Little is known about the woman the boat’s name is named after: Madleen Kulab, the only fisherwoman in Gaza, as the Madleen sails toward Gaza in an effort to deliver life-saving aid to its residents.
Madleen Kulab, who Al Jazeera first met three years ago, had two children, was expecting her third, and lived relatively quiet life in Gaza City with her 32-year-old husband, Khader Bakr, who is also a fisherman.
Madleen, now 30, would sail fearlessly wherever she wanted to go if Israel’s gunship blockade allowed her to recover fish she could use to feed her family.
When Israel launched a rocket attack on Gaza in November 2023, Madleen’s family was in fear and heartbroken before the family was devastated.
They emigrated to Khan Younis, Rafah, Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat, and Madleen, who was nearly nine months pregnant, with them.
When the Israeli army granted displaced people’s retreats in the north in January, they are now back in what is left of their home in Gaza City, which is severely damaged.
pride and responsibility
Madleen has three of her four children sitting next to her, one of whom is one, Safinaz, five, Safinaz, and Jamal, who she was expecting when Al Jazeera first met her, in her deteriorated living room.
She describes hearing from an Irish activist friend that the ship carrying the flag of Gaza would be named after her.
“I was moved a lot. She smiles and says, “I felt a lot of responsibility and a little pride.”
She describes the group of 12 activists, which includes French member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, as “I’m grateful to these activists who dedicated themselves, left their lives and comforts behind, and stood with Gaza despite all the risks.”
In the face of danger, this is the highest form of humanity and sacrifice.
Sandy, age 6, and Khader share a different couch. He poses his phone while the Palestinian flag is flying over his shoulder.
Madleen has been fishing since she was 15 years old, becoming well-known as a pro-international solidarity activist and familiar face when she departs from her father’s boat.
Madleen is a skilled cook by hand, making seasonal fish dishes that were so popular that she had a list of customers waiting to buy them from her. The dishes made with Gaza’s omnipresent sardines were particularly well-liked.
She and Khader can no longer fish because Israel destroyed their boats and a ton of fishing-related equipment during the war, but neither can she.
She claims, “We’ve lost everything; it’s been the fruit of a lifetime.”
However, she lost more than just money. Her deep ties to fishing and the sea are the center of identity. Even the simple pleasure of eating fish, which she used to “drinks 10 times per week,” is discussed.
If you can find fish anywhere, it’s too expensive right now. Many fishermen, she claims, risk their lives by only keeping a small amount of fish alive.
“Everything has changed,” he declared. In the middle of this famine that we are currently experiencing, we now crave fish.
newborn in her arms, sleeping on a bare floor
Following Israeli army advice that they would be safer there, Madleen’s family first moved there after the airstrike near the family home in November 2023.
They ended up with 40 other displaced relatives in a small apartment before Madleen gave birth to her child.
“It was a difficult, brutal birth,” the mother said. No medical care or pain relief. Right after giving birth, I was forced to leave the hospital. Because of the numerous wounded, there were no beds, she claims.
Things were just as bad when she went back to the shelter. We neither the children nor me had a mattress or blanket, she said.
“My newborn baby and I had to sleep on the floor.” Physically exhausting, indeed.
Then, in an enclave where baby formula, diapers, and even the most basic food items were almost indisputable, she had to take care of four of them.
She claims that her understanding of suffering and hardship has changed as a result of the war.
Between Israel’s gunship blockade and the frequent destruction of their boats, she and Khader were struggling to make ends meet in 2022. Being a mother with young children and carrying such physically demanding tasks added to that burden.
However, things are getting worse right now.
There is no such thing as “difficult” any longer. Nothing can compare to the humiliation, suffering, and horror of this war,” she claims.
a ship with the name Madleen
Madleen kept in touch with international friends and solidarity activists she had met throughout the conflict.
She says, “I would tell them about reality.”
Through me, they understood the situation. They resembled family, ” “
She is grateful for her friends’ financial and emotional support, saying they showed her that Gaza wasn’t forgotten and that people still cared.
She is also appreciative of being remembered for the Madleen’s name, but she worries that Israeli authorities won’t allow the ship to enter Gaza, citing previous intercepted attempts.
The least of it would be to intercept the ship, they say. The possibility of a direct assault similar to the one that occurred on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in 2010 and resulted in several fatalities is more concerning.
Regardless of what happens, Madleen believes that the mission’s true message has already been communicated.
“This is a call to the breaking of the global silence and to the attention of the entire world,” he said. This war must end right away, and the blockade must end.
Source: Aljazeera
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