Depopulation Hebron

Samah El-Shahat presents the People & Power Middle Eastern season

The alleys in Hebron's old market area, once bustling with shoppers and vendors, now keep the company of shadows and maybe the odd echo. Located in the Judea region of the West Bank, it is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East.

But now Hebron reflects the brutality of the Israeli-Arab conflict. In a decade, the population in the market area has decreased by 80 per cent, leaving just 3,500 people. Local residents blame the Israeli occupation for the mass migration.

People & Power visit this so-called 'ghost town', and speak to Israeli settlers and the few remaining Palestinian residents about the politically volatile situation.


Coffee in Cairo

Starbucks is moving into Egypt, but can it outdo the successful Cilantro chain?

Starbucks has become a name synonymous with coffee. But that is not the case everywhere. Egypt, for example, was Starbucks free ... until now. So far its residents have existed on a diet of sheesha and local coffee.

Howard Schultz's Starbucks seems to be unstoppable – it has grown far beyond its original marketing target of 2000 outlets by the year 2000. In fact, in 2005 it had 12,000 stores in 37 countries - accounting for a turnover of $6.37 billion.

But success might not be so easy in Cairo. Two young Egyptian entrepreneurial upstarts may stand in their way. In 2000, long before the advent of Starbucks in the country, they started a coffee chain, Cilantro – which swiftly grew to 21 stores.

People & Power examines just how an indigenous coffee culture is challenging the imperial ambition of an American coffee mogul.

This episode aired 20 June 2007

Part 1



Part 2