Titled “Dress for our Time”, Story’s frock is sewn from a decommissioned United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) tent which had previously housed a family in Jordan who had fled the conflict in Syria. The dress has previously been shown at the United Nations in Geneva, the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, London’s Science Museum and American University Dubai.

“The dress has been showcased around the world in different ­situations. It is really about using fashion in service to something else,” said Storey. “People often feel impotent or overwhelmed by things like climate change or the  migration crisis. This is an attempt to use a medium or a message that we are attracted to, which is fashion and what we look like.” Others agree. Consider Israeli artist Sigalit Landau who uses the natural chemistry of the Dead Sea to encrust clothing (link here).  The resultant crystalized garments are an otherworldly reminder of our connection with the planet.

Storey, seen below left, noted that the dress is stained from when it was used as a tent in Jordan. Green Prophet has written extensively on refugees, and refugee tents, but converting tent canvas into haute couture is the most unusual story in our coverage – or perhaps on a par with the refugees who listed their tent on Airbnb.

Now in its third year, the glamorous London Arabia Art & Fashion Week launched on August 1 offering two weeks of cultural activities attended by top creative talent from the United Kingdom and the Arab world.

A key theme of the fashion show was the global migration crisis, and Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR representative to the United Kingdom (UK), delivered an impassioned speech before the models took to the runway. He praised the Arab ­community’s response to the crisis, which has displaced an estimated 65 million people. “The numbers of men, women and children fleeing their homes as a result of conflict and persecution in the world has reached alarming ­numbers,” he said. “We have witnessed truly ­moving and extraordinary manifestations of solidarity and sympathy for refugees throughout the Arab world.” 

Omar Bdour, event organizer and chief executive of London Arabia, spoke of the importance of culture in raising awareness. “The Arab world faces a unique conflict that other regions do not face. The resulting refugee crisis from the Syrian civil war and other conflicts still rages on. It is our ambition that culture, art, fashion and our communities can come together to help others to connect and engage.”

Bdour says the aim of London Arabia Art & Fashion Week is to keep a cultural dialogue going between the UK and the Middle East. “The relations between the UK and the Arab world matter more today than ever before. The potential for misunderstanding between our regions remains high, and the need for us to work ­together has never been greater.”

“What I like about this event,” said Storey, “is that you have some of the richest people in the world next to a cause like this, which represents some of the most impoverished people in the world.”

London Arabia Art & Fashion Week 2018 runs until August 16. Learn more about the dress at it’s website (link here).

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Airbnb proved a brilliant platform for protesting their wretched living conditions. In their ad – which the rental company has since removed from the website  – the anonymous posters said they have lived for three months in a small tent. “This is a real opportunity to experience life as a Syrian refugee,” they posted. “While EU politicians talk about refugees, you can have an authentic refugee experience – tents, wood-fire cooking, 41 degree heat, marginal sanitary situation, friendly scorpions, broken promises, even dehydration.”

As do many other Airbnb property owners, the refugees teased prospective renters with ironic special deals, including “free parking”, access to portable toilets (shared by 600 others), and “rarely available” medical care and schooling. “If you are lucky you might get one of the two hot showers. There is a large vacant lot where the toilets are, which the children use as a playground. Please join in the games.”

Millions of people around the world use the in San Francisco-based service to find shared accommodation. Despite a company credo that states, “Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries”, Airbnb issued a statement saying it had removed the listing because it was “not permitted under our terms of service”.

It said that it understood the listing intended to highlight the plight of refugees living in camps which have been criticized by international aid groups and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). A company spokesperson noted that Airbnb has raised “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for UNHCR.

Last year, a constant flotilla of small boats and inflatables carried more than 800,000 refugees and migrants, primarily from Syria and Iraq, from Turkey to Greece. When the so-called “Balkan Route” leading from Greece to northern Europe closed in March, over 50,000 people became stranded in Greece, left to fend the elements in makeshift camps in deplorable conditions.

In the past month, refugees moved into registered camps created by the Greek authorities and the military, but aid agencies and the UNHCR have reported the camps as being unhygienic and inappropriate for long-term accommodation. The International Rescue Committee and Doctors Without Borders warned that the new camp was not ready to host the number of refugees being placed there, now numbering over 600 people.

Maybe these anonymous refugees will now turn to EatWith, and offer “authentic dining experiences” inclusive of UNHCR rations and tainted water.  Can UBER be far behind?

Kudos to these survivors, who despite miserable circumstances and a bleak future, persevere in trying to get the rest of the world to wake up and take action.

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