Egyptian vendors of the new Yasser Arafat cheese puffs are reporting brisk sales. Private food manufacturer Al-Jawhara stated that proceeds from one in every 25 packs sold will be donated to the Palestinian cause, with each pack selling for 25 piasters ($0.05).
The cheese, tomato or paprika flavored chips are bagged in Palestinian colors—green, red, black and white—and carry the likeness of a rotund and wide-eyed Arafat, saluting with one hand and holding a Palestinian flag in the other. He's dressed in his trademark military fatigues and black-and-white checked headgear. The package reads: "Hand in hand, we are building our future. The more you buy, the more you build."
Shopkeepers say the Arafat chips, named Abu Ammar—the Palestinian leader's nom de guerre—are considerably outselling another new brand, The Hero, which hit store shelves earlier this month. The packaging for that brand pictures a schoolboy holding a stone in his right hand and books in the other as he confronts an Israeli tank.
"I sell at least three boxes (150 bags) of Abu Ammar daily," said shopkeeper in the Cairo suburb of Thakanat Al-Maadi, Fatma Abdel-Ghani. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict that erupted 20 months ago has captivated Egyptians of all social classes and has spawned movies and songs by pop stars in support of Arafat's cause. Most trade and professional unions have collected money, food and medicine for the Palestinians. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
