Fishing in Gaza: the catch-22 of the sea

Writing Falastin, we’ve tried to strike a balance between telling it like it is in Palestine (which is not, clearly, always great) and conveying the upbeat spirit and ambition of the people we’ve met (which is, generally, always great). Looking at Gaza, though, it’s hard to be upbeat. We say ‘looking’ but, actually, we haven’t been able to look for ourselves. Getting in and out of the city is, for the vast majority, a process totally frustrated by barriers and bureaucracy. The barriers are concrete – the city is surrounded by a large military wall – and the bureaucracy is complex. Apart from journalists and those associated with certain international organisations, the process of obtaining a travel permit to Gaza from either Israel or Egypt is frequently thwarted from beginning to end.