El baher malik, the sea is a queen
El baher malik
Amina Mir, Martin Jutteau
Tripoli, Liban
32°53′14″N 13°11′29″E
2024
It’s not my work, it’s entertainment because there is no work
There’s no work, there’s nothing, everything’s inert
So we come to have fun and waste time, we fish
Our friends come too, we see each other, we all relax together
We stay together and fish
The sea soothes the spirit, you know?
I mean, everyone’s under pressure, stressed out because of life…
People come, they stay to calm their minds
I come to the sea every day but I didn’t fish before, I only started a fortnight ago
There are fish but not many now. They’re poisonous fish, they’re not edible
I stay here for three or four hours and then I leave… it depends on how I feel.
It’s torn, so I’m planing it, it’s mending.
It tears because of the fish, the ground or the waves
You can’t fish with it because the holes are too big
That’s our trade, it comes from my father, our whole family. Even my grandfathers
I’ve been doing it since I was a kid… I was… I started when I was 11 years old
I have four children… I don’t have a second job
I don’t care what they study because this job is difficult
It’s an important job but it doesn’t pay anything
When you’re little you love the sea, you get excited and say ‘I want the sea! I want the sea!”, but later there’s the hassle and the fatigue… a lot of fatigue
After work I go to the sea, I stay there for an hour
To waste time!
I don’t care if I catch fish or not, it’s just a bit of fun.
To calm my mind, the sea soothes, it takes away worries, it teaches patience
The sea is beautiful, when you look at it your soul rests
Instead of staying in front of Facebook or on your phone or playing cards
Here you don’t talk to anyone, you stay alone
I learned from these people (the fishermen)
When I was young a friend of mine who has passed away – God have mercy on him – taught me… I was a child
[my children] love fishing but they don’t have the time now!
They’re studying, one’s studying engineering, the other’s a chef
But they love it and they know how to do it… I teach them! I’m teaching them to fish! But… I don’t know… they don’t come they don’t have time
They know how to fish, I teach them
Look, my house is across the street
My body is tired I can’t push the trolley and walk
I’ve had several operations and I can’t come and go
I’ve been living here for 45 years,
For me, the sea is my home, it’s my dining room, my living room, it’s…
I’ve got used to it (I mean)
It has become my mirror
The sea is my mirror
Beautiful, the sea is beautiful
The sea is beautiful whether there’s work or not
My heart is attached to the sea
I have never bathed
I don’t know the sea apart from its appearance
I like to listen to the voice of the waves, it’s as if they were telling the story of life’s torments
They tell what’s going on in life and in the sea
What’s happening…
It’s as if they’re emptying the torments of the sea
For me, the sound of the waves is more beautiful than the words of people
Yes
That’s just my opinion… the sea is queen, it’s a queen
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