KANNUR: The ripples of the standoff in West Asia are being felt in an apparel unit situated in far away Koothuparamba in Kannur. In the wake of the continuing stand-off between Israel and Palestine, Marian Apparels, the company that distributes uniforms to the Israeli police force has withdrawn from the contract, temporarily.
Since thousands of innocent people, including children, have lost their lives in the conflict, the company has decided to stop the distribution of uniforms to the Israeli police force. “Until peace is restored in the region, we would not take any orders from Israel,” said Thomas Olickal, MD, Marian Apparels.
“This is a stand taken on a principle based on humanity. The violence taking place in both countries has shaken the conscience of humanity across the world,” Thomas said. “Though we will financially suffer badly, we have decided to express our solidarity with the people who suffer in the war,” he said.
For the past eight years, Marian Apparels has been distributing around 1 lakh uniforms per year to the Israeli police. “We will send one lakh uniforms for which we had received an order from the Israeli agency, which will hand over the uniforms to the Israeli police. We got the work order before the beginning of the war. After sending the consignment, we will not take any order till the war is over,” said Shijin Kumar, manager, Marian Apparels. “We had informed our decision regarding this to the agency,” he said.
We will continue our ties with the Israeli agency and business activities will be renewed once the war is over, said Shijin Kumar.
Marian Apparels is functioning at Kinfra Park Estate at Valiya Velicham in Koothuparamba municipality. Apart from Israel, the company also distributes uniforms for police, fire force and security agencies in various foreign countries like the Philippines, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve shared the decision of the company through a Facebook post. “The company informed that they cannot accept the attitude of Israel on moral grounds as many innocent people have lost their lives even at hospitals due to bombing,” the minister said.