Palestinian boys of Gaza skating team rollerblade on a street in Gaza City. PHOTO: REUTERS
Calling themselves the "Gaza skate team", a group of about 20 youths hold weekly training sessions overseen by two coaches, who watch videos on the internet to improve their skating skills.
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.
"We tour the markets looking for second-hand stuff. We collect it and we make it fit for play," said Mohammed al-Sawalhe, one of the coaches.
Members of Gaza Skating Team, Mohammad Al-Sawalhe, 23, and Mustafa Sarhan, 19, practice their rollerblading and skating skills in Gaza City March 10, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS"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.
Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza for security reasons after Hamas took control of the territory in 2007.
The World Bank says the blockade reduced the territory, home to two million Palestinians, to a state of economic collapse.
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