Photos: Gaza youth find comfort against blockade in skating

At a Gaza beachfront skate park, Palestinian youngsters on skateboards and rollerblades zip around curves and jump over concrete obstacles to the delight of onlookers. A group of around twenty youth under the banner of “Gaza skate team”, mentored by two coaches, these young enthusiasts leave the blockades and barriers of their daily lives behind once the pads come on and the wheels get rolling.

Updated on: May 03, 2019 9:29 AM IST

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Palestinian boys of Gaza skating Team perform a heel-toe while rollerblading down on a street in Gaza City. “Gaza Skating Team” is a group of about 20 youths who hold weekly training sessions overseen by two coaches. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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Mustafa Sarhan, 19, a member of Gaza Skating Team, practices rollerblading at the Gaza City seaport. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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Members of Gaza skating team cast shadows as they practice rollerblading and skating at the seaport. The group’s training also includes watching videos on the internet to learn new tricks and improve their routines. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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Mustafa holds a skateboard as he poses for a portrait in his family home. Skating equipment is hard to come by in Gaza, where poverty runs deep and Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns, maintain tight restrictions along the border. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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Mustafa shares a moment with his mother at their home in Gaza. (RMohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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Mohammad Al-Sawalhe, 23, and Mustafa Sarhan, both members of the Gaza Skating Team practice rollerblading on a street in Gaza City. “We tour the markets looking for second-hand stuff. We collect it and we make it fit for play,” said Al-Sawalhe. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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Mohammad Al-Sawalhe performs a jump during a practice session. “I try to change their thinking and turn it from thinking about the blockade, borders, and death, to thinking about sport” he said about the skaters. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)

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A skateboarder performs a kick flip while others rollerblade at a skate park in Gaza. Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza for security reasons after the Islamist group Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. The World Bank says the blockade reduced the territory, home to 2 million Palestinians, to a state of economic collapse. (Mohammed Salem / REUTERS)