DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Rida Jaber, an industrialist with many years of experience in the Syrian capital, Damascus, believes that staying in the country after selling his factory has become impossible, and that the future in Syria is a horror facing every industrialist who finds no other way but to think about migration.
More than a decade after the war in Syria, the fear of the future continues to exacerbate among Syrian industrialists, who are prompted by circumstances to close their facilities and emigrate outside the country, turning the phenomenon into another deficit for the country’s economy.
Jaber sees that the problem of the Syrian economy is not a financial problem that is summed up in the budget deficit; it is a problem of shortage and loss of production, high prices and scarcity of raw materials and workforce.
Six years ago, Jaber, who lives in al-Tijara neighborhood of Damascus, closed his aluminum factory in al-Qadam area of the capital, only to lose as much as half the costs of a new factory to restore it.
However, despite all his efforts, he was forced to sell his factory in the end, for clear reasons, as he said.
“I paid an income tax of 127 million SYP ($37,000) for the years of closure, and a lawyer advised me to pay, because it is not possible to discuss this issue with the government,” he said.
Egypt the most prominent destination
Jaber referred to a statement by Majd Shashman, member of the Federation of Aleppo Chambers of Industry, to the local Radio Melody FM in which he stressed that the number of industrialists who left Aleppo and Damascus within two weeks reached 37,000.
“It is not surprising that the radio station edited its post first and then deleted it later, as it was mentioned that 19,000 industrialists left Aleppo and 28,000 from Damascus,” he added.
He considered that the main reason for the rapid emigration of Syrian industrialists to Egypt is the freedom of the market and trade in Egypt, and the state’s support for import and export.
Recently, the 27-year-old Ra’ed Hatoum, a mechanics graduate who lives in al-Qasa’ neighborhood in the capital, started thinking about emigrating, after he was against the idea, “but it has now become one of the essential steps for every young man, university student and industrialist.”
“I cannot stay in the country amid these crises, low wages, an unknown fate of the factories, and there is no hope for continuity after the loss of raw materials and spare parts,” he said.
Hatoum pointed out that “the average monthly income in Syria does not exceed 72,000 SYP ($21), while each person needs 200,000 SYP ($57).”
“Our income is 65% less than our daily needs,” he concluded with a smile.
Hatoum stated that the production line has several supplies in any factory, “most notably raw materials, workforce, economic studies, merchants and capital, then spare parts and loans, all of which is missing in Syria.”
Regarding Egypt, he said: “It is not Europe or Britain, I know this, but in case of missing one thing, the industrialist can compensate it there, or dispense with it, and continue working. However, the loss of all of them is the end.”
Hatoum and other industrialists believe that the Syrian government is responsible for pushing young people and industrialists to make the emigration decision, “because of its ill-considered decisions, and it is very difficult to compensate this loss, as major countries are trying today to attract workers, professionals and industrial expertise.”
The head of the Syrian-Egyptian Business Council, Khaldoun al-Muwaqa’ stated that the number of Syrian industrialists in Egypt is estimated between 15,000 -17,000, and that of businessmen is about 30,000.
He indicated that the amount of Syrian money in Egypt (not only investments) is estimated at $23 billion, according to a United Nations report, and about 100 million pieces of Syrian factory products are pumped into the Egyptian market every month.
The government keeps silent
Adel al-Hasaniya, a Syrian economist residing in Damascus, said that he and others warned of the main reasons for the emigration of industrialists, and “I pleaded a lot, but of no use.”
Among those reasons, he mentioned that “the Central Bank has entrusted the transfer and dealing in foreign currencies to several exchange companies operating outside Syria, which are close to the regime and war merchants, and most of them operate in the black market for a higher profit.”
“This is what led many investors to discover that there are bans, taxes, or economic sanctions on them in other countries without knowing why.”
Al-Hasaniya pointed that imported raw materials to the local industry should be exempted from customs duties, and all taxes and fees imposed on them, in a gesture to encourage traders and industrialists to import.
The economist stated that the government’s failure to listen to these warnings has led them today to the edge of the abyss. There are no foreign investors, no local industrial bourgeoisie, no manpower, no import or export, and high prices are not matched by a rise in wages.”
For his part, Mazen Hassan, the owner of a clothing factory in Egypt, said that the high prices of fuel in Syria impede the industrialist’s production, in addition to heavy burdens on foreign currencies, raw materials and others.
All this forced Hassan to head to Egypt.
He said that Syrian investors in Egypt make up about 30%, and they invest $800 million in many projects, most of them specializing in sewing and clothing.”
“Since I heard the speech of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last March, when he attacked merchants and threatened and called them thieves, I knew that the time for migration had come,” he noted.
Hassan sold his textile factory at a price much lower than its basic price, “and I tried in various ways to exchange the amount into foreign currencies, and the exchange led to a greater loss, but the loss of my history in work and industry, my name, my memories and my humanity, was a tragedy.”
“I collected everything left and traveled, first to Erbil, then to Egypt, and from my long years of experience, I tried to start over to secure a better future for my children.”