Faced with 40km of polluted coast, besieged Gazans rent private pools to enjoy a safe summer staycation
Summer is a time for holidays, although not in the Gaza Strip. Vacation plans died here with the closure of the territory’s borders and Israel’s siege casting a shadow over the enclave’s land, sea and airspace. But along the western corniche of Gaza city, you can still find people trying to enjoy themselves in the intense summer heat.
As children swing, vendors sell corn and drinks while the seasonal fruit markets bustle. People sit by the Mediterranean to escape their baking-hot homes and, for many, the boredom of unemployment.
But the territory’s residents – about two million people – are turning away from the sea. The flow of raw sewage into Gaza’s waters, as electricity and fuel cuts at the hands of the Palestinian Authority close treatment plants, has left a lingering, sulphurous stench.
The formerly blue waters are a shade of brown and Gazans, holding their noses, are searching for other ways to enjoy their forced staycations.
Many are now booking private chalets, choosing a cleaner environment, greater privacy and more freedom to swim in the intense summer heat.
Ramzy Al Dahdouh’s chalet and pool has been booked out all summer and will be occupied until the end of September, he said.
“People come to the chalet to swim because of the sea pollution,” Mr Al Dahdouh, 37, told The National. He invested in the $150,000 [Dh551,000] project alongside his seven brothers.
“I do my best so the water of the swimming pools is healthy for the customers.
“I have spent a lot of money sterilising the water.”
The cost of one of Gaza’s 640 private chalets ranges from $110 to $275 for a 12-hour session. This is an expensive option compared with the free beach, but a healthier one.
Medics in the Strip say the seawater along Gaza’s 40-kilometre coastline is about 70 per cent to 75 per cent polluted.
“It is so dangerous for people to swim in the sea because they will be directly affected,” Dr Ahmed Helees, a Gazan consultant in environmental sciences and public health, said.
He says the raw sewage has damaged the wider marine environment and contributed to declining fish stocks for Gaza’s anglers.
Yet the pools do not always provide a cleaner sanctuary for those who swim in them, with some waters becoming unsanitary if not supervised correctly.
Some Gazans seem to care little about unclean pool water, however. With loud music playing, his hair wet and bare chest on show, Mohammed Khader, 27, said he rents a chalet with his friends twice each summer.
“I like to go with my friends to a private swimming pool because we can dance and sing freely without caring about other things,” he said.
“The seawater is not clean and you can find all kinds of people there [at the beach], people who will not understand some of my behaviour.”
For the women of Gaza, the chalets offer the comfort of privacy in a conservative society under the rule of Hamas.
“I feel more comfortable when I go to private swimming pools, I can wear whatever I want without being annoyed by the looks of others,” said Ola Emad, 38, a mother of four who is spending the weekend with her family at a chalet in the Tal Alhawa neighborhood.
“My son got sick last year from the pollution. He got a skin disease and took a long time to recover,” Ms Emad said, taking a break from swimming. “After that, I stopped allowing my sons to swim in the sea.”
Most chalets have two pools, with a shallow, safer one for children.
That peace of mind is one thing Gaza’s waters cannot offer. The upshot for chalet owners is that they will not be short of clients any time soon.
It is so dangerous for people to swim in the sea because they will be directly affected DR AHMED HELEES Gazan public health consultant