Outside Asylum

Posted by Jazz Inmate (A) on May 28, 2002 at 10:08:28

Try not to vomit.

Yasser Arafat Potato Chips Unveiled

By Nadia Abou El-Magd
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, May 28, 2002; 11:25 AM

CAIRO, Egypt –– In the latest display of
intense anti-Israeli sentiments, Egyptians can
now munch on potato chips sold in bags
bearing an image of Yasser Arafat, complete
with his hallmark military fatigue and
black-and-white checkered Arab headdress.

The new bag is printed in the Palestinian
colors of green, red, black and white. At the
center stands a rotund, wide-eyed Arafat,
saluting with his right hand and holding a
Palestinian flag with the other. The name of
the new brand is "Abu Ammar," Arafat's nom
de guerre. In smaller print, the words "hero of
the struggle" appear below the name.

The cheese-flavored chips cost 25 piasters
(five U.S. cents) a bag, and vendors are
reporting a brisk business selling them.
Cartons containing 50 bags carry a message from the manufacturers – Al-Jawhara Co. for
International Industries – saying that for every 50 bags sold, 25 piasters will be donated to the
"Palestinian cause."

Officials at Al-Jawhara declined comment, but a message on the back of each bag says: "The more
you buy, the more you build."

"Nobody doesn't love Abu Ammar," said Iman Mohammed Darwish, a 12-year-old girl. "I like the
taste, and I want to help the Palestinians."

The Palestinian-Israeli violence has mesmerized Egyptians of all social classes since it erupted 20
months ago, with news and images of the violence dominating newspapers and political programs
and talk shows on state radio and television.

For weeks at a time, university students across the country have staged daily anti-Israeli
demonstrations and called on President Hosni Mubarak's government to break diplomatic relations
with Israel.

The fighting has inspired several Egyptian movies and songs by pop stars. Most trade and
professional unions have collected money, food and medicine for Palestinians.

Arafat-brand potato chips are not the only attempt by Egyptian manufacturers to cash in on the
anti-Israeli sentiments sweeping Egypt.

"The Hero," another brand of chips that hit the stores this month, carry a picture of a schoolboy
holding a stone in his right hand and books in the other as he confronts an Israeli tank.

But vendors say that "Abu Ammar" – the Arafat potato chips – are outselling "The Hero."

"I sell at least three boxes (150 bags) of Abu Ammar daily," said Fatma Abdel-Ghani, a shopkeeper
in the Cairo suburb of Thakanat Al-Maadi as she carefully placed boxes of "Abu Ammar" on top of
others containing "The Hero" and other brands of chips.
© 2002 The Associated Press