Raqqa \u2013 North-Press Agency<\/b><\/p>\n
Ahmad al-Hassan<\/b><\/p>\n
In a saddened sense of humor, Abdulkarim al-Dandal, a carpenter who works in the northern city of Raqqa, says that the European tradition calls the carpenter a little bourgeois, while the Islamic tradition emphasizes that the craft job is a better way to survive poverty.<\/p>\n
“Alhamdulillah, I have followed none of these advices, neither the European nor the Islamic\u201d, he said in a sarcastic tone.<\/p>\n
Al-Dandal completed to North-Press his talk about his profession, the carpentry, which he has been practicing for more than 46 years, a career he started practicing since he was 20 years old.<\/p>\n
Like other Syrian cities, the carpentry is one of the oldest crafts in the city of Raqqa, many of which have been famous throughout the ages to the present day.<\/p>\n
Abdulkarim al-Dandal continues to practice this craft as he has reached the age of 66, despite suffering many injuries during his long career, as a result of “lack of caution while working\u201d, as he said.<\/p>\n
Practicing the craft over long time, has earned him experience which led to make him known for his “accuracy in work and appointments\u201d, and has turned him into the most famous carpenter in the city of Raqqa.<\/p>\n
Al-Dandal believes that aging has made working in the carpentry a “hard thing”, but material needs after all what the city of Raqqa had been through, is what driving him to work. “Material needs is all what push me to work, despite my age\u201d, al-Dandal said.<\/p>\n
The battles that the city of Raqqa went through against the Islamic State group (ISIS) in 2017, were enough to make al-Dandal start from scratch, after group\u2019s militants were expelled out of the city.<\/p>\n
Al-Dandal’s sawmill was burnt, while all his equipment were stolen, forcing him to enter into partnership with some other carpenters, who have also had their share of theft and looting, to start their work again.<\/p>\n
He adds that the high price of wood, the lack of modern machines, and the use of generators have a major impact on the situation of carpenters in Raqqa, which he described as “very tragic”, indicating that the standard of living has declined.<\/p>\n
Muhammad Ali al-Mousa, another carpenter from Raqqa, talked about Abdulkarim al-Dandal, describing him as \u201cthe master of the craft\u201d.<\/p>\n
“Many of carpenters in the city of Raqqa had learned from Abdulkarim, he is the master of this craft, where he was known for his sincerity, honesty and devotion for his work\u201d, al-Mousa said.<\/p>\n
As for the work in the carpentry in Raqqa, al-Mousa explained that carpentry has fallen considerably because of “the high costs and the linkage of all materials to the dollar rates\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
According to al-Mousa, one meter of wood costs about 300 thousand Syrian pounds (about $400), noting that many people buy used doors to meet their needs.<\/p>\n
While Abdulkarim al-Dandal called on the concerned authorities to support the carpentry, in order to provide support for its development.<\/p>\n
Al-Dandal told North-Press that Raqqa is witnessing a good urban movement, “which is closely related to our profession, so organizations must be directed to support this important sector, which has never received any support at all\u201d, according to him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Raqqa \u2013 North-Press Agency Ahmad al-Hassan In a saddened sense of humor, Abdulkarim al-Dandal, a carpenter who works in the northern city of Raqqa, says that the European tradition calls the carpenter a little bourgeois, while the Islamic tradition emphasizes that the craft job is a better way to survive poverty. “Alhamdulillah, I have followed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"\n