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I got the name of the UK vendor of these, the last Palestinians who make kufiyahs, from their e-mail address, which you can read above. They perceive my financial contribution as being positive to a business which, as every one in West Bank Palestine, tries with difficulty to thrive under Israeli bureaucracy.
I'm not Palestinian; nor is my wife. She's from a South American Indian Nation considered 'an endangered tribe' (Her comment - am I an animal? I think I can preserve myself. Pass me the rifle) . If my wife shows solidarity by wearing a Kufiya, and a Palestinian shows solidarity by visiting her tribal land, that's not cultural appropriation.
Erm, try adopting some of the CULTURE of those who wear it.
Be mindful and guarding of family.
Be honorable.
Be honest.
Give a decent deal, considering the purchaser's status/money, in short, a hard won deal in negotiations over tea.
Have tea first with one you wish to negotiate with, to better know who you are negotiating with and perhaps, develop a friendship.
Just a FEW of the values from that culture, one can and indeed, some have, written honest books about that culture.
But, they DO respect age, as age shows one has gained experience. If the "experienced" is a fool, they'll learn and move on.
Hirbawi Textile Factory
0599 439253/297028/557735
kufiya-hirbawi@hotmail.com
I'm not sure what the international dialling code is: Israel is +962, Jordan is +972, and Jordanian mobiles work in most of the Occupied West Bank. Try both and see what happens. They speak English.
They have a distributor in the UK, she has asked me not to give details in an open forum because as soon as you mention the word 'Palestine' you get hassle. I can ask her to contact you by phone (in the UK) or e-mail; however, if you're not in the UK, contact the factory direct and they will tell you if there is a local vendor. This will save you customs hassles.
I ordered yesterday afternoon, my kufiyahs arrived this morning.
I order a red and white, and a black and white (well actually two of each) . They cost £ 7.50 each, making a total of £ 35.70 including UK 1st class delivery.
They are a bit bigger than the 42" someone mentioned, 127 cm square. Fine for a man of average height, a bit big for a petite woman.
If you want to show soldarity with the people, then wear something traditional and expect to be called a 'raghead' - or worse. However, they also do many other colours and styles, which may be less controversial. Some would go nicely with a woman's evening dress.
The black and white has relatively little embroidery and is therefore quite light, and being mostly white keeps the sun off but isn't going to be warm in winter.
The red and white is heavily embroidered and thus weighs much more. More suitable for winter.
My politics are pretty left-wing. I'd wear a traditional kufiyah to a rally or a meeting, but for everyday wear in the UK, it's a very in-your-face political statement. As much so, maybe more so than the black hat and ringlets of an Orthodox Jew.
The instructions given below are good, but don't work so well if you have long hair (which few Palestinians do) - the best advice is to meet a Palestinian and ask them to show you. You have to arrange it slightly differently.
Also, there aren't many sandstorms in the UK, and covering up your face with anything, especially when visiting a bank, arouses susicions. Better to wear it slightly differently, so that the whole of your face is visible.
Sorry for such a long, first, post!
Fold it as described in the first image. Put it around your neck at its mid length.
If it reaches your crotch, it's right. If it's short, it's no good. If it's a bit longer, OK. If it's a LOT longer, it's no good, too much excess.
Then, fold and wrap according to instructions.
to say she was not happy is an understatement. :)
As far as I'm concerned, let air travel shrivel and die until the airlines demand from their masters a release of such idiocy.
Besides, I don't relish the notion of skin cancer, which their scanners can easily give, for the x-ray backscatter units. AS proved by labs repeatedly.
I wish to wear one that is black & white & represents the barbed wire fencing I have heard Palestinians talk about....but I have no idea on how to tell a well made one from a cheaply made one. :(
What do I look for?
I disagree and know it to be very common and easy to come across cheaply produced crap.
A proper keffiyeh is often handmade, though not always. It is embroidered by hand or at least produced with good quality cloth that is easily and tangibly tougher, more durable and easy to tug at/stretch around you/pull tight without slightest fear 'my new fashion accessory will be ruined'. Proper keffiyehs are made for the strong gusts of sand in the desert that would otherwise be eroding and wearing your face.
You can also look for arabic writing on them as an indication, or simply ask where they are from. There are good quality ones produced in Oman or other placed, but if you are actually buying it for a political reason you may want to buy direct from Palestinian war widows/orphanages that weave and embroider them to sell.
There are so many cheap knockoff keffiyehs flooding the market from China now that there is only one original keffiyeh factory left in the whole of Palestine in Hebron, West Bank, called the Herbawi factory, owned by Herbawi family.
I would strongly suggest searching google to buy from them or for palestinian embroidery if you want the real article. The traditional design is the one above actually, the inner pattern is supposed to represent a chainlink fence and struggle against occupation and the outer pattern are the waves of the River Jordan. Or so I've been told. That design is a palestinian solidarity symbol... a lot of people jumping on the trend just didn't know or even care, sad and very, very ignorant really.
So, just avoid all clothing chains/market stalls who look like anyone jumping on the bandwagon trying to make a quick buck out of something that actually has more meaning and cultural significance than 'latest trend, hot new look!'
These sellers are definitely the kind to have had it made cheaply mass produced for them from China and do not care about anything (least of all political context, urban outfitters actually called theirs anti-war scarfs, ignorant as hell!) but exploiting an opportunity to undercut genuine producers and sell customers crap for a fat profit margin. You can say the same of suits, materials, stitching and their tailors - a Chinese suit will never compare (unless it's a good tailor who's Chinese!)
Frankly, I adopted wearing it for two reasons:
1: Keep that damned dust out of my lungs, it is WORSE than that bad, during a sandstorm, screw your skin, it grows back. Clogged lungs are the makers of dead people.
2: Keep that dust out of my hair, as it is a natural form of concrete and mixed with sweat, is as pleasant as having concrete poured on your head and let to set. Short version, real unpleasant and irritating.
I tried the hat and dust mask thing (OK, a helmet), no go, that dust is finer than portland cement dust and has the same characteristics, though less refined in cement qualities (don't try building a house out of it).
But, 6 seconds of reviewing on Google shows me hundreds of links that show embroidered (machine OR human) units.
As for political statements, screw politics, politicians change views more often than I change underwear, which is at least daily.
The only way I could see it being cheap in quality is if you bought one ,that was meant to be worn as an accessory, from Target or the like and not made to handle potential abuse.
Rothco makes some great ones that I have a ton of and have yet to be dissatisfied or receive a damaged or defective one.
I use mine for Airsoft and practical use to keep sand, sawdust, and dirt out of my face. You can find them at most airsoft/paintball milsim stores or Amazon. My advice though is to never pay over $12 dollars for one.
If it is close to your crotch, it's the right size, as it MUST be wrapped around your head and body proportions are rather a bit of a constant.
Now I know where to buy from!! :-D
I wish to wear one that is black & white & represents the barbed wire fencing I have heard Palestinians talk about....but I have no idea on how to tell a well made one from a cheaply made one. :(
What do I look for?
This place gets their keffiyehs from the last remaining keffiyeh factory still operating in Palestine. It's a mitzvah to buy it here and support the Palestinian economy. :)