“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 tradesman. I am 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 do trade on various kind of food products, all kind 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, the 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.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 27 December 2012.
