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Gaza tailors generate work by staying connected

March 21, 2018 at 3:55 pm

Fifty-seven-year-old Nashat Al-Ashi runs a sewing and repair shop in Gaza [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Tailors in Gaza are sown together as the skill is passed on from one generation to the next.

Fifty-seven-year-old Nashat Al-Ashi runs a sewing and repair shop in the enclave. He tells MEMO that he has more than 30 years’ experience and so many people who work in the profession learnt the trade from their fathers.

Today, however, there are new challenges, not least because of the electricity crisis which means power cuts which stop sewing machines from operating for hours on end.

But the sewing community has stitched a plan together and bought a generator to help their businesses continue. “We bought the first generator and then the second until our daily earnings reached nearly $15-$20, one third of which is spent on electricity from the generators we share,” Al-Ashi says.

Read: Rights group says 2017 was the worst year in Gaza’s history

Tailors have also resorted to traditional ways of sowing using a needle and thread, however Al-Ashi warns “this causes our shoulders to ache and needs a lot more time”.

However, with the situation in Gaza looking like it has no end in sight, their only other option is to just stop and wait for the light.