Gaza tailor makes 'keffiyeh' face masks - in pictures

Nabil Saber Abu Ghabin is manufacturing face masks from the checkered cloth that he would normally use to make traditional Arabian head dresses

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Necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes.

And as tailors and clothing brands around the world, both large and small, have seen orders dry up as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many have shifted their focus onto one item that is still in demand – the face mask.

Nabil Saber Abu Ghabin is no different. In his workshop in Gaza City, the 60-year-old tailor has reorientated his production to manufacture face masks from the cotton checkered cloth that he would normally use to make traditional Palestinian keffiyeh.

The traditional Arabian head dress, a longstanding symbol of Palestinian resistance, is now being reconfigured into a potentially life-saving accessory.

Many of Abu Ghabin’s masks are being exported to Europe.