Hebron plant celebrates Palestinian-made keffiyeh скачать в хорошем качестве

Hebron plant celebrates Palestinian-made keffiyeh

(27 Nov 2020) LEAD IN: A Hebron textile factory produces all shapes and colours of the keffiyeh, a checkered scarf that has come to embody Palestinian solidarity. In recent months, the coronavirus' freeze on imports has been boosting business at the West Bank textile factory. STORY-LINE: For nearly six decades, a textile factory in Hebron has been producing the keffiyeh, a scarf that Palestinians hold dear. For most of those years, Abdel Azeez al-Karaki has been working in the factory where he currently serves as the technical director. The al-Herbawi textile factory produces a wide variety of keffiyeh products, coming in all colours. The factory started when a Palestinian merchant decided to stop importing the scarf from Syria and manufacture it locally instead. The plant that started out with only two looms, has 20 today, says al-Karaki. But imported keffiyehs continued to flow in, creating competition for the textile factory. In recent months, the coronavirus pandemic has eliminated most of that competition by nearly freezing  imports. "Things are better for us now," al-Karaki says, who adds that al-Herbawi is the only local factory that makes the scarf.   The keffiyeh is not just a scarf for Palestinians, it has become synonymous with the struggle to obtain Palestinian rights under Israeli occupation. The scarf became identified with the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who made it an indispensable part of his wardrobe. It did not always have political connotations. Originally, it was used to keep the sun and dust out of labourers' eyes. It later came to represent Arab nationalists against colonial rule. To this day, the design is popular in Palestinian art and culture.   Some western brands have attempted to sell keffiyeh-inspired designs, such as Topshop, which received backlash in 2017 for selling a romper made of fabric that mirrored the design. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...