Gaza’s oud repairman keeps tradition alive amid war

In a makeshift workshop tucked inside the crowded Nuseirat refugee camp, surrounded by wooden pallets, fragments of aid crates and the broken pieces of damaged instruments, Palestinian craftsman Suhail Abu Shawish bends carefully over a battered oud, carefully tuning its strings after days of painstaking repair.
The instrument, scarred by shelling and the broader destruction of the war in Gaza, is one of many that have found their way to his workshop. “Young people have started sending their instruments to me for repair,” Abu Shawish told AFP, as a customer walked in carrying damaged instruments wrapped in black plastic bags. Several restored ouds now hang along his workshop walls, bright and shining, standing as quiet symbols of resilience, music and craftsmanship amid the surrounding devastation.
For the 60 year old craftsman, repairing ouds is more than a profession. It is a mission to preserve a cherished part of Palestinian cultural identity at a time when so much else has been lost. A father of five, Abu Shawish learned to play the oud in the 1980s and later worked with several institutions, where he became an expert in the conservation and restoration of musical instruments. With no proper workshop, scarce materials and frequent power shortages, he now relies almost entirely on hand tools to carry out his work.
During the war, Abu Shawish was displaced to the southern city of Rafah before eventually returning to his home in Nuseirat camp. In his workshop, he cuts wood manually with a saw, smooths surfaces by hand with a file, and carefully glues together shattered pieces that many would consider beyond repair. “Despite the shortage of wood and its high prices, they turn to me,” he said. “Despite the hardship of war, we continue to work.”
Customers come to him hoping he can restore the warm, distinctive sound that has echoed through Arab culture for centuries, but the obstacles he faces are considerable. Wood traditionally used in oud making has become almost impossible to obtain, and import restrictions and shortages have forced him to become resourceful. He now scavenges wood from discarded food aid crates, transforming waste into replacement parts, while pieces salvaged from severely damaged instruments are carefully reused to repair others. “There is no wood available,” he explained. “We buy scrap wood from aid boxes and use damaged instruments to repair other instruments.”
The rising cost of materials has only deepened the challenge. Glue that once cost around 20 shekels, roughly 6.7 dollars, now sells for nearly 60 shekels, while the price of thinner has climbed sharply, placing basic supplies out of reach for many craftsmen. Electricity, essential for modern woodworking, remains largely unavailable across Gaza, forcing him to rely entirely on manual tools. “We work manually with a saw and a file using our hands, which is very difficult for us,” he said, a process that adds significant hours of labour to every repair.
Still, Abu Shawish refuses to give up. As sunlight filters into his workshop, he applies the final touches to a restored oud before gently strumming its strings, the sound momentarily rising above the hardships surrounding him. He hopes one day to manufacture high quality Palestinian instruments capable of competing internationally and showcasing Gaza’s craftsmanship to the wider world. “We hope conditions improve and they will allow us to import wood, glue and other materials,” he said. “We want to work like the rest of the world, compete globally, and start manufacturing products that we can proudly say are Palestinian-made and made in Gaza.”

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