Steve Somerville
Citizen reporter Stefania Lamacchia displays the keffiyeh she purchased while in the Mideast this year.
Vaughan
November 20, 2008 11:07 PM
Stefania Lamacchia
It was a shock after living in the Mideast for the past year to come home to Woodbridge and spot two teen girls wearing the Arab keffiyeh (ka-fee-yah) at Vaughan Mills.
The keffiyeh is the traditional headdress worn by men in most Mideast countries.
It is wrapped in an assortment of ways around the head. The popular black and white or red and white checkered pattern is seen daily.
Maple resident Dina Kakish, the daughter of Jordanian parents, said that the hatta (hah-tah — the Jordanian name for keffiyeh) is a very traditional head garment worn by older men to weddings or funerals. It’s also worn by bedouins (a nomadic Arab) to protect their head and face from the harsh desert climate.
In its simplest form, it’s an oversized bandana worn for ceremonial purposes or to protect the skin.
The checkered scarf, however, was popularized by Yasser Arafat, former Palestinian leader. As leader of the Fatah political party, Mr. Arafat spent the majority of his life fighting Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination.
His name alone triggers many opinions, from freedom fighter, and martyr to terrorist.
He was rarely seen in public without his keffiyeh symbolically tied to mimic the shape of Palestine.
Thanks to Mr. Arafat, the traditional coloured keffiyeh has become the international symbol for the Palestinian struggle.
But this is Canada, and it isn’t just people of Arab descent wearing the keffiyeh, it’s teenagers of all ethnicities sporting the keffiyeh as an accessory.
Why are these girls wearing the traditional male headscarf? Turns out it’s in style now.
Do the fashion-conscious young people in Vaughan know that wearing a keffiyeh means you support the Palestinians right of return?
Most teen-trendy stores sell the keffiyeh. They’re cheaply made, are of different sizes and styles but, of course, it’s difficult to actually find the traditional red or black colour scheme.
Other than the fact it’s Arab, most people know very little about what it’s come to represent.
“It’s ridiculous,” Ms Kakish said about the new trend. “Personally, I don’t think it’s right. People don’t understand it symbolizes something and they don’t care because it’s in style,” she said.
The York University student also said urban chic students can even purchase faux keffiyehs on campus for $20.
But the anti-war scarf or peace scarf, as the keffiyeh has been advertised, has triggered reactions the world over.
Wearing one makes a statement, and not one dealing with fashion — either you support Palestine or you support terrorism.
It was activists with these competing views who backed retail clothing giant Urban Outfitters into a corner. The chain was one of the first to sell the anti-war scarf.
After receiving intense criticism from protesters, it discontinued the scarf. The company stated on its website that “due to the sensitive nature of this item, we will no longer offer it for sale. We apologize if we offended anyone, this was by no means our intention.”
More recently, right-wing American commentator Michelle Malkin initiated the battle against Rachel Ray’s Dunkin’ Donuts ad, where the culinary TV hostess is seen wearing a scarf similar to the keffiyeh.
Ms Malkin’s persistence eventually convinced Dunkin’ Donuts to yank the commercial. She continues to blog about the issue and what she coins as “jihadi chic hate couture.”
So what to do?
Urban chic fashionistas could spend 10 minutes online, be it on Google or Facebook groups, before throwing on such a meaningful garment that many hold close to their hearts.
When we’re more informed, we’re expected to make better choices.
Maybe we’ll see fewer keffiyehs on the fashionable streets of Vaughan, but it’s for the best.