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IDF's "Most Intense Day" of Ground Operation; Gaza Refugees Living in Makeshift Camps with No Power, Water or Sanitation; Premature Babies from Gaza Receiving Care in Cairo; E.U. Climate Chief Stresses Need to Phase Out Fossil Fuels; Women Push to Protect Their Farms against Nickel Mining; U.S. Charges Four Russian Soldiers with War Crimes; Lebanese Border Town in a Time of War; Shop Owner's Business Sustainability Challenges. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired December 06, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): And this hour, Israeli airstrikes have intensified across the entire Gaza Strip, with reports of
significantly high casualties in the north. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming once again the security of the territory should be under
Israel's control.
And a flyover of jets carrying colors of Russia's flag, president Vladimir Putin arrived here in the UAE for a rare trip abroad. He will travel to
Saudi Arabia tomorrow and is expected to discuss the oil market plus the war between Israel and Hamas.
Climate activists confronting heads of oil and gas companies at the COP28 summit in Dubai, calling for the complete end of fossil fuels amid reports
that a record number of people linked with the fossil fuel industry weren't registered for the summit, four times higher than last year.
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ANDERSON: One Israeli general calls today the most intense day of fighting in Gaza in Israel's nearly two month-long war against Hamas. Israel using
ground forces and airpower to advance positions in the south of the Gaza Strip, now encircling the second largest city of Khan Yunis.
These pictures show the destruction there and there are similar scenes across northern and central areas. This is video of the aftermath of a
strike in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah says that the death toll in Gaza now tops 16,000, with most of
those killed women and children.
The United Nations is describing as tasteless earlier comments from an Israeli military spokesperson, who said a ratio of two civilians killed for
every Hamas militant was, quote, "tremendously positive."
A spokesperson later walked back those comments, saying Israel is trying to limit civilian deaths to as few as possible. Ben Wedeman here is back with
us this hour from Jerusalem.
And Ben, you have filed a report just outlining, describing, underscoring the impact that this intense military action is having on civilians in
Gaza. Explain.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, 85 percent of the population of Gaza has been displaced. And when we say displaced,
we're not talking necessarily about once.
In many instances, with people that we've spoken to, several times. Now what they're looking for is a safe place, somewhere that they have shelter,
food, water, access to sanitation. But in most cases, they cannot find it. And one thing they can't find anywhere in Gaza is safety.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: They came here hoping to escape the war. And this is what happened.
Tuesday afternoon, an apparent Israeli air strike demolished this building in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Civilians, more than 50, are now martyrs,
says Abu Bassin. The building's owner had given them shelter. They all came from the north.
Under the sand and the rubble is a lifeless body.
"There's his head," someone says, while others, peering into the ruins, search for survivors.
"Is anyone alive?" he calls out.
Without heavy equipment, bare hands must suffice. At Deir el-Balah's only functioning hospital, the injured are rushed inside.
The hospital spokesman says they received more than 130 injured and more than 90 bodies. CNN cannot confirm the death toll. Once again, so many of
the victims are children.
Stunned, confused, terrified, she grasps her mother's hand; the injured, treated on the floor. The lucky are among those who fled and then fled
again further south. And up in places like this.
[10:05:00]
makeshift camps devoid of running water, electricity or sanitation. A plastic sheet is all that protects Anas Mosleh and her family from the
elements.
"We spend all night hearing rockets and bombs," she says. "We're living between life and death. We may die at any moment."
Indeed, in Gaza now, the line between life and death is perilously thin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And this situation is creating havoc for all of the aid agencies who are trying to help these people.
We have a statement from MSF that says that, "Forcible displacement must stop now. Assaults on hospital and medical staff must stop now.
Restrictions on aid and the siege must stop now."
Yesterday, we know that 50 trucks passed from Egypt into Gaza via the Rafah crossing; 50 trucks is less than 10 percent of the amount of cargo trucks
that were going into Gaza before the war.
And the needs in Gaza have increased dramatically because so many people have lost everything. We hearing from people who haven't been able to
change their clothing in two weeks, who are looking desperately for a bag of flour here, for a blanket there.
And as the temperatures drop, it is quite cold this evening here in Jerusalem and it's been rainy over the last two days. The situation is only
going to get worse -- Becky.
ANDERSON: A lot worse, Ben, absolutely. Thank you.
Israel's military says it has hit some 250 Hamas targets over the past day. The IDF says it is moving into civilian areas that Hamas is using to hide
militants and weapons, it says. It released this video that it says shows hundreds of missiles, grenades and drones stockpiled near a clinic and a
school in northern Gaza.
Meantime, leaked audio recordings between freed Israeli hostages and the Israeli prime minister reveal considerable anger directed at Benjamin
Netanyahu. Relatives of some hostages still being held in Gaza were also at a meeting of what was Israel's war cabinet. Have a listen to this short
snippet.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You will return them all, they will not wait 50 days. They will not wait another year, because you claim
that they are strong enough. You have no information, you have no information. The fact that we were shelled, the fact that no one knew
anything about where we were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Those are the words of a freed hostage. I spoke to CNN's Alex Marquardt about this last hour.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think this really speaks to the desperation that so many in Israel feel for those who
are still in Gaza, the hostages who are still being held by Hamas and other groups.
And also this anger that is being directed at the Netanyahu government for not doing enough to get them out. And so Ynet, which is a local news outlet
here, has obtained this remarkable audio of conversations between the prime minister and hostages themselves who have been released and the families of
hostages who've been released.
Anger being directed at the prime minister for the lack of intelligence that Israel had about the location of the hostages, the lack of action that
these families feel the Israeli government took to get them released.
At one point, the prime minister, according to this report and according to this recording, which we've heard, heckled him, some people saying shame to
the prime minister.
There was one woman, a hostage who was freed with her children but whose husband is still being held, who told the prime minister that the feelings
she had was that no one was doing anything for them.
They were taken from a hiding place that had been shelled. They fled from that hiding place and they were smuggled out and were wounded in the
process. And so there is a lot of anger being directed at Netanyahu.
And it really raises this question about the argument that Netanyahu has made, that more military pressure is effective in terms of getting the
hostages out while you have these testimonies from families saying, well, they are the ones who are actually being hurt in the process as Israel
targets Hamas in the Gaza Strip -- Becky.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And the "Meanwhile in the Middle East" newsletter, which you can get three times a week to your inbox, it's an excellent read. It's
available now, it is on that story very specifically. It has more and it and you will look at the QR code on your screen momentarily.
There it is.
We are also learning more about the premature babies that were evacuated from the now defunct Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
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The more than 2 dozen infants were transported through the Rafah crossing and into Egypt more than two weeks ago. CNN's Larry Madowo and his team
gained access to the hospital, where doctors are still caring for many of them. He spoke to my colleague Poppy Harlow a short time ago.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are doing well. In fact, they're doing so well that a few of these pre-term babies, when they arrived here
just over two weeks ago, have been discharged from the NICU into the general nursery and they are in the oral feeding phase.
Most of them still remain in the neonatal intensive care unit and all of them are making good progress. The doctors here are very pleased with how
they're doing. All but one are out of danger. We have just one of the pre- term babies that remains on a ventilator. They're watching closely to see if he makes progress. But the rest of them are doing well.
We've seen them. They're taking great care of them. And some of them are starting to get a sense of where they are and where they're living now. And
a few parents have started to show up, Poppy, so it's big progress.
And the doctors here say that they're in the business of saving lives, so if they can discharge some of them from the NICU into the general ward,
then that's massive progress that they've made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Larry on the story for you.
The Israeli military said it is investigating the shooting of a mentally disabled man in the West Bank city of Hebron. I do want to warn, you the
following video is very disturbing.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): The IDF confirms to CNN that Israeli soldiers were involved in Tuesday's confrontation with a Palestinian man, identified as
Tarek Abu Abed. Tarek's brother tells us, and I quote him here, "He has special needs."
In this video reviewed by CNN, you can see Tarek being shot and wounded by a man in military fatigues. The IDF says Tarek was shot in the leg and is
receiving medical treatment.
Still to come, Israel admits it hit the wrong target on Tuesday, striking Lebanese troops by mistake in exchanges of fire with Hezbollah. We are
across heightening tensions on what is that Israel-Lebanon border.
And fighting for their land: we will take you to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where women farmers say that they are being driven out of
business by nickel miners. The latest installment in our series of gender equality "As Equals" is up next.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. The time here in Abu Dhabi where we broadcast the show from is a quarter past 7 in
the evening.
Strong words from the E.U. climate chief at the COP28 conference, which is, of course, in Dubai. He said this year's summit must mark, quote, "the
beginning of the end of fossil fuels."
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This as E.U. climate scientists say that 2023 will now go down as the hottest on record for the planet. The E.U.'s climate commissioner also
clarified his stance on how to hit climate targets.
He says that the world could continue to burn some fossil fuels if the carbon pollution were removed before entering the atmosphere. Electric
vehicles have the potential to help the world one day reach its climate goals.
But at what cost?
Women farmers in Indonesia say their land is being seized and sold without their consent to boost the mining of nickel, which is an important metal
found in batteries for electric cars and other tech products. Paula Hancocks reports on what is this latest installment of "As Equals," CNN's
ongoing series on gender inequality.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The island of Sulawesi, home to rain forests and lakes, farms and fishing communities.
Rich in minerals, it's also home to a growing number of sprawling nickel mines. Nickel, an integral metal, is found everywhere around us, in
stainless steel, our cellphones and increasingly in batteries.
Its growth fueled in part by the global race for cleaner energy sources and surging demand for electric vehicles.
On Sulawesi, nearly 1,000 miles from Jakarta, the global push to go green has come at a cost.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Masita used to be a pepper farmer here on the island's remote region of East Luwu.
MASITA, FORMER PEPPER FARMER: (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Her farm and those of her adult children were conceded in 2015 without notice to make way for the expansion of nickel
mines, she says, and are now owned by PT Vale, one of Indonesia's largest nickel producers.
They have farmed the land for a decade. They never felt the need for official deeds until now. In Indonesia, it is not unusual for land owners
to find their property has been taken by the government and sold to big businesses to exploit its natural resources.
MASITA: (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Masita said that, when she refused to leave, mining company officials called the police.
Many in her village lost their land, she says, receiving compensation of a little more than $US3,000 in return.
Maya, a mother of six, says she is still traumatized by that day.
MAYA, FORMER PEPPER FARMER: (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): She told CNN her family could make more than 12 million rupiah in (INAUDIBLE) U.S. dollars from the harvest of her
(INAUDIBLE) pepper trees. But today, it's a fraction of that.
As the breadwinners of the family, women farmers fear their lands will be conceded and dredged up to make way for more nickel mines and processing
plants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): In the neighbor community of Luweha (ph), Lurasia (ph) has been growing and selling pepper on this land all her life, like
her mother and grandmother before her. She says representatives from PT Vale have started taking soil samples around the village, telling residents
they purchased the land.
She, along with others in the village, have joined the group Women Fighters of Luweha (ph), an organization fighting for their rights to the land.
Asma (ph), founder of the group, says the livelihoods of more than 7,000 residents and hundreds more workers are at stake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Today, Asma (ph) has brought the women together to hear updates on their efforts. In the middle of the meeting, a woman breaks
down in tears.
Asma (ph) says the group has staged protests against the mining company and sought support from the central government.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): CNN reached out to PT Vale, Indonesia, and the Indonesian government regarding the claims made by residents of East Luwu
and has yet to receive a response.
The company has in the past denied accusations it had seized land from Indigenous people in East Luwu. Last year, it told Indonesian magazine,
"Tempo," "PT Vale has never taken rights from other parties without their consent."
It said it acquired land as a result of an agreement with the Indonesian government.
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Asma's (ph) group has sought help from WALHI, Indonesia's oldest environmental NGO, which has offices in Sulawesi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Adlamin (ph) says women in East Luwu have been the main actors in pushing for protection of their plantations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Some of the women who lost their land tell CNN they are already feeling the environmental impacts of the nickel mining.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): CNN reached out to PT Vale Indonesia and the Indonesian government also regarding these claims but has not received a
response.
On its website, the federal company says it recognizes this activities may cause significant environmental impacts and that it invests in ways to
manage risks and minimize the social and environmental impacts.
President Joko Widodo or Jokowi has vowed to step up scrutiny of nickel mining while at the same time racing ahead with his government's ambitious
goal of producing 600,000 electric vehicles by 2030.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Indonesia is poised to lead the global EV battery industry.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): The government has sought to boost foreign investment in the industry, banning that export of raw nickel ore and
pushing through EV friendly policies that have lured carmakers like Hyundai, which opened its first manufacturing plant in Indonesia last year.
The environmental NGO, WALHI, has, at the same time, pleaded for world leaders and foreign companies to be aware of the impacts of nickel mining.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Back in Sulawesi, residents desperate for compensation for a sliver of the land they once had tell CNN their only
hope is the government.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Electric cars and batteries, part of global efforts to reach net zero missions, could mean, for them, losing everything. In
trying to save the future, these women's pasts are being destroyed -- Paula Hancocks, CNN.
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ANDERSON: And we get you to the attorney general -- actually, let me just give you this before we do that.
A public relations firm representing PT Vale acknowledged our questions regarding those claims made by the residents. But as of, now we are still
awaiting the company's response.
I needed to let you know that before we go to the attorney general in the States in Washington who was -- regarding reading out some charges
regarding four Russian soldiers. These are charges for war crimes.
American -- this is Russian soldiers accused of torturing an American in Ukraine. Let's listen in.
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MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's how we pursue justice in a way that protects people and protects our shared humanity. I'm now honored
to turn the podium over to Secretary Mayorkas.
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Thank you very, much Attorney General Garland.
In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security and its Homeland Security investigations or HSI created the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes
Center, the only U.S. government entity focused entirely on investigating these global atrocities.
For 15 years, this select group of special agents, attorneys, intelligence analysts, criminal research specialists and historians from across the
federal government have worked together.
And with their international counterparts to hold those who engage in the perpetration of war crimes, genocide, torture and other human rights
violations accountable.
Today, an investigation more than a year in the making by the Center and its federal partners bears fruit. For the first time in our nation's
history, federal agents gathered sufficient evidence to bring charges of war crimes, perpetrated against an American citizen in violation of Title
18 of the United States Code, Section 2441.
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The allegations which the attorney general has described detail gruesome events. The agents who made this case possible were tireless in their
investigation, giving extraordinary attention to every detail and making considerable sacrifices throughout.
In August 2022, these HSI agents traveled with our DOJ and FBI partners to speak with an American citizen, who recently had been evacuated from
Ukraine, where he had been living with his wife.
The U.S. citizen told our HSI agents how, a few months earlier, he had been violently abducted from his home in the village of Mylove by members of the
Russian armed forces.
He told HSI investigators, as the attorney general noted, that these Russians had stripped him naked, threw him face down to the ground, tied
his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head and severely beat him, including with the stocks of their guns.
The Russian soldiers then took him to a nearby Russian military compound and held him there illegally for 10 days. He reported that, while enforced
captivity, he was subjected to two interrogation sessions during which he was tortured by the four defendants named today.
He reported that the Russian defendants had again stripped him naked, photographed him and severely beat him about the chest and stomach. One
defendant staged a mock execution of him.
After asking for the victim's last words, one of the defendants named today forced the victim to the ground, put a gun to the back of his head and
pulled the trigger, purposefully missing the victim's head by mere inches.
Throughout this past year, our HSI agents, with the assistance of HSI'S Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center and alongside our FBI
partners, have worked to corroborate the victim's allegations.
They traveled internationally to interview the victim's family. They identified and interviewed individuals who were present within the general
vicinity of Mylove around the time the victim was held in captivity, who confirmed the Russian forces' occupation in the area.
Based on the information they obtained, the HSI agents and their FBI partners were able to identify the four defendants whose indictments are
announced today.
I am extraordinarily proud of these federal law enforcement agents. Thanks to their exceptional work, the United States will hold the Russian
perpetrators of this unthinkable mistreatment, these unacceptable human rights violations, accountable.
The work of these agents and the indictments unsealed today speak to two fundamental truths.
First, there is no higher responsibility of government than to safeguard its people and their basic human rights.
As today's announcement makes clear, when an American citizen's human rights are violated, their government will spare no effort --
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ANDERSON: The AG there, holding a press conference on Russian soldiers accused of torturing an American in Ukraine.
MAYORKAS: -- the evidence gathered by --
ANDERSON: That's --
MAYORKAS: -- speaks to the brutality --
ANDERSON: -- evidence gathered over the past year.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is here in Abu Dhabi, holding talks with UAE president Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It has been rare for Mr.
Putin to travel outside of Russia since his invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago.
Ahead of their talks, Mr. Putin said Russia's relations with the United Arab Emirates are at an all-time high and he praised cooperation between
both nations. Putin also traveled to Saudi Arabia as part of his one-day visit to the region for a meeting with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Still to come, we are on the ground after the IDF admits it struck Lebanese troops by mistake in exchanges of fire with Hezbollah. That is up next.
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ANDERSON: Nearly two months into the Israel-Hamas war, a crumbling Gaza appears the target of some of the most intense fighting so far. Israel's
military says it hit some 250 Hamas targets over the past day. That is 24 hours.
This video shows extensive damage from Israeli strikes in central Gaza. Meantime, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah taking information
from hospitals in Gaza says the death toll there is now more than 16,000 and says that most of those killed are women and children.
Meantime, the IDF admits that it struck Lebanese soldiers Tuesday but says they were not its intended targets. The IDF say it was acting in self-
defense and was actually targeting Hezbollah.
Now Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's powerful militant group, have been exchanging frequent fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon for
two months. Lebanese armed forces say one soldier was killed and three more were injured in yesterday's incident.
Hezbollah, of course, has been calling for a cease-fire in Gaza so there are a lot of different players here. CNN's Ivan Watson here to help us make
sense of all of it. He is in south Lebanon for us.
What do we know about this incident that the IDF is now qualifying as a mistake?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military says it is reviewing what took place. It says it was not
intentionally targeting the Lebanese armed forces.
And that is an important distinction because, while Hezbollah is trading fire daily and nightly with the Israeli military across the border -- and
we have seen outgoing rocket fire from this area -- the Lebanese state, which is quite weak, has a caretaker prime minister, for example and no
president.
It is trying to remain neutral and that includes the Lebanese armed forces, who, according to U.N. peacekeepers, have not yet engaged, have not been
engaged in this ongoing border conflict.
There was a Hezbollah fighter announced killed. We do not know the details. That announcement just came out from Hezbollah today. A Syrian civilian
killed at a chicken farm that was apparently hit by long-range Israeli artillery last night.
For the residents in this border region, they are very much caught in the middle, trapped between these two warring sides.
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WATSON (voice-over): They're putting up Christmas decorations in the Lebanese border town of Marjayoun, residents trying to lift spirits in a
time of war.
ROLAND CHANBOUR, MARJAYOUN RESIDENT: I'm making the tree for the Christmas.
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I hope it come, it will make better hope for the country.
WATSON (voice-over): But as Roland Chanbour strings up lights, we can hear and see the blast from incoming Israeli artillery, hitting fields below
this hilltop town.
WATSON: The artillery, the explosions are two kilometers, three kilometers away.
CHANBOUR: Yes, what you can do?
You leave (INAUDIBLE)?
You leave your house and go?
Where do we go?
WATSON (voice-over): For nearly two months, Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon have been fighting deadly artillery duels with the Israeli
military on the other side of the border. Explosions rock this area day and night.
FOUAD ANTON, PASTOR, MARJAYOUN NATIONAL EVANGELICAL CHURCH: Up on the, hills you see there are Israeli positions.
(CROSSTALK)
WATSON: The antennas are the Israeli positions?
ANTON: Yes, Hezbollah, they had these positions.
WATSON (voice-over): Pastor Fouad Anton shows me the battle-scarred Presbyterian church he says American missionaries built nearly 150 years
ago.
ANTON: The people here are very afraid.
WATSON (voice-over): This is not the first time this predominately Christian town has been a battleground.
ANTON: We revisit also in the year 2006, when Israel invaded even the south of Lebanon. Also a bomb came around here and we rebuilt that church.
WATSON (voice-over): Pastor Fouad says, during the last border war, he and his family fled Marjayoun. This time, though he sympathizes with the plight
of Palestinians in Gaza, he insists this should not be Lebanon's war.
ANTON: The people left the area and there are no jobs and nothing at all here. So my message is for Hezbollah is to stop this war.
WATSON (voice-over): Convoys of United Nations peacekeepers rumble through Marjayoun's streets, as do members of the Lebanese army, which is so far
neutral in the border conflict.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah's militants are almost invisible, using cat and mouse guerrilla tactics against the more powerful Israeli military, which often
flies drones high overhead.
None of this is good for Salam Aoun (ph).
SALAM AOUN (PH), MARJAYOUN RESIDENT: I will cry.
WATSON: Oh, I'm sorry.
WATSON (voice-over): She isn't getting any business at her boutique. And with schools closed due to the crisis, her two children have to study
remotely.
AOUN (PH): (INAUDIBLE).
WATSON: Yes.
Salam says she tells her kids that the fighting is very far away from here and she says that they do get scared.
WATSON (voice-over): So it is no surprise that, this year, there is only one thing that people here want for Christmas.
CHANBOUR: Peace. Peace and hope.
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ANDERSON: Ivan Watson reporting for you. We will be right back.
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ANDERSON: We've been focused on COP28 here in the UAE, as many people are around the world, many, many people as well. Bolivians are (ph) negotiate
macro solutions to forge a path to net zero.
But what about micro solutions, like those put into action in your local coffee shop, for example?
CNN Academy participant Amit al Kuwaiti (ph) asked one small business owner how we can all do our part. This is his report.
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NAHLA KNOTT, FOUNDER, TUCKSHOP (voice-over): My name is Nahla. I'm the owner of Tuckshop cafe, community centered business, that is looking at
ways to promote the talent that we have here in the UAE and Abu Dhabi.
It is a community that has an environmental focus, to bring awareness and also to always bring a bit of fun. And it was an interesting focus once I
opened Tuckshop that is very hard for food and beverage outlets to be sustainable, even within your home.
Sometimes when you are trying to select the environmental option, sometimes that is a cost to you. You have to make kind of the conscious decision to
be -- have that mindset. My advice to anyone wanting to start a new business is to look at your surroundings, see what businesses are out
there.
We tend to overconsume and overproduce these days. So it is important that also that we look at ways that we can support other small businesses. That
will help in the overconsumption.
At the end of the day, the population can only sustain so much. And so the idea, to be able to support other initiatives and not always reinvent the
wheel, to actually use your business as a platform for other people, that will only encourage growth in a sustainable way.
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ANDERSON: And that is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson and "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST" is up next.
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