Parceles of land
By proposing to the farmers I met in the kibboutzim closed to Gaza to write on their portrait, I try to understand the diversity of this agricultural population by questioning their attachment to the land.
View of the Nahal Oz kibbutz farm
Kibbutz of Nahal Oz (Israel), 29 November 2021. Portrait of Azan, Palestinian, 45 years old, from Jenin in the West Bank. He has been working here for four years on the farm of the Nahal Oz kibbutz. "Work is worship. My work is my livelihood and that of my family. I feel happiness when I do my work well and I hope to be healthy enough to continue working (...)", Azan wrote around his portrait.
Anan, 39 years old, is a Thai farm worker. He has been working on the Nahal Oz kibbutz farm for two years. "I am happy every time I go to work in the banana plantation. We are always ready to fight for our family", Anan wrote around his portrait.
A rocket hits a milk tank on the Sa'ad kibbutz.
"I work in the dairy cow shed from the age of 13.
Kibbutz of Nahal Oz (Israel), 29 November 2021. "Happy to work in the banana plantation", this Thai worker wrote above his portrait. Underneath he adds : "For a better life, for the family".
"I'm glad I came to work in Israel for my family", wrote this thai worker.
A Thai worker at a banana plantation on the land around the Nahal Oz kibbutz.
“"I feel a sense of pride and purpose in living and working in this beautiful part of our country”, says Amir Aldev, an Israeli farmer who has been working here for four years. He is the manager of the banana plantations in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz. He lived in Europe for 10 years before coming here.
Kibbutz of Nahal Oz, 24 November 2021.
View of the barbed wire surrounding the Sa'ad kibbutz
"I come to work in Israel. I am satisfied with my work and my income for my family", wrote this thai worker in the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz.
Work is worship. My work is my livelihood and those of my family. I feel happiness when I do my work well and I hope to be healthy to be able to continue to work (...)", wrote Azan, Palestinian, 45 in the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz (Israel).
"The dairy farm is a special place for me that requires me to come every day even at unusual times to see how I can grow the business and move forward," says Adiel, 39, a farmer. He grew up here in the Sa'ad kibbutz (Israel) just like his parents. He has four children.