I had to carry on fishing as I was the eldest daughter, and my brothers were very young.

I really struggled in the beginning as it was a huge responsibility to be
totally in charge of the boat, but we needed money badly to survive and
I had to endanger my life so that we could live!

All this forced me to conquer my fears and go to sea.
I faced many dangers when it was windy and when the sea was rough. It was
tough being in that boat during the freezing cold winters and the
burning hot summers. And because I was the first female in Gaza to fish
and run a boat, I had a really hard time to be accepted by a society
that thought I was different and untraditional. As a result of the
Israeli blockade there was a shortage of lots of products and many other
problems. I had to take on the responsibility of my family. I was very
scared, but I could not admit this to anyone. My father could not help
me nor could my young siblings. Without my help my family would have
become hungry and homeless.

I continued studying at school to
improve my knowledge and my expertise. Finally in 2011 I got a break. I
received a grant from The Welfare Association which provided me with a
brand-new boat with an engine.

It was the happiest moment of my life. I felt like a little child who had just received the biggest gift ever!

I went off to sea in my new boat but because of the Israeli blockade on
fishing in Gaza, fishermen were not allowed to go further than 3
nautical miles from shore and that made our lives difficult.

I faced new challenges and dangers from Israeli patrol ships. They often
directly attacked my boat. They stole my fishing nets more than once.
the thing was that each time they attacked me, I would get a little
stronger. I never gave up.

My journey as a fisher woman continues
to this day, Fish is scarce near the shore and 3 nautical miles where
fishing is allowed is not enough for all Gaza fishermen to get enough
fish for their families. Like them I wasn’t able to fulfil my family’s
needs too on many days.

That’s why in 2013, I took out a loan
from the Bank of Palestine for £15,000 so I could buy a tourist boat to
supplement the family income. Unfortunately, two years later the economy
was so bad that I couldn’t handle all my family’s expenditure as well
as the repayments of the loan.

2016 was my worst year yet.
That was the year the big Israeli ships illegally confiscated my fishing engine boat, and all my fishing gear that was kept on the boat.
At that time, I felt really low. I didn’t know what to do. Buying a new
fishing boat would cost a lot of money and I couldn’t afford that, especially now that I was already in debt to the bank. I felt so exhausted. Then I thought that if I was to give up, all the hard work of
these past years would have been in vain and my family would certainly
become homeless now.

I decided to rent a new motor to keep
the tourist boat running and carried on working, but it was tough, and I
didn’t make much money at all. It became very hard for me to keep up
with my loan repayments, but I will not give up. I will keep fighting
for a better and a happier life.

I did have happy moments.
I married my childhood sweetheart, Khader, and now we have two beautiful daughters whom I hope will grow into two strong fisherwomen.

There were some sad times too. I lost my youngest brother who used to work
with me. I lost him to a stray bullet from the gun of an Israeli soldier
during the “Return Demonstrations” last year.

I will keep going. I will never give up.

I have now set up workshops for women who want to learn how to fish and
how to make fishing nets. I have also set up a Women’s Fishing Club for those who work at sea and for the wives of the fishermen too. That way we could all gather our collective power and encourage each other in
every possible way.

This is going to be the first Club of its kind for ladies at sea. it is so exciting, because women are sometimes
forgotten and neglected within our society So, please, join us, support
us, and be part of our nautical family in Gaza.