Goat Ledge

Goat Ledge does Gaza

The seafront cafe, Goat Ledge is to host a cultural event celebrating the developing link between Hastings and St Leonards and the small Palestinian coastal town of Al-Mawasi in Gaza. In collaboration with Hastings Friends of Al Mawasi, the event will be held on Thursday 30 June. Nic Carter writes.

Throughout the day, Goat Ledge will be including a dish popular in Al Mawasi as a special for customers to sample. Each diner will make a donation for each dish sold, fundraising for the Friends of Al-Mawasi.

Frank Moon will be playing the oud, a traditional Arabic instrument, to entertain customers from early evening and there are plans for a henna artist. Hastings Friends of Al-Mawasi will also be running a stall providing information about life in Gaza – and about the twinning work of the local group here – including, for example, the provision of  regular online English language tuition for some Al-Mawasi residents.

When asked about why Goat Ledge has decided to host this event, Nic Carter, one of the managers explained: “The obvious link is that we are a fish based cafe using fresh produce from our local fleet, and Al-Mawasi – like us – has a rich coastal heritage and a traditional reliance on fishing.

“More than this though, as an employer with a diverse workforce, we try to use our position to shine a light on issues characterised by environmental or social injustice and to provide help and support for groups and individuals struggling for whatever reason.

Goat Ledge

Last year for example we supported the Fellowship of St Nicholas and Pride, but this year we have broadened our horizons beyond our locality to make Hastings Friends of Al Mawasi one of our four charity partners, as we can see just how hard life is for their coastal town in comparison to ours, simply because of the political situation that those people find themselves born into.

“Conditions really are tough for people in Gaza, where restrictions on freedom of movement for example are commonplace. On a practical level, we support the twinning group’s fundraising efforts for the community centre in Al Mawasi and the programme of English tuition, and more broadly we wish, in our small way, to help highlight the injustices people in Al-Mawasi have to deal with in going about their everyday lives.”

Ian Stewart, another Friend of Al Mawasi says: “I was attracted to the Twinning Project mainly because of the language exchange possibilities, which have become an important part of life in Al-Mawasi. The students want to talk about ordinary everyday things like swimming, fishing, football, playing cards and eating. The idea that we can twin a restaurant in Gaza with one in Hastings will interest everybody.
in both places.”

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