Between aid and action: aid, empowerment and resistance amongst fishermen in the Gaza Strip

Abstract

This ethnographic research studies the everyday life of Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, an area that has been shaped by various factors including culture, governance, and occupation. Through the eyes and words of the fishermen, I aim to delve into the development and transformation of a relatively wealthy and politically inactive populace into an impoverished but politicised and mobilised group of actors who are using their newly acquired skills and newfound voice for collective action, and who ultimately contribute to social justice and freedom for themselves and others. Concepts of liberating empowerment, everyday resistance, and aid as a space are explored through fisherfolk experiences. The research, adopting an anthropological approach, then tries to engage with the following questions: - What are the effects and implications of prolonged aid provision on indigenous everyday resistance and resilience methods? - How might humanitarian aid be aligned with self-organised resilience and empowerment in order to further everyday resistance and dignity during prolonged conditions of hardship? - What new micro-power structures are established as a result of aid and empowerment? Exploring the views and voices of Gaza fisherfolk has offered an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the effects of aid on invisible local structures, especially in terms of self-organisation, particularly in resilience and resistance by investigating the micro-social and network structures that define them. By raising their voices and building knowledge the research tries to study humanitarianism based on recipients’ own experiences and ongoing struggles against hegemony.