For more than a month, the Al Qaraan family has not caught a single fish. Equipped with just a small boat and a few nets which he made himself, Atef al Qaraan's livelihood depends entirely on the seas off Gaza.
"We only have a small boat which we power with paddles. We don't have the money to buy a motor boat or fishing nets. No-one helps us, we need a motor boat to be able to eat."
The economic blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip in 2007 after the Islamist movement Hamas took power there, makes the task even more difficult. After the 8-day war in November, Israel lightened restrictions on Palestinian fishermen - they can now sail up to six nautical miles from the coast, rather than three. But with no engine for his boat, it's of little help to Atef. He has no money to hire other workers, so his wife and two children help out. A third of Gaza's population is unemployed. Like many others, the Al-Qaraan family fridge is often bare.
"When we manage to find some fish, we earn between 300 and 400 shekels. It's not enough - I can't buy water, gas, flour, sugar or even fish. My whole life turns on a few shekels."
When the nets come up empty, the family relies on donations of bread and tea from neighbours. Before the blockade, around three and a half thousand fishermen plied the waters off the Gaza coast. But their numbers have dropped consistently, and their trade has also been hit by pollution pumped into the sea. As a result, the Strip imports ever greater quantities of fish - above all from Egypt and Israel itself.
1. b
2. b
3. b
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