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Syria
Rostam Ramo, 38, in his mill in Darbasiyah, northeast Syria on October 25, 2019. Photo: Roj Elli Zalla
DARBASIYAH, Syria — Farmers and businessmen have been forced to sell crops at quarter of their original price, fearing a possible arrival of Turkish army and Syrian-backed militia groups to the border town of Darbasiyah. .
Originally from Kobane, Mohammed Isso now sells his wheat and barley for 25 Syrian pounds, down from its original value of 100 pounds before Turkey started its invasion campaign of northeastern Syria on October 9, which has received widespread condemnation from the international community.
Isso is worried that Turkish backed groups, who are now in Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain), less than a 30 minute-drive from his town, will loot his business if they reach Darbasiyah.
"We have lost confidence. There will be no stability. If the Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF] withdraw from this area, the Turkish-backed groups will have an open space to do what they wish,” he said. “They will easily come and loot our products, because there will be no one to protect us and stop them."
"Turkish attacks have impacted my business and the economy of the region in general," Isso lamented. "The Turkish-backed groups loot people’s houses, so people are afraid and sell off their products for cheaper prices,” he added.
Despite selling his products at a reduced rate, Isso says he is struggling to find a buyer for his crops.
"We get some customers from the areas further south, 70-80 km from the border. They also know our situation,so they take advantage. They pay very little for our products, because they know we are not in a normal situation," he said
Turkey’s invasion 30 kilometers deep into Syrian's territory has not only impacted business in the designated “safe zone”, wanted by the Turkish state to resettle Syrian refugees from elsewhere in the country.
"There are talks about a 32 or 35 km safe zone. I can say this will impact on the farmers up to 70km [away]. We cannot provide for their needs anymore," he cautioned.
The arrival of the Islamic State group (ISIS) in his hometown of Kobane, and the current Turkish operation in northeast Syria has prevented Isso from running his business as usual.
"Before I was displaced from Kobane, my business was doing very well," said Isso. "When ISIS attacked Kobane, we left for Darbasiyah."
"Most of our commodities were looted there [in Kobane]. My house was destroyed, so we had no choice but to start a new business here," Isso said. "I started a mill here. My business grew here. But now for yet another time, another group under a different name, but with the same mentality, and with the support of a state power is threatening my business."
Isso is not the only local businessman feeling the strain, however.
A few years ago, Rostam Ramo returned from the Netherlands to his hometown of Darbasiyah to start a business.
Darbasiyah is home to fertile agriculture land, and farming has become a main source of livelihood for its inhabitants.
Ramo saw a unique chance to start a fodder business thanks to the relative security and stability enjoyed under the rule of the SDF and other Kurdish forces.
He buys wheat and barley and other products from the local farmers, turns them into fodder and resells it to livestock farmers.
His business grew hiring workers, mechanics, and guards from Raqqa and other regions of Syria. Now that Turkey has invaded, his workers and factory guards have left.
"Before the Turkish invasion started, one of my guards called me from Raqqa, telling me he had left with his family, fearing that he might be caught up in war," Rostam said.
"My eyes cannot bear the image of an empty, idle mill which was a thriving business only [a few] days ago," he added.
Ramo sold what he could in the past couple of weeks, but dust-covered sacks of wheat, barley and corn lie unused. "My mill was a thriving business not only for my family, but also for the town" Ramo said. "I would buy products from the locals farmers, turn it into fodder and sell it to livestock famers, stimulating the whole local economy here."
But now as his mill lays idle, "the entire local economy is impacted. Farmers don't get to sell their products, livestock owners can't buy fodder, and as a result it has a chain effect on diary and meat prices" says Ramo.
"It is true that there is no war right now, but we are in a state of war and now only essential items are sold and bought in the market,” he said.
"You can only buy things like bread and vegetable in the market, you cannot even find shoes or sugar,” he added.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced from their homes since Turkey launched its military operation in northern Syria on October 9.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Damascus-ally Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in Sochi on Tuesday to take control over the border between Turkey and Kurdish areas of northern Syria. Their agreement demands that Kurdish forces withdraw 30 kilometres from the border and that joint Turkish-Russian forces will patrol a 10-kilometre deep stretch of the border.
Human rights monitors have slammed Turkey's recent actions. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both released reports stating Ankara had forcibly returned refugees to active conflict zones and warned that Turkey's plan for northern Syria constitutes a violation of international law.
Kurds accuse Turkey of planning to carry out ethnic cleansing and demographic change, uprooting the Kurdish population from their homes, and pushing them away from the border to make way for refugees who come from other parts of Syria.
Originally from Kobane, Mohammed Isso now sells his wheat and barley for 25 Syrian pounds, down from its original value of 100 pounds before Turkey started its invasion campaign of northeastern Syria on October 9, which has received widespread condemnation from the international community.
Isso is worried that Turkish backed groups, who are now in Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain), less than a 30 minute-drive from his town, will loot his business if they reach Darbasiyah.
"We have lost confidence. There will be no stability. If the Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF] withdraw from this area, the Turkish-backed groups will have an open space to do what they wish,” he said. “They will easily come and loot our products, because there will be no one to protect us and stop them."
"Turkish attacks have impacted my business and the economy of the region in general," Isso lamented. "The Turkish-backed groups loot people’s houses, so people are afraid and sell off their products for cheaper prices,” he added.
Despite selling his products at a reduced rate, Isso says he is struggling to find a buyer for his crops.
"We get some customers from the areas further south, 70-80 km from the border. They also know our situation,so they take advantage. They pay very little for our products, because they know we are not in a normal situation," he said
Turkey’s invasion 30 kilometers deep into Syrian's territory has not only impacted business in the designated “safe zone”, wanted by the Turkish state to resettle Syrian refugees from elsewhere in the country.
"There are talks about a 32 or 35 km safe zone. I can say this will impact on the farmers up to 70km [away]. We cannot provide for their needs anymore," he cautioned.
The arrival of the Islamic State group (ISIS) in his hometown of Kobane, and the current Turkish operation in northeast Syria has prevented Isso from running his business as usual.
"Before I was displaced from Kobane, my business was doing very well," said Isso. "When ISIS attacked Kobane, we left for Darbasiyah."
"Most of our commodities were looted there [in Kobane]. My house was destroyed, so we had no choice but to start a new business here," Isso said. "I started a mill here. My business grew here. But now for yet another time, another group under a different name, but with the same mentality, and with the support of a state power is threatening my business."
Isso is not the only local businessman feeling the strain, however.
A few years ago, Rostam Ramo returned from the Netherlands to his hometown of Darbasiyah to start a business.
Darbasiyah is home to fertile agriculture land, and farming has become a main source of livelihood for its inhabitants.
Ramo saw a unique chance to start a fodder business thanks to the relative security and stability enjoyed under the rule of the SDF and other Kurdish forces.
He buys wheat and barley and other products from the local farmers, turns them into fodder and resells it to livestock farmers.
His business grew hiring workers, mechanics, and guards from Raqqa and other regions of Syria. Now that Turkey has invaded, his workers and factory guards have left.
"Before the Turkish invasion started, one of my guards called me from Raqqa, telling me he had left with his family, fearing that he might be caught up in war," Rostam said.
"My eyes cannot bear the image of an empty, idle mill which was a thriving business only [a few] days ago," he added.
Ramo sold what he could in the past couple of weeks, but dust-covered sacks of wheat, barley and corn lie unused. "My mill was a thriving business not only for my family, but also for the town" Ramo said. "I would buy products from the locals farmers, turn it into fodder and sell it to livestock famers, stimulating the whole local economy here."
But now as his mill lays idle, "the entire local economy is impacted. Farmers don't get to sell their products, livestock owners can't buy fodder, and as a result it has a chain effect on diary and meat prices" says Ramo.
"It is true that there is no war right now, but we are in a state of war and now only essential items are sold and bought in the market,” he said.
"You can only buy things like bread and vegetable in the market, you cannot even find shoes or sugar,” he added.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced from their homes since Turkey launched its military operation in northern Syria on October 9.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Damascus-ally Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in Sochi on Tuesday to take control over the border between Turkey and Kurdish areas of northern Syria. Their agreement demands that Kurdish forces withdraw 30 kilometres from the border and that joint Turkish-Russian forces will patrol a 10-kilometre deep stretch of the border.
Human rights monitors have slammed Turkey's recent actions. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both released reports stating Ankara had forcibly returned refugees to active conflict zones and warned that Turkey's plan for northern Syria constitutes a violation of international law.
Kurds accuse Turkey of planning to carry out ethnic cleansing and demographic change, uprooting the Kurdish population from their homes, and pushing them away from the border to make way for refugees who come from other parts of Syria.
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