DERIK, Syria (North Press)- Muhammad Ali al-Hashim pulls his simple cart loaded with corn through the streets of Derik city, northeast Syria, hoping to sell all his corn by the end of the day so that he can support his family.
Hashim, displaced from Deir ez-Zor, starts his day early by cooking the corn on a gas stove in the courtyard of his dilapidated house, and then begins his tour of the city.
Hashim, also known as “Abu Jassem”, is from Deir ez-Zor Governorate, but he spent about 15 years with his family in the Syrian capital Damascus, before being forced to move to Derik city about two years ago due to the difficult economic conditions in Damascus. There he began a new journey of struggle to support his family consisting of his wife, a daughter, and five sons.
Abu Jassem expresses his satisfaction with his Christian and Kurdish neighbours in one of the city's districts, even though he lives in a house that lacks most basic necessities for a fee of 20,000 Syrian pounds.
A family with special needs
Abu Jassem was born blind in his right eye, while his wife was born with hearing and speech disabilities. His oldest son was also born with cognitive delays.
He didn’t see a doctor to treat his son, because he could not afford the costs of treatment and medicine.
In sign language, Hashim’s wife expressed their suffering and difficult circumstances. She indicated that their house doesn’t protect them from the rain in the winter and it is very hot in the summer.
The family has not received any aid since they moved to city two years ago, except for a one-time food basket provided to them by the local council in the neighbourhood.
Abu Jassem has never held any job except selling corn in summer and beans in winter from his cart, which has accompanied him throughout his life struggle.
My income isn’t enough
"I work for about 13 hours a day. I sell corn during my tour around the city, I get 5,000 Syrian pounds per day, which is not enough for a small lunch for my family, but my neighbors sometimes help us. Without the good people, I wouldn’t be able to manage my life.” He said.
In light of high prices, Abu Jassem’s suffering increased, as he told North Press that “before the high exchange rate of the U.S dollar against the Syrian pound, I used to a sell good amount of corn, but now I find difficulties in selling them amid the high prices of everything. I used to buy a kilo of corn for 250 pounds, now it has reached 700-800 pounds.”
“I was selling one piece of corn for 100 or 200 pounds previously, but now the price is between 200 to 500 depending on the corn’s size,” he added.
Lovely people
Abu Jassem has become popular among the residents of the city of Derik due to the constant movement between its neighbourhoods with his small cart.
Abu Jassem understood several expressions in the Kurdish language, as he memorised a few words to respond to his friends and clients who express their gratitude to him.
In the tune of the songs of classic Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum and with soft lights and a lot of familiarity, Abu Jassem’s cart gives a beautiful elegance to the city, the cart that carries the secrets of a family exhausted by war.
Abu Jassem spends hours selling corn near the Sheikh Mahsum mosque in the city centre before he heads home at sunset, on a short visit to his family to take another quantity of boiled corn and head to the Kornish neighbourhood to sell them at night.
During his evening tour in the Kornish neighbourhood, Abu Jassem used to sit with his friend Abu Mahmoud, who was also displaced from the city of Hasakah. They spend hours chatting trying to forget the misery of living.
Although Derik is far from other parts of the Jazira region, it was the destination of a number of IDPs throughout the years of the war in Syria. Abu Jassem describes its residents by saying: "A people who are loving, understanding, and peaceful”.
Reporting by Solnar Muhammad, editing by Lucas Chapman