Wearing a green Hamas headband and swinging a big gun, Bassem Shorah looks like a Palestinian militant.
His olive-green shirt, however, looks like the uniform of soldiers in the US Army.
Though part of a movement against the US, Shorah proudly wears what has become the latest trend in Palestinian street wear: US military clothes.
PHOTO: AP
“This is the new fashion,” says Shorah. “It's a show of force, because the US Army is powerful.”
The US Army knock-offs are part of a bigger trend here. After six years of fighting against Israel and with Gaza heading once again for more trouble with the Israeli army, militancy has become a big part of Palestinian culture.
“
People look in the streets and they see gunmen, they watch TV and see the US Army, and they say, ‘I want to be a militant, too. I want that shirt,’” says Omar Bilbaysi, who owns three clothing shops in downtown Rafah.
Across Gaza, store owners say demand for military wear, US Army and otherwise, is booming. Nearly every clothing store in Gaza is well stocked with camouflage shirts and pants.
In the 1990s, when peace with Israel seemed more likely, Palestinian youths copied pop singers such as Iraqi legend Kazem el-Saher, wearing dark suits with wide-collared shirts unbuttoned at the top.
“Now, times have changed and militancy is in the air everywhere,” says Wasim al-Fagawy, a thoughtful 21-year-old law student.
“It's normal in a land that knows only war to find people attracted to this style,” says Abu al-Hassan, a customer shopping for clothing.
Even women's and baby clothing stores stock plenty of camouflage.
“The people love their little kids to be dressed in military clothes,” says Bilbaysi. “They want to ... prepare (the children) so they will be ready for the battle that lies ahead.”(AFP)
頭戴綠色哈瑪斯頭巾，手裡晃著一把大槍，巴沙索哈看起來就像典型的巴勒斯坦武裝份子。
然而，他橄欖綠的襯衫，看起來卻像美軍軍衫的翻版。
雖然索哈是反美運動的成員，他卻自豪地穿著巴勒斯坦最新的街頭時尚風︰美國軍裝。
「這是最新流行，」索哈說︰「這是力量的展現，因為美軍強大。」
美軍仿冒品是此地最風行的時尚之一。歷經與以色列作戰六年，加薩地區與以軍的衝突又再度愈演愈烈，饒勇善戰已經成為巴勒斯坦的一大文化。
在拉法鬧區開了三家服飾店的奧瑪．比貝西說︰「民眾在街頭看到持槍戰士，收看電視，看到美軍，他們說『我也想當戰士，想穿那種軍衫』。」
全加薩地區的商家都說軍裝的需求暴增，不論是美軍軍裝還是其他軍裝。加薩幾乎每一家商店都大量引進迷彩衣褲。
一九九○年代，以巴和平似乎呈現一線曙光時，巴勒斯坦年輕人會模仿如伊拉克傳奇人物Kazem el-Saher 等流行歌手，穿著深色西裝、搭配把最上排扣子解開的寬領襯衫。
二十一歲的法律系學生威辛．阿爾法加維沉思說︰「現在，時代改變了，到處都是戰鬥氣氛。」
「在只知道戰爭之地，看到人們受這樣的風潮吸引很正常，」買衣服的顧客阿布．阿爾哈森說。
甚至女裝店與童裝店也進了相當多的迷彩裝。
「民眾喜愛自己的小孩穿著軍裝，」比貝西說︰「他們想‥‥預先訓練小孩，讓他們做好邁向前方戰役的準備。」 （法新社/翻譯︰賴美君）
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