‘Gaza Nippers’ film showcases Palestinian resilience

Gaza Nippers: Hope Amid Devastation, by Sydney-based Palestinian artist and director Majed Badra, screened at the Addison Road Community Centre, Marrickville on October 28. The event was organised by Cinema Resistenza and sponsored by FILEF, the Federation of Italian Migrants and their Families.

Gaza Nippers tells the story of Palestinian surf-lifesavers Hassan Al-Habeel and Mohammed Saleh who trained at the North Steyne Royal Surf Lifesaving Club (RSLC), Manly, before returning to Gaza to set up the Nippers beach program for children in the summer of 2023.

The program was co-founded by brothers Majed and Shamikh Badra, in co-operation with the Northern Beaches Committee for Palestine and North Steyne RSLC. Al-Habeel and Saleh ran one season of Nippers until Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza forced the program to stop. 

Following the film screening, Majed and Shamikh addressed the audience. They explained that despite the ongoing Israeli genocide, the Gaza Surf Life Saving Crew succeeded in running a one-day Nippers' event on Gaza Beach in September this year.

Shamikh said that of the 45 children who were part of the original group, they were only able to reconnect with 15. “Some were killed. Others are still unaccounted for,” Shamikh explained.

Tragically, Al-Habeel’s son Ali, who was one of the original participants in the program, died due to severe shortages of food and medical care during Israel’s genocide.

Shamikh said that the return of the Gaza Nippers “cannot undo what has happened. It cannot bring back children like Ali Al-Habeel, or the parents, volunteers and supporters we have lost. But it can restore something small and precious: a place to belong, something to look forward to, and the possibility of beginning again.”

Majed told the audience that Gaza Nippers “is not just a film, it is an act of peace journalism. The Gaza Nippers are souls with a dream, children who could find a place on the beach where, even for just a few hours, they could break away from war and the continuing grief caused by the Israeli genocide.”

Majed explained that creating the film was difficult. Every time he thought he had finished the story “there was another tragic loss” and he would have to re-edit the film. But at the same time, “the story of the film is full of life and promise … we have a duty to bring the story of the remaining children to life."

Members of Sydney's Northern Beaches Committee for Palestine and North Steyne RSLC also feature in the film. They express joy at the success of the Gaza Nippers program, and sadness at the tragic developments in Gaza under Israeli attack.

Many of the Gazan children involved in the Nippers program sent messages of happiness and thanks to their Australian supporters.

Shamikh once worked as a lifeguard in Gaza, and loved its 45-kilometre-long shoreline. After moving to Sydney in 2014 he was inspired by Australia’s Nippers program.

“Before the war, Gaza Nippers was mainly a project about water safety, sport and teamwork. But what the children have lived through since then has given its return another meaning," Badra told SBS on October 9.

“A sports program cannot bring back a destroyed home, a family member who was lost, or years of interrupted education,” Badra said. “But it can bring back some simple and important things in a child’s life: a place to go, an activity to look forward to, other children to meet, something new to learn."

The revival of the Gaza Nippers program was challenging due to the destruction and theft of equipment originally donated by the North Steyne RSLC, and the difficulty in choosing a safe time to return to the water, given Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza. 

The Northern Beaches Committee for Palestine raised funds for body boards, rash vests and other equipment. Shamikh and Al-Habeel spent months trying to work out a date that might be safe for the children, eventually deciding on September 25. The day itself was a success, and the return of the Gaza Nippers represents the hope and resilience of the Palestinian people. 

Shamikh and Majed ended their discussion at Addison Road by appealing for support and additional funds to continue the Gaza Nippers project into the future. They hope to make a second film as part of this plan.

[Northern Beaches Committee for Palestine is the primary Sydney-based organisation that established and finances the Gaza Surf Project. Follow Nippers Films on Facebook for updates on the film and future screenings.]