http://www.theage.com.au/world/seaside-in-gaza-the-dress-codes-almost-as-dangerous-as-the-surf-20100730-10zu5.html
Seaside in Gaza: the dress code's almost as dangerous as the surf
July 31, 2010
Nasser Abu Mutir (right) is a life guard in Gaza City. Picture: Jason Socrates
NASSER Abu Mutair is anything but the bronzed wedge of muscle that exemplifies surf lifesavers the world over.
At 40, with a sizeable paunch, Abu Mutair watches over Gaza's Sheikh Aijleen beach, with a cigarette in one hand and a cordless microphone in the other.
When he's not drawing a puff, or barking orders at hordes of swimmers, he is flat out dragging flailing bodies from the Mediterranean. Unorthodox appearance aside, he may well rank as one of the world's busiest lifeguards. How many swimmers a day does he rescue?
"Yesterday, I saved 35 people," Abu Mutair said this week. "The day before that around more than 40."
Throughout the summer, he sits in his dilapidated wooden watchtower from 8am to 8pm.
"Most of the trouble happens after dark," he grumbles. "This is when many more modest people feel more comfortable."
On Tuesday, two boys aged 17 went swimming around 9pm and got caught in a rip. "Cousins," said Abu Mutair. "They drowned. Very unfortunate."
Swimming lessons are not high on the school curriculum and Abu Mutair says most locals have no idea how to take care of themselves in the water.
In theory, he is employed by the Gaza City municipality. But he hasn't been paid for three or four months. He can't remember when. "I do it anyway," he said. "I've been doing this job for 15 years. I love it."
Keeping him company in the patrol tower was uniformed police officer Sabri Mtawat.
"When people don't obey my orders, I send him down to give them a talking to," Abu Mutair said. "People always listen to him."
With strict dress codes enforced by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza, bathing is a treacherous pursuit for women who must swim virtually fully clothed in the traditional abaya - a coat that covers the body from head to toe.
"Women get into all sorts of trouble because suddenly their clothes are so heavy when they get wet. Because most don't know how to swim, things get very difficult very quickly."
He denied that four years of Hamas rule had influenced the littoral dresscode. "I think women dress the way they always have. They understand what is appropriate and what is not.''
So if a woman wanted to strip down? "In that case I would physically stop her from getting on to the beach," Abu Mutair said, blanching at the thought of a bikini.
With an estimated 90 million litres of raw sewage pumped into the sea each day, Sheikh Aijleen is not the ideal choice for beating the heat.
For the privileged, the new sensation is the Crazy Water Park resort.
Patrons can paddle about in the Crazy Water Park river, a tiled canal about 100 metres in length. More adventurous souls can pick from three water slides that lead to a pool filled with water the colour of pea soup.
For an added thrill, ride the slide with a fork in the pipe. Pick the right-hand route and you end up in the pool. Take a left and you end up mid-air with just the ground to catch you.
"This one is not finished at this time,'' noted Crazy Water Park public relations manager Moaz Abed. "No one has taken the wrong turn yet. We think people know where to slide."
For those who are not that into swimming, there is always the Faisal Equestrian Club.
The place to be seen for Gaza's teenage elite, the club bar is stocked with (alcohol-free) Bavarian beer. Headscarves are frowned upon here.
According to 18-year-old Heba Abu Sido, Gaza's tide of progress has been reversed.
She tells of old family albums with pictures of her grandmother in a two-piece swimsuit.
"Then you see my mother dressed more conservatively . Now my mother warns me if I leave the house with short sleeves. I don't even think of going to the beach."
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