Palestinian girl Sabah Abu Ghanim catches a wave in the Mediterranean off the coast of Gaza. Photo: Reuters
TWELVE-year-old Sabah Abu Ghanim drags her board through the water as the sinking sun glints on the eastern Mediterranean. The wind has got up a little, and she is hoping the surf will follow - enough, at least, for her to ride the waves.
''I feel the sea belongs to me,'' says the Gaza surfer. ''When I'm in the sea I feel content and happy.''
Gaza's 40 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline are a magnet for a population with few forms of entertainment and a pressing need to escape the drudgery of life under blockade. A small but growing band of surfers use a variety of makeshift boards plus a few sent by surfer activists through the heavily controlled crossings from Israel.
''We have a problem getting equipment in, but these guys try to do the best for themselves,'' says Mahfouz Kabariti, president of the Palestine Sailing and Surfing Federation. ''Always people are suffering from the siege, so they need some space to feel normal. This is good for their mental health.''
Sabah was taught by her lifeguard father to use their 22-year-old surfboard. The first time, she says, ''I put myself in God's hands. I said my last prayers. And I surfed a very high wave.''
Ramshackle lifeguard towers are stationed periodically along the beach, but there are no signs warning swimmers of the greatest hazard - the sewage in the water. Up to 80 million litres of sewage is dumped in the sea every day, causing diarrhoea and skin complaints among those who swallow the water.
Gaza's four sewage treatment plants cannot cope with the growing population, according to EWASH, a consortium of international and local NGOs. Israel's continued blockade prevents materials needed for maintaining and upgrading the plants from reaching Gaza, it says.
After getting sick, Sabah says she has avoided the most contaminated areas. Her father, Rajab Aby Ghanim, 37, is proud of his daughter's prowess. But, he says, ''I have many problems with my daughters surfing. Many people criticise me. I asked my two older daughters to stop because of the community.''
For now, Gaza's surfer girl is riding the waves. ''People are proud of us. They say, 'This is the first time we saw a girl who knows how to surf.' ''
In besieged Gaza, a precious wave of freedom
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