Some May Find Fault With This Story, I Shant.

Paskowitz rustled up support of a chain of Israel sports shops to buy the boards and then persuaded the Israeli army to open the crossing point which had been almost permanently sealed since Hamas took over Gaza by force in mid-June. The only other frontier openings have been for absolute necessities, not for surfboards which are viewed here purely as frivolous baubles. On Gaza beach, Ahmed Abu Hassira, 28, and Mohammed Abu Jayyad, 34, each proudly display their boards and new T-shifts bearing a major sporting brand struck with the name of surfing champion Kelly Slater who supported the operation. They are still dumbfounded by it all. "You imagine! An American Jew heard about us while reading the magazine in... Where was it? Ah yes, Hawaii. And he came here to give us the boards. It's madness," laughed Ahmed. "That's it, you are famous now with all these journalists," joked one of their friends who was sunbathing. Nine years ago, Ahmed went into a Gaza shop selling second-hand goods coming from Israel. "There was a board. I had already seen this sport on television and had immediately liked it. I bought the board," he said. Since then, the two companions have surfed the waves of Gaza. There is certainly little resemblance to the surf of Honolulu but the waves are enough to give them their breath of fresh air. "When you are on land, your head is full of problems. But when you surf the waves, you forget everything -- the occupation, the (Israeli) sealing off of the territory, bombardments, lack of money, the power cuts," said Ahmed, keeping an eye on the bathers, a whistle hanging around his neck. Mohammed added: "You're in another world. You have a brief instant of freedom." http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/administration/afp-news.html?id=070826221813.d7uoiiva&cat=null

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