Chinese threaten local production of Palestinian symbol (Feature)

By Maher Abukhater Aug 21, 2010, 3:06 GMT

Hebron, West Bank - When Joudeh Hirbawi took over his father's business in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the family-owned textile factory was flourishing.

The Hirbawi family factory was the only one in the West Bank and Gaza Strip making the kufiyeh, the traditional black-and-white checkered Palestinian headdress for men - to the point where the name of the family became identified with the name of the brand.

But over the last 10 years, the Hirbawi kufiyeh monopoly has come to face a stiff challenge from across the globe - China.

Hirbawi's father started the business in 1961, at a time when mainly older Palestinians consistently wore the kufiyeh, kept in place by a black rope called the iqal. Villagers and farmers working in the fields used it for protection from the burning sun.

The headdress was more widely popularized in the 1970s when Yasser Arafat, who wore one all the time, turned it into the symbol of the modern Palestinian liberation movement, at the same time giving a boost to the Hirbawi business.

Arafat's Fatah and Palestine Liberation Organization fighters wore the kufiyeh not in the traditional Arab sense as a head cover, but instead down to their shoulders, often using it to hide their faces since they were an underground movement.

Young Palestinians rushed to buy the Palestinian kufiyeh. Rebelling against old habits, they refused to wear it in the traditional manner, considering it a reminder of a dark past when their ancestors failed to protect Palestine from foreign invaders.

They instead chose to wear it over their shoulders as the PLO fighters did, symbolizing a movement toward a brighter future when their homeland would be liberated from the Israeli occupation.

'We were the only factory in Palestine producing the kufiyeh and we had around 20 people working for us,' Hirbawi said. 'Our market covered the entire West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. But we did not produce enough for export.'

The kufiyeh was seen as a singularly Palestinian symbol and headdress, and no one thought it would find a market outside the Palestinian territories.

They were wrong. Foreign businesses spotted the importance of the kufiyeh in the Palestinian areas and elsewhere in the Arab world, such as in Jordan, Syria, Iraq and the Gulf states.

'Until 10 years ago, we were the only suppliers of the kufiyeh to the Palestinian market,' Hirbawi said.

But then the Palestinian Authority, which took control from Israel of the major West Bank and Gaza Strip cities, opened the small Palestinian market to foreign products. One result was the entry of cheap Chinese-manufactured products, the kufiyeh among them.

'Our business quickly dropped to around 20 per cent of our normal production level because we were not able to compete with the cheap Chinese kufiyeh,' Hirbawi complained.

'We had to let go of most of our workers, retaining only four - two female seamstresses to sew the kufiyeh and two male workers to run the machines,' he added.

It was a serious blow, but not a fatal one.

'We have our customers who know our product and they know the quality of our product. They refuse to buy anything other than the Hirbawi kufiyeh. When they shop for a kufiyeh, they specifically ask for it, even though they know they will have to pay more,' Hirbawi said.

The textile factory thus keeps running - not at a loss, but breaking even, sometimes even making a small profit.

Hirbawi said he is not contemplating closing down his plant, because he does not want to let down his customers. Nor is he thinking of borrowing money to expand the business.

What he is contemplating is further improving his existing product, to ensure that his loyal customers remain satisfied.

He believes that countries try to protect their national industry by limiting the import of similar products - either through taxation or customs - or subsidizing national industry to make its prices competitive with cheap imports.

But the Palestinian Authority cannot do so, as it does not have control over its borders. Cheap imports thus flood the Palestinian market, putting many local industries out of business.

Hirbawi, however, is determined not to let cheaper Chinese products drive him out of his own and only lifelong market - or shut down the factory that makes the traditional Palestinian product.