Hisham Arafat
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – At an unusually sprawling market in Syria’s predominantly Kurdish northeastern city of Qamishli, few people are seen shopping for the popular festival for breaking the Ramadan fast, Eid al-Fitr. Most stay indoors, avoiding the rapid price hikes and rocketing cost of living amid low income, rather than fearing the coronavirus pandemic.
“My salary was 15,000 Syrian pounds in 2010 [about 300 USD] and was a decent living for a family of three in a month,” Ahmad Abu Khalil, a 38-year-old schoolteacher from Qamishli, told North Press while shopping for some basic needs for Eid. “Now my salary is 36,000 SYP [20 USD] but not enough for one week,” he added in a fatigued tone.
The country’s northeast, governed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and spearheaded by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is relatively the most stable region in the country in terms of security and economy compared to the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition areas in northern Aleppo and Idlib as well as the central government areas backed by Russia and Iran.
But the recent freefall of the Syrian currency, from 500 SYP/1USD in October to 1,800 SYP/1USD last week, has greatly affected the country in general and SDF areas in particular. Exacerbating this issue is that an extra budget is needed for the Eid festival requirements, including buying new clothes, making special cookies locally known as kleicha and maamoul, buying sweets and candies, and also buying chicken and lamb for lunch of the first day of Eid.
No more joy of children’s new clothes
A very common saying about Eid in the region is “Kids are the joy of Eid, and the joy of kids are the new clothes” and the most common sight on the eve of Eid is children sleeping, keeping their new clothes neatly arranged beside their pillow. Every year there are two Eid festivals in the region and one of the basic rituals of the festival is the new clothes for each festival.
But this year with the deteriorating financial situation, most children are not happy with Eid because their families can’t afford new clothes.
“New clothes for one child now cost about 20,000 SYP [12 USD] for local products and about 30,000 SYP [22 USD] for products imported from Turkey. This costs more than half of the monthly salary for the family breadwinner,” Saad Jango, a children’s clothes dealer from Qamishli, said.
Zayed and Mohammad, 5 and 3, children from Qamishli shopping with their parents buying Eid clothes and toys, Qamishli, Syria, May 23, 2020. (Photo: North Press/Hisham Arafat)
Over four million people live in the Autonomous Administration areas, which includes the three governorates of Hasakeh, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor forming one third of the Syrian territories. Sources of income in the region are mostly the monthly salaries paid by the central government and the Autonomous Administration, in addition to remittances from Syrian refugees in Europe to their families in Syria. Trade, industry, and agriculture have severely deteriorated during the ten-year civil war.
Salaries range from 30-40 thousand SYP (15-20 USD) for the civil servants of the central government institutions which are still operating in the Autonomous Administration areas, while the salaries of the Autonomous Administration employees range from 87-180 thousand SP (50-100 USD).
“I have three children and my salary is 87,000 SP, which is not even enough for children’s clothes. What about clothes for me and my wife, Eid cookies, sweets, and food?” said Shivan Ahmad, an Autonomous Administration employee from Qamishli.
Ahmad also said the rituals of Eid have changed a lot compared to the past few years. “My kids are depressed. It’s the first time I am trying to convince them to wear their clothes from last Eid, and many families are doing the same,” he said.
No more chicken/lamb meal, cookies, sweets
Ahmad continues describing the suffering during the holy fasting month of Ramadan and Eid this year, “One chicken costs about 5,000 SYP, and one kilogram of lamb costs about 12,000. The biggest expense is the cookies and sweets, which cost more than 30,000 SYP.”
Ahmad, like many people of the region, complains, “If the whole salary is hardly enough for Eid festival requirements, then how shall we afford to live the rest of the month?”
“The Eid meal is usually a big dish of bulgur with chicken or lamb, but this year I don’t think I can afford the meat,” he said.
Sweets and candy shops in Qamishli market look less crowded than before, Qamishli, Syria, May 23, 2020. (Photo: North Press/Hisham Arafat)
The Eid festival lasts for two days. On the first day, people used to go in the early morning to the cemetery to visit the graves of their deceased relatives, then people exchange visits with family and drink tea or coffee with Eid cookies, kleicha and maamoul, and other sweets, while children collect the sweets during their tour with their families.
In the mid-day, the family members gather for the Eid meal after a month of fasting, when the main meal was in the evening.
20-year-old Abdo, who sells biscuits and cookies on the main street’s sidewalk in Qamishli, said the market was very crowded last Eid about eight months ago, but it dramatically declined this year. “Last Eid, one kilogram of biscuits was sold for 600 SYP, but now it is 2,000 SYP. The salaries are still the same, and this is why most people didn’t buy the Eid cookies,” he said.
Gulistan, a housewife from Qamishli, said her husband is a daily worker who doesn’t have a stable job, and that she cannot even afford to make the cookies at home.
“The flour, sugar, grated coconut, anise, walnuts, dates, and other ingredients needed for making one kilogram of kleicha will cost more than 5,000 SYP, while in the market a low-quality version is sold for 2,000. I cannot afford both,” she said.
An uncommon scene before Eid festival: a popular bakery in Qamishli market apparently without customers, while it used to be crowded during the last festivals, Qamishli, Syria, May 24, 2020. (Photo: North Press/Hisham Arafat)
Men’s barbershops without crowds
The two days before the Eid are usually known as kleicha day, for making Eid cookies and buying sweets, and then comes the clothes and haircut day, where people go to buy clothes and men go to their barbers for haircuts. After this comes the first day of Eid festival, where people exchange visits and children go to theme parks.
Barbers usually don’t sleep on the eve of the Eid, staying up till morning to finish cutting the hair of dozens of men crowded in their salons, but this Eid they are not crowded anymore.
Sipan Khallo, a barber from Qamishli, complains that his salon is not very crowded at Eid time this year as compared to the past ten years, Qamishli, Syria, May 23, 2020. (Photo: North Press/Hisham Arafat)
Sipan Khallo, a barber from Qamishli, told North-Press that it’s the first time his salon is not very crowded at Eid time as compared to the past ten years.
“Ten years ago, a haircut cost 50 SYP [1USD], then it rose gradually to 200 and 500 SYP six months ago, but last month it rose rapidly to 2,000,” he said.
Khallo added that before, people didn’t bargain or haggle over the haircut price, but this week many were questioning and complaining about the sudden rise of the price.
“Sometimes I make haircuts for low-income men for free, as I know their living conditions,” he said.
Temporary solutions by the Autonomous Administration
As the coronavirus pandemic spread about two months ago, the Autonomous Administration imposed a full curfew and lockdown in the region it controls. As the majority of people are daily workers during war time, additional support was needed from the authorities to provide for low-income families.
As a temporary relief procedure, the Autonomous Administration distributed food baskets to thousands of families around the region, and took further measures to control market prices.
Additionally, the Autonomous Administration announced a 20-25% pay raise for their employees in an apparent attempt to fend off criticism of the administration’s handling of the crisis, but the prices rose sharply and could not be controlled.
Co-chair of the Consumer Protection Department at the Autonomous Administration Abdulbasit Kuti told North-Press that the authorities work to create some balance between suppliers, dealers, and consumers.
“We are issuing lists of prices of all commodities and goods on a daily basis, updating the list constantly, and then asking our staff to check the markets to prevent dealers raising the prices,” he said.
Economists in the region suggest the procedures taken by the authorities to control market prices are not enough.
Cheleng Omar, an economist based in Qamishli, called on the Autonomous Administration to support local investment, as the region is relatively stable.
“Unfortunately, even vegetables are imported, so supporting agriculture and many other projects in the region will create a competitive situation in the market and gradually will decrease the import of many basic needs,” he said.