Aiming to inspire hope and resilience among children in Gaza, Australian Palestinian man Shamikh Badra has spearheaded an initiative to introduce a surf lifesaving program known as Nippers. This venture, which began around eight years ago, seeks to establish a surfing club along Gaza’s 45-kilometer coastline, providing educational opportunities for young people to become future lifesavers.
Shamikh’s vision gained momentum in 2017 when he founded the Northern Beaches Committee for Palestine. Initially, the plan focused on sending surf lifesaving equipment to Gaza. However, the vision expanded significantly. By 2019, two young Palestinians traveled to Sydney to train at the historic North Steyne Surf Lifesavers Club. They were scheduled to return to Gaza to set up the Gaza Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, but their plans were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the first season of the Gaza Nippers commenced in mid-2023.
Tragically, the program’s first season was cut short just two months after its launch due to the violent escalation following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. The Israeli military response devastated the region, resulting in significant loss of life among participants in the program. Shamikh estimates that approximately 12 children and six team members were killed, with many others unaccounted for due to severely damaged infrastructure in Gaza.
As the conflict intensified, Shamikh felt compelled to document the situation. He enlisted the help of his brother, Majed Badra, who took on the role of director for the film titled Gaza Nippers: Hope Amid Devastation. The film premiered at the North Steyne Surf Lifesavers Club earlier this year, and the brothers plan to screen it across Australia and globally.
Focusing on the voices of children was central to Majed’s vision for the documentary. “In the beginning, I was focusing on one child because the message of this is that children are not numbers. They are people. They have a future. They have dreams,” Majed explained. However, the harsh reality of the conflict affected the production. More than once, children featured in the film lost their lives in airstrikes.
“We had to rewrite and re-edit again and again in order to make the film and raise the voice of other children,” he said, emphasizing the challenges faced in capturing their stories amidst ongoing violence. “The goal of this film is to focus on non-elite voices in order to raise their voices, raise the voices of children and victims.” Tragically, some of the children included in the final cut were also killed.
According to Save the Children, over 20,000 children have lost their lives in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023. This figure represents nearly 30 percent of the total casualties reported by the Gaza health ministry, which stands at approximately 68,229.
Despite the immense losses, Shamikh and Majed are determined to continue their mission. “We will continue this project. We will never give up on supporting the children,” Shamikh stated. He expressed a desire for unity among people against the targeting of children during warfare.
An independent United Nations Commission, which reported in late September, concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide, citing the intentional targeting of children during military operations. A subsequent UN commission found that Israel’s military tactics, including the use of heavy explosives in densely populated areas, resulted in disproportionate violence against women and children. The Israeli government has firmly denied these accusations, expressing regret for civilian casualties that occur during operations aimed at militants.
Shamikh remains resolute in his plans to create the first surfing club in Gaza. “We know it’s not easy, but we will continue,” he affirmed. Meanwhile, Majed is developing a second film focusing on other children who were not represented in the first, highlighting the resilience and hope that persists amid devastation. “Despite all the challenges and tragic situations, we still have hope,” he said. “In the title — Gaza Nippers: Hope Amid Devastation — we insisted that hope was in there because we will build the surfing club in Gaza.”
This article was produced in collaboration with SBS Arabic. For the latest updates, follow SBS News.
