabs as appetizers, not as the entrée. I believe this is 
why it’s a successful and profitable business for fishermen: It’s cheap 
and people buy them in big quantities all season long,” he added.

Ammar has been arrested by the Israeli navy three times in the decade he 
has worked as a fisherman.

“I have worked at sea for 11 years now, and during that time I have 
witnessed Israeli naval forces arresting us, confiscating our fishing 
equipment and threatening to destroy our way of life,” he said.

Ammar said that he was within the Israeli-designated six-nautical-mile 
fishing zone off Gaza’s coast each time he was arrested.

The first time Ammar was arrested came in 2010 
<http://www.mezan.org/en/index.php/post/10427/IOF+Arrests+Two+Palestinian+Fishermen+in+Beit+Hanoun>, 
when he was a 17-year-old child, and the second in 2013 
<http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=648889>. He was near Gaza’s 
maritime boundary with Israel in both instances.

“They detained me for one day and confiscated my boat and fishing nets,” 
he said.

Ammar’s third arrest was a year ago <http://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=8681> 
when he was fishing with Abd al-Hafiz.

“Suddenly naval gunships surrounded our boat and started shooting rubber 
bullets toward us. I was shot in my leg,” Ammar said. “Over their 
speakers they commanded us in broken Arabic to take off our clothes and 
jump in the water, and so we did.”

The brothers were detained and interrogated separately.

“[The interrogation] was full of threats and offensive curses,” Ammar 
recalled. “I was so afraid; it was the first time they arrested my 
brother, and I had a dark feeling that they would take him away.”

He added: “After I was done being interrogated, they asked me to look at 
my brother and to say goodbye to him. His eyes were full of tears. At 
that moment I knew my brother was not coming back home with me.”

Abd al-Hafiz was held without charge or trial for 30 days. He was 
detained in Ashkelon prison, located inside Israel.

The transfer of Palestinians arrested in the occupied West Bank and Gaza 
Strip to detention centers in Israel is “a flagrant violation of the 
Fourth Geneva Convention,” according to 
<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/israel-must-end-unlawful-and-cruel-policies-towards-palestinian-prisoners/> 
Amnesty International.

Despite his ordeal, Abd al-Hafiz al-Sultan insists on pursuing fishing 
as his livelihood.

“Regardless of all the restrictions, we will never give up, and we will 
keep sailing in our sea because this is our legitimate right as 
fishermen,” he said.


      T

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