DamascusLeaning on his old car at the entrance to Al-Shaalan Market in the center of the Syrian capital, Damascus, Wael Saad Al-Thalathini stands shouting at the top of his voice, “Tender teller,” and has stuck a sign near him informing passers-by of his new profession.
Near Wael, sellers of juice, vegetables, fruits, and chickens are also lined up, all competing with him with the same call, with a number of cars lined up with a “Dollar and Euro” sign plastered on them, and their owners placing piles of Syrian money on top of them to attract the attention of customers.
This scene is recent in Syria. Less than two months ago, anyone who carried an amount of money in his pocket, even if it was 100 dollars or euros, would walk around for fear of being discovered by the regime’s security services. This was taboo, and anyone caught with any foreign currency would face punishment. Imprisonment of up to 7 years and severe fines.
Emergency profession
Wael told Al Jazeera Net, “We try to earn our livelihood by any means possible, especially in the current conditions, where there are not many fields available for work.”
He adds that he buys and sells foreign currencies, such as dollars and euros, from people on the street, especially expatriates, in order to make it easier for them. He and his new colleagues in the profession are present in the markets, and customers do not need to go to exchange companies or banks, which in most cases do not have these currencies.
Wael points out that he realizes that it is “an emergency profession and may not last long, but he is trying to earn a living and meet his family’s living needs,” as he puts it.
He noted that previously, only security personnel, shabiha, and agents of the ousted regime would dare to do this in secret, and whoever wanted to buy or sell dollars or euros had to use decoy names and codes such as parsley, mint, or other things. But today, the foreign currency market has become like the foreign exchange market. Vegetables, fruits, and even shop owners in these markets are now working in this profession.
“Even in Japanese yen”
The owners of this emergency profession are not satisfied with dealing with foreign currencies, buying and selling, as even the owners of shops and restaurants in Damascus have begun to deal with them. There are many expatriates returning to Syria, and most of them carry the currencies they used in their countries of asylum or expatriation, and there are not many official outlets sufficient to meet their needs for local currency.
Ahmed Al-Masry, who works in a fast food restaurant, near Youssef Al-Azmeh Square in central Damascus, jokingly told Al-Jazeera Net, “We deal in all currencies, whether the euro, the dollar, the Turkish lira, or even the Japanese yen. The important thing is that we work and meet customers’ requests.”
The second forbidden
The second profession that Syrians were forbidden to work in was selling fuel, as it was limited to members of the Fourth Division affiliated with Maher al-Assad, the brother of the deposed president of the regime, as well as the shabiha.
Today, there are many stalls selling fuel, such as gasoline, diesel, gas, etc., on various public roads. This is similar to what the Syrians currently call “afternoon dreams,” where a person sees strange things in his dream that he would not have expected to happen.
Near the famous “Four Seasons” hotel in central Damascus and on the highway leading to Umayyad Square, Ahmed Al-Sabbagh parked his car on the side of the street to display his goods of diesel, gasoline, and gas tractors and receive his customers with welcomes and smiles.
Al-Sabbagh says that he has been practicing this profession for a few weeks, as some merchants are now obtaining these materials through Lebanon and distributing them to them as retail sellers, and they in turn are setting up a simple profit that meets the living needs of their families and their families, while at the same time meeting the needs of customers.
He points out that in recent years, Syrians have become accustomed to scarcity in everything, especially fuel. The regime used to distribute very small quantities to them via letters and so-called smart cards, but today you can buy the quantity you want at good prices and most importantly without fear.
Before the fall of the regime on December 8, the Syrians suffered greatly from a stifling fuel crisis and the mechanism for distributing it to them by the Ministry of Oil. Text messages were sent to mobile phones specifying which gas station vehicle owners should go to to obtain a small amount every week or two, forcing them to resort to the black market controlled by elements of the regime and its shabiha.
