Refugee tailors switch to making face masks and protective gear

Rashid Ibrahim, a tailor from Syria, now living in Seddiner See near Potsdam, Germany, is sewing face masks to support his local community in the fight against the Corona virus © UNHCR/Fatima Ibrahim

As nations around the world close their borders as the global pandemic continues, the United Nations Refugee Agency relays a positive refugee story:

“As more and more countries advise or require their citizens to wear facial coverings to curb the spread of COVID-19 refugee tailors and artisans from around the world are stepping up to help.

In the German town of Seddiner See, near Potsdam, a Syrian family of four have been working day and night to supply non-medical masks to nurses at the local hospital who were faced with a shortage. Rashid Ibrahim, who is a tailor by trade, did not hesitate when his German friend Bodo Schade asked him to help. His wife, Fatima, and their two young daughters have been working with him to cut, sort and count the masks.”

I do not know about you but I am always looking for a positive story coming out of the worldwide pandemic.

KJ