Gaza girls turn to fishing as rising poverty erodes barriers FEATURE 08/06/2010

Gaza girls turn to fishing as rising poverty erodes barriers

FEATURE 08/06/2010 GAZA CITY — Every morning the two girls wake up before dawn, row their wooden skiff out into Gaza’s heavily-patrolled waters, and try to catch enough fish to feed their family. They are perhaps the only women in the territory of 1.5 million people who make a living from fishing, and are a rare sight in Gaza’s conservative society where women rarely venture into the sea even to swim. But Madeleine Kulab, 16, and her sister Reem, 13, have had few other options since their father was struck with palsy 10 years ago, and like many women in Gaza have had to work for wages once earned by men. For the last four years Israel and Egypt have largely sealed the borders of the Palestinian enclave, ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement since June 2007, pushing the local private sector to the brink of collapse. Gaza’s unemployment rate hovers around 40 percent, with 80 percent of the population, including the Kulab family, relying on foreign aid. “How are we supposed to survive without catching fish? My father has palsy in his feet and cannot work,” Madeleine said as she and Reem plucked tiny fish from their nets on Gaza’s sandy shore.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100806com6.html

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