More Than a Sk8er Girl: How an Extraordinary Teenager Smashes Limitations Through Skateboarding
Acquiring the means for Gaza to cultivate a strong skating community is a taxing endeavor, due to constraints
The popularity of rollerblading in Gaza and the West Bank planted the seed for skater culture to grow in a region, where its citizens are born into conflict and often caught in the crossfire. In 2013, Khan Younis erected its first skateboarding ramp, and this led the way for Gaza’s youth to find an outlet through skating.
Parallels are seen with the Zephyr Skate Team — the Z-Boys — and Palestinian skateboarders. These newcomers to the contemporary skateboarding scene face challenges that mirror their predecessors. The Z-Boys were made up of marginalized youth from Venice Beach, California. They were considered the dark horse of traditional skateboarding competitions. Despite the adversity, the Z-Boys went on to revolutionize vertical and aerial skateboarding. The same grit that fueled a group of headstrong skaters in the 1970s, made its way to present-day Palestine.
In the United States, skateboarding is male-dominated, and girls ventured off to form their own skate crews. With less than seventy skaters in Gaza, 14-year-old Sara Saed Swearky finds herself being the only girl in Gaza’s skating community. In late 2019, the Italian organization Gaza FREEstyle connected her with the small but growing skater community in Gaza. This organization was vital in constructing a small concrete skatepark.
Sara showed up at the skatepark with a friend. She immediately noticed she was one of the few girls there. She specifies that Italian female skaters were in attendance, but not many girls from Gaza. Sara was nervous when she was loaned a skateboard and felt pressure not to fall. The fear evaporated as the presence of Italian female skaters boosted her confidence.
Her love for skateboarding didn’t begin when the Italians came to Gaza; her favorite childhood shows Angelo Rules and Adventure Time have characters who are skateboarders. Sara has an enthusiasm to learn about the world beyond borders and checkpoints. She wishes that tourists came to visit Gaza. There seems to be more of an interest in humanitarian aid work. She’s aware that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and perceived cultural differences wouldn’t attract people to vacation there. Even if a curious traveler wanted to visit Gaza as a tourist, it would be nearly impossible due to heavy restrictions.
As Sara walked to the library with a friend, she peered into a store window and noticed a skateboard. She saved up money to purchase the skateboard. It was poorly made, but she didn’t mind. She couldn’t believe that childhood aspirations had come to fruition. She eventually obtained another one — which was of better quality. Sara stored her old skateboard under her bed because it held significance to her journey.
Sara is adept when it comes to skateboarding. She and her friends like to street-skate. They look past the ground’s not-so-smooth surface and enjoy themselves. Sara reveals, “…when I started skating everything looked different. Like, I wouldn’t look at everything as I did before. Everything looks skate-able.”
Before Sara found her place in Gaza’s skating community, she went through dark times. Sara felt a disconnect between herself and happiness. Skateboarding provides her with hope and a community that understands her. Gaza is an Islamic society and Sara is a practicing Muslim. Her mother wears a hijab but she, along with Sara’s father, supports their daughter’s conscientious decision not to wear one. This isn’t an act of rebellion or a political statement. Sara is hopeful that others will realize it’s a decision that makes her most comfortable to be herself.
Skateboarding also led her to tap into the online community of skateboarders, and she watches them on social media. Seeing more advanced skateboarding excites her, and she imagines herself as a professional skater who’s featured in Thrasher Magazine. She has goals to enter a foreign exchange program, so she can experience Westernized skate culture firsthand. An optimistic Sara states, “I know if like one day —insha'Allah — I’ll travel and get there. I will know everyone in the skatepark.”
Her newfound community is spread out on the Gaza Strip. Finding time for one another is a challenge at times. Amidst COVID-19, operations of the skate park have been limited and Sara spent months learning remotely. Her school is in the process of transitioning back to in-person learning.
Sara anxiously waits for the construction of a new skating bowl to be completed, in the northern part of Gaza. She never experienced this method of skateboarding, but advancing her skills is a priority. The construction is funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, with the Cooperation and Solidarity Association overseeing operations.
Acquiring the means for Gaza to cultivate a strong skating community is a taxing endeavor, due to constraints. Their counterparts in the West Bank appear to have a thriving skate culture. There’s undeniable raw talent in Gaza, but they’re indeed the underdog.
Sara was anointed “Gaza’s First Skater Girl”, and there’s an unspoken obligation to promote skateboarding in Gaza. Being the only girl, she already feels pressure to perform well. She’s been featured internationally in news outlets such as DW News. She’s thankful for the opportunity to live out her dream, but all she wants is to be a skateboarder. It’s a passion that radiates from her pores.
Sara loves to learn about geography in school, as it allows her to see the world through imagery. She believes education is the only chance she has to leave Gaza and see the world. Besides a desire to experience skate culture from a Westernized lens, Sara wants to attend university. Skateboarding made her more confident because she retained hope and conquered doubts.
Despite being an innocent civilian in a decades-long conflict and witnessing unimaginable situations, Sara has carved out a life for herself. It doesn’t matter where’s she from or what she was born into; young people such as herself are entitled to happiness and opportunities. It’s time to steer away from political stances and start looking at the world from a humanitarian perspective. Sara is more than an oppressed identity; she’s a person who wants to thrive.
Being Palestinian is something Sara was born into. One-sided propaganda machines expose her to judgment. Others will romanticize her struggle and applaud her because existence is resistance. Sara just wants to be Sara — a normal teenager learning about life and expanding her horizons with her trusty skateboard tucked under her arm.
