Story Archives of 'International'

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been edged out of the U.S. headlines in recent weeks, but the world turns there, too. Today, Israel will reportedly pull out of disputed areas in the northern corner where Israel borders Syria and Lebanon. The prime minister of Israel is being investigated for corruption. A U.S. presidential candidates still throw the occassional nod to support Israel in the face of brazen threats from Iran.

Peace may still seem a far way off. But a grassroots businessman in Boston has an idea for building peace and prosperity in the Middle East, while protecting the environment and defending workers' rights - just by buying a t-shirt.

Ask Adam Nieman what he does for a living, and he'll offer a response that's a little bit... different.

"Well, I make organic cotton t-shirts, at a Palestinian-owned factory, on Virgin Mary Street in Bethlehem," Nieman said.

How did a 51-year-old, Jewish-American, Harvard drop-out find himself peddling organic couture from the West Bank? It all started in 2001, when the longtime Bostonian sold his roofing business, took out a loan against his house, and founded No Sweat Apparel, a company that sells items made in sweatshop-free unionized factories in the United States, and in developing nations like Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina, and Palestine.

The “Made in Bethlehem” t-shirts in No Sweat's stockroom are made of soft-combed, Indian cotton – certified organic by a Dutch NGO -- and come blank, or printed with a Japanese proverb: "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."

Nieman, a lifelong political activist, sees his shirts as a way to promote peace and prosperity in the Middle East, "because young men with guns, and without jobs is a recipe for violence," Nieman said. "And while economic development isn't a substitute for a diplomatic solution, no diplomatic solution can be sustained without a sustainable Palestinian economy."

And right now, that economy is anything but "sustainable." About half of Palestinians are without jobs. The once-thriving textile business is now stagnant. So when Nieman learned about this factory on Virgin Mary Street, where the workers all belonged to the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions, he quickly booked a flight there.

It was July 2006, and the war in Lebanon broke out while his plane was in the air. But Nieman landed safely, and was whisked past the checkpoints to the Arja Textile Company, which went sweatshop-free in 2005. Today, it employs 100 knitters, dyers and sewers, and about 50 subcontractors, all of whom receive above-minimum wage plus paid holidays and health care.

Since the factory can't compete globally against sweatshops in, say, China or Bangladesh, he's mainly done business with Israelis. Of course, working with an American businessman was not easy. The West Bank is landlocked, so they have to use Israeli ports, and at one checkpoint Israelis confiscated several shipments of fabric dye, which they suspected were ingredients for bombs.

It took a handful of Israeli government officials to grease the wheels, such as Nadav Tamir, Israel's Consul General to New England. "A strong economy for the Palestinians... more empowering for the moderates rather than the extremists," Tamir said, "is something that we see as important for us, for the Palestinians, for the region and for peace."

But Adam Nieman's having a bit of trouble with business. While the “Made in Bethlehem” line has received plenty of praise and customers, Nieman's had a tough time finding investors. As a result, No Sweat Apparel's been losing money for the last year and a half. But Nieman, who describes himself as more of a “progressive” Jew than an “observant” one, is keeping the faith.

"What we're doing, most folks consider slightly less risky than betting on peace in the Middle East," Nieman said. "But I would say it's a lot less risky! I mean, the fact that we've got common ground, for Jews, Muslims, Christians and aetheists, on Virgin Mary Street, in Bethlehem, it's what most people of faith would consider a miracle."

(Photos from No Sweat Apparel)

Once called the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe now faces drought, mass starvation, hyperinflation, and government oppression by President Robert Mugabe. We’ll talk with an expert on the country as well as Zimbabweans living in the Granite State about the situation.

Guests

• Poppy Fry, Assistant Professor of History at Saint Anselm College, specializing in Southern Africa
• Tinashe Mufute, a senior majoring in Politics at Saint Anselm College originally from Harare, Zimbabwe
• Wadzanai Katsande, a freelance consultant currently living in Marondera, Zimbabwe; Wadzanai studied at Southern New Hampshire University this year and plans to return for her Masters in January

We'll also hear from

• Don Peterson, Democratic state representative from Brentwood who headed the US Embassy in Zimbabwe in 1991

The recent conflict between Georgia and Russia pulled headlines away from the start of the Olympics over the weekend, and for the past few days we’ve heard stories of military clashes, causalities, and – now – negotiations to end the fighting in the region. As often is the case with tragic stories like this, the most difficult voices to hear can be from those who are affected the most – the ordinary citizens who watch as armies roll into their towns and drop bombs on their buildings, those who huddle in their homes or flee them as they piece together what’s happening around them.

Thanks to the immediacy and accessibility of the internet, though, we no longer have to wait for a journalist to find those people and tell their stories. Bloggers have been posting their own first-person accounts since the fighting began. The website Global Voices collects the stories found on blogs around the world, and we often turn to one of its editors and writers, Deborah Dilley, to fill us in. Deborah joins us on Word of Mouth to review some of the blogs from Georgia, and to highlight some other stories buzzing around the international blogosphere.

(Map courtesy WikiMedia Commons)

Here are links to the stories mentioned in today's Global Voices segment:

Georgia, Russia: Tbilisi Reports

Georgia: Foreigners Evacuated

Georgia, Russia: Blogger From Poti Recounts the Bombing

Georgia, Russia: More Reports On the Conflict From Russophone Bloggers

India: Abortion, Parents and the Indian Law

Korea: Fan Death and Your Belief

Japan: Ainu recognized as indigenous people