Full text - orsam

INTERVIEWS WITH SYRIAN REFUGEES IN REYHANLI - I
ORSAM
driver friends rent a house for me and helped
me. But as the number of Syrians coming to
Reyhanlı increased, cord was cut. I opened a
shop in Reyhanlı. I sell sandwiches, hummus
and wraps. I pay 500 TL for the rent. Other
expenses cost at least 600 TL. At least 1500
TL is needed for monthly expenses including
electricity, water, gas bills. However, I cannot
earn this amount of money. My child studies
at 7 th grade in primary school. In Syria, the
primary education is 8 years. A school was
opened in Reyhanlı. The fee for service is 20
TL. But I cannot even pay it.
My house in Syria was invaded. Like many
other houses, it was destroyed and plundered.
Beforehand, we could bring cheap bread and
food products from Syria, but we cannot provide
them anymore. Trade and production in
Syria came to a stop. My relatives stocked up
on flour and wheat. However, now it is a bigger
crime to sell wheat than selling drug in
Syria. People can neither find a mill to make
flour nor can they sell their wheat.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 27 December
2012.
An Interview with Mahmoud al Bereci al
Vihebi, who settled in Reyhanlı district of
Hatay
“Even those who waited in bread line were
bombed,” says Mahmoud al Bereci al Vihebi
engaged in food trade.
Mahmoud al Bereci al Vihebi: I am from Keferdeyan
village of Idlib Province, Syria. I am
47 years old. I am a tradesman, a merchant.
ORSAM: Could you tell us about your life
before the civil war in Syria, what you went
through during the civil war and the reasons
why you came to Turkey?
Mahmoud al Bereci al Vihebi: I used to trade
on various kinds of food products, all kinds
of grains, and olive in my hometown. I have
a storage and a sales office in Idlib Province.
I have a storage in the village as well. I purchased
the products grown by villagers, stock
up on these products, gathered them in the
storage in Idlib and distributed them across
Syria. When Jaish al Hur seized the control in
our area, the trade routes with other districts
of Syria were closed. Some of the stock products
needed to be sold/consumed in time, but
it did not happen. On the other hand, some
products needed to be applied pesticides and
aired, but there was no means to do so either.
My employees migrated due to the bombardments.
One of my children deserted the army as a
result of persecutions during his military
service, and he fled to Turkey. And I came to
Turkey along with my family for fear as well.
I have been in Turkey for 3 months. When
I asked those who came here afterwards, I
heard that my house and storage had been
plundered. There are stock crop grain in lots
of areas in the region, but there is no mill. I
quietly cross the border. I have been trying to
buy a flour mill from Turkey, grind flour, and
to sell bread to the people in Syria.
When even those who wait in bread lines in
the city are bombed, people flee to rural areas
controlled by Jaish al Hur. However, there
is no stove in rural areas either. The people
bake their own bread at home on furnace
floor. I will provide the people with bread at
a low price. Although baking bread currently
cost more than it did in the past as a result of
the devaluation of SYP, it is my job to do it as
a citizen. Many people help me on this. We
have to take this risk to meet the nourishment
need of the people.
ORSAM
Report No: 157, May 2013 65