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Jamil Barakat says it has never been easy to sustain living in the Idlib village in northwestern Syria. But the crisis in the adjacent Turkish lira and rising inflation have turned his small business into a nightmare.
“Product prices change every day, and customers are unbelievable,” Barakat told Al Jazeera. “And, of course, you have to consider rental and transportation costs.”
The value of the Turkish lira against the U.S. dollar has been a record high this week as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan advocates drastic cuts in interest rates. Last year, the Turkish currency lost about 40 percent of its value, and inflation is approaching 20 percent.
Turkey’s fiscal crisis has spread to the opposition-held Idlib in neighboring Syria, which took over the Turkish currency more than a year ago. About 4.4 million people live in Idlebe, about half of whom are displaced.
“It’s not only a monetary connection to Turkey, it’s also a trade connection,” Karam Shaar, director of research at the Syrian Think Tank’s Center for Operations and Policy, told Al Jazeera. “Bab al-Hawa, The most significant border crossing with Turkey, is effectively controlled by HTS [Hayet Tahrir al-Sham]”.
“Everything here is imported,” Barakat says, pointing to all his fruits and vegetables. “Do we have any orchards or trees here?”
Mohammad al-Ahmad is also struggling to keep his bakery in business as flour and fuel prices rise, bringing everything from Turkey.
“At this rate, it will cost three lira ($ 0.24) to produce a batch of bread, but we have no other choice but to continue selling it at 2.5,” says al-Ahmad. “We’ll have to work on the street, but how will people pay otherwise?”
Al-Ahmad says wheat and fuel costs are rising internationally, so Turkey’s fiscal crisis is an additional burden for him and a dozen workers. “I mean you see in Lebanon that they also have a wheat and fuel crisis.”
Shaar says the Syrians in Idlib will fight back on price shocks, mainly because it relies on international aid to survive its weak economy.
“When the Turkish currency depreciates, prices adjust quickly,” he explained. “But because wages are sticky and they need more time to adjust, people can no longer afford the goods.”
Many people are borrowing money to buy food or are asking store owners like Farid Mahloul to return it later.
“It’s something new every day, the pound goes up and down and it’s hard to value things properly,” Mahloul told Al Jazeera. “When customers can’t return to us on time, we work at a higher loss because the lira’s value continues to fall.”
‘So hard’
Mahloul says he is doing everything he can to keep the small grocery store in Idlib in business. “It’s so hard.”
The family is being hit hard. Many who already work long hours for little money cannot afford the basic necessities of survival.
Fakhri Bitar fled war-torn Homs to Idlib eight years ago, and the taxi driver is unbelievable with the decline in the value of what he earns. “You end up working for your income, and once the lira suddenly goes up,” he told Al Jazeera. “Everything you worked on is spent almost entirely on rent.”
Bitar says it has had to cut costs on basic goods for its three children, such as milk and diapers. “Prices for diapers have doubled, so we’ve bought poor quality ones that give my children skin irritation,” she says.
Going forward, the Syrians of Idleb are more nervous than ever this winter.
The crisis of the Turkish lira next door and the rise in inflation are making Idlebe’s life hard [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]Neighbors tell Al Jazeera that support for the winter has dropped significantly, and that the crisis of the Turkish lira could be a decisive blow.
Barakat has not been able to buy heating fuel this winter. His income alone is not enough for other expenses, now more affordable.
“We sold my wife’s engagement ring to pay for it this month,” she says as she rearranges her products. “So we couldn’t buy anything for the winter because the fuel was too expensive.”
But he says his burdens are much smaller than others.
“I don’t have children, thank God,” she says with a laugh.
But Bitar says she fears for her children’s health because her family is anticipating a cold winter season.
“We still haven’t even thought about putting on a heater,” says the taxi driver. “My kids are already getting sick because of the cold weather, and I can’t get proper treatment.”
Kareem Chehayebe reported from Beirut, Lebanon. Ali Haj Suleiman reported from Idlib in Syria
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