Ramallah - Nisaa FM -
Instead of waiting for her fisherman husband to finish his day off the Gaza coast, Mona Hneideq now works alongside him. He catches the fish, while she creates and makes delicious dishes with them.
Along with 19 other women, Hneideq has opened the Fishermen’s Wives Seafood Kitchen, near the seaport of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. There, the women support their husbands, whose work in the fishing industry faces ever tighter restrictions from Israel.
“They go fishing early in the morning, and once they are back, we take the catch and make different dishes based on customers’ orders,” Hneideq, 36, told Middle East Eye as she cleaned the fish.
“We prepare the meals, wrap them, and then deliver them to different districts of the Gaza Strip… We complete our husbands and help them overcome the challenges.”
Hneideq decided to support her husband after 14 years of marriage, during which she witnessed him come close to giving up fishing many times.
Generations at sea
Although the majority of the 20 women working in the kitchen are wives of fishermen, there are also daughters looking to support their seagoing fathers.
Growing up in a family deeply rooted in the fishing industry, Hanan al-Aqraa learned to make seafood recipes from a very young age.
“I remember when I was a child, I used to come to the seaport where my father worked. I brought him food and tea and watched him fishing for hours,” she told MEE.
“My grandfather was a fisherman. Now my father, uncles, and brothers are continuing the family tradition. I am very familiar with fish recipes and have decided to continue the same tradition and look for a new work opportunity through this project.”
No other work
In the first half of 2023, there were around 4,900 registered fishermen working in the five governorates of the Gaza Strip. They are supporting at least 50,000 people.
According to Nizar Ayyash, head of Gaza's fishermen's union, the number of fishermen in the coastal enclave has increased over the past few years despite Israeli restrictions on the industry.
“This year, we have the largest number of registered fishermen. The reason why the number is increasing while the restrictions are tightening is that there are no other work opportunities in Gaza. People are depending mainly on fishing and farming,” Ayyash told MEE.
Since 2006, fishermen and farmers have been the workers most impacted by Israel’s stranglehold on Gaza, the union boss said.
“The first file that the occupation deals with when they decide [on restrictions] is the Gaza Sea. They immediately limit the fishing zone from 12 to six or three nautical miles. In addition to this, there are daily incidents of detention, boat confiscation and assaults,” Ayyash said.
