A fisherwoman from Gaza Strip hopes that the Israels blockade of the region could be lifted as soon as possible. Madleen Kullab is the only fisherwoman in Gaza, where men take the most responsibility for taking work.
Kullab was not afraid to break the Arabic tradition and followed her fathers career. She regards fishing as one of her hobbies.
When I was a little child, my father was always at sea, she said. At that time, I always followed him to sea, and I like fishing very much.
As the only sea gate in Palestinian area, fishing was once very prosperous in Gaza. However, since 2006, when Israel blocked the region, fishermen there could only catch fish in a very limited area.
Now, in a normal situation, we can only fish in a sea area within 6 nautical miles from the coastline. But we cannot catch much fish because all the fishermen were confined there, Madleen said.
Madleen had to fish to earn the money for her family and to look after her seriously ill father. As some experts analyzed, Gaza has abundant fishing resources because of its 40km-long coastline. So Madleen hoped the blockade could be lifted.
If the sea area of Gaza could be opened and we can sail without hindrance, we can catch more fish and can even export them to other countries, Madleen said.
