“Rawand, first female surfer in Gaza.” It is the signature of a pioneer, that of Rawand Abu Ghanem, who proudly claims to be such while suffering the full brunt of the war between Israel and Hamas. “Being the first is also an encouragement for othersshe adds, because it is rare to practice this sport in a conservative Gazan society, which preserves Islamic customs and traditions and which has been affected by the blockade for years.”
A pioneer but also a spearhead, Rawand Abu Ghanem never stops fighting, for herself and her family. She has also created a kitty to help her family survive. And she salutes the initiative of the Queen Classic Surf Festival in Biarritz, which raised funds from September 13 to 15 to support the Gaza Surf Club, of which she is a member.. “Some can help with words of support, others with actions, and others financially,” she lists.
Rawand Abu Ghanem’s passion for surfing runs in his family, as his grandfather, father and brothers all received the call of the open sea.They worked as lifeguards and fishermen and they loved it. On top of that, they were the first to surf in the Gaza Strip.”recalls the Palestinian, who took advantage of the family home with a sea view to approach the Mediterranean step by step.I always went with my father, to see him swim and surf. Little by little, I imitated him with my brothers, when I was 12 years old. I started training and I loved it. It became my favorite sport.”
“For me, surfing means freedom, happiness, strength and bravery. When I feel sad, the first thing I think about is going to the sea and surfing. I feel like I am in another world, flying in the sky like a bird. It changes my mood and I feel totally happy again.”she reveals.
The young Palestinian woman has not had this outlet since October 2023. Her board, like her swimsuit, remained behind in her damaged house. “I haven’t surfed in a yearshe explains, for several reasons. First, the ongoing war has prevented me from settling anywhere, I have been displaced several times from one place to another to survive. And there is no safe place in the entire Gaza Strip, not even the sea. If I want to practice my sport, I put myself in danger. I have to wait, and hope that peace and security will return.”
An endless wait, in extremely difficult conditions, far from the freedom that her time on the water offers her. With her husband, Ibrahim Abu Afifa, and Yamen, their son who has just celebrated his 4th birthday, they had to flee, moving from one place to another, hoping to survive. “The truth is that there is no safe place in the entire Gaza Strip. It is a very big lie to say that.”she says.
“I was moved to what is called a ‘safe zone’ and we were bombed. Every place is exposed to bombing and death, that’s the truth.”
Rawand Abu Ghanemat franceinfo: sport
In the middle of last week, the dialogue was cut off due to strikes not far from the camp where the family is staying.I am alive”she later told us in a message, as one more small victory in the fight for her survival.
Further from the coast, in the southern Gaza Strip, Rawand Abu Ghanem is waiting for better days in Khan Younis, in the al-Mawasi region. She lives with her family “in a simple tent”where the water she usually cherishes so much becomes a dangerous enemy.”There is no water treatment. Sometimes we are forced to drink polluted and salty water and we get sick because of it.she regrets. It’s hard to light the tent, charge the phone, take a shower, sleep on the ground because there’s sand and insects everywhere, and no way to close the tents completely. On top of that, there’s the extreme heat inside the tent. Life is hard.”
“My life stopped at the time of this horrible conflict. You can’t imagine how much I miss surfing. The sea and surfing are my whole life!”
Rawand Abu Ghanemat franceinfo: sport
“But the situation is different today, she details. Simple things have become more important: food, water, safety, clothes, a good place to stay. Once I have that back, I can think about surfing and enjoying the sea.”
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And join the Gaza Surf Club, created in 2008 by his “great friend Matthew Olsen, to improve the practice of surfing and teach people how to surf.” The American specifies that “This is not an official club in Gaza”that they have “tried to establish it in Gaza as an official entity for many years”but they collided”to the Hamas government”. The reunion, when it can take place, is bound to be heartbreaking, since “Several friends died, others were injured”the young woman laments.
Rawand Abu Ghanem may not linger too long on the Mediterranean Sea near the Gaza Strip. The young woman, who holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the Islamic University of Gaza, “considered the best” from the enclave, has desires elsewhere, even if surfing remains anchored in her.What made me study English was the seashe jokes, in English in the text. You are probably wondering how the sea made me love languages and chose English as my major at university? The answer is that when I was younger, when I started surfing, I would receive foreign journalists and speak to them in simple words. I understood some of their sentences, others I didn’t. At that time, my dear friend Matt encouraged me, and told me that I was his translator.”
“You can’t imagine how much these words touched me, gave me great motivation to study English and become a translator after university.”
Rawand Abu Ghanemat franceinfo: sport
The Palestinian woman hopes “have the opportunity of a scholarship to be with people whose native language is English, in order to develop [ses] SKILLS”. And appreciates any help that helps him forget, even for a moment, the damage caused by the conflict.
To travel, “learning new things and experiencing new adventures”“to make sure that my son Yamen lives a good life and goes to kindergarten, which he was unable to do this year because of the war”this is Rawand Abu Ghanem’s dream. Her surfboard will never be far away. “Princess Rawand” – her name on Instagram – is impatiently waiting for the end of the war, to return to her kingdom of the sea, where she loves to express herself more than anything. And dreams of seeing her odyssey turn into a fairy tale.