In a street in Khan Younès, in the south of the Gaza Strip, there are children’s mannequins wearing princess dresses in all colors. An unexpected appearance of rhinestone and organza at the foot of buildings destroyed by the war between Israel and Hamas.
From shrapnel to party fabrics
In a shop in the neighborhood, a little girl spins in circles with a concentrated look, while the panels of a wide, white and silver speckled skirt float around her. A shy smile appears on her face. The shiny dress, with matching tulle headpiece, seems made for special occasions.
It is impossible to guess that the dress is made from pieces of fabric from the ruins of the Palestinian territory. The area is completely depleted after two years of war between the Israeli army and the Islamist movement Hamas, despite a fragile ceasefire in force since October.
Behind this creation is Amir al-Rantisi, a 24-year-old tailor who has learned to make elegant dresses despite the shortages plaguing the Gaza Strip.
“When I go to Gaza City to look for fabric, I get it from destroyed places, from old, still available stockpiles of fabric that are sometimes burned or damaged by shrapnel,” he explained to AFP. “I select certain parts and make dresses from those pieces. I also collect old dresses that I recycle.”
In his studio, with walls full of wefts, shiny and airy pieces of fabric are piled on a table, amid piles of old dresses waiting to be transformed into party wear.
The daily challenge of improvisation
Every step in the production process is a challenge and continuing the activities requires a good dose of improvisation.
“We are experiencing a lot of power outages,” explains his mother, Nisreen al-Rantisi. Power supply in the area has been severely disrupted as most infrastructure has been destroyed by the fighting. “It happens that we have orders or work that we cannot complete” due to the power outage.
Amir al-Rantisi has found a solution to this problem: he has connected the pedal of an old bicycle to his sewing machine. This improvised system allows him to continue working when the power goes out. But this method remains an emergency solution with limited effectiveness, his mother emphasizes.
“The sewing is done manually; one person has to sew while another does the rest,” such as turning the treadle, she says.
Rising costs and shortages
At the same time, material costs have exploded. Due to the strict import restrictions to Gaza, even basic goods are difficult to find.
“This spool of black thread is no longer available,” Amir al-Rantisi shows, “and if you find one, it costs 50 shekels (almost 15 euros, ed.), while previously it was seven shekels,” about two euros.
Israel controls all entry points into the area. According to the NGOs present, the number of trucks carrying international aid and goods for the private sector is far too low to alleviate the shortages and price increases caused by the war.
This article has been translated into Dutch using an AI tool.
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