ISLAMIC BIG DAY

In a large street market in Damascus, customers peruse stalls days ahead of Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

all-time low, while the official rate remains fixed at 700.

The devaluation has meant that a wide range of products, both imported and local, are now more expensive for war-weary Syrians already struggling to survive.

In a rare acknowledgement of the currency crisis, the central bank warned Tuesday it would clamp down on currency “manipulators” driving up the market exchange rate.

A coronavirus lockdown since March has aggravated the economic crisis, forcing businesses to temporarily close and leaving many daily wage earners without an income.

Malek Abul Atta has just reopened his small shop ahead of Eid al- Fitr, after closing for weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. “I memorize my clients’ faces and this year I have

noticed new ones ahead of the holidays,” he said.

For him and most of his customers, the flea market is the only “window for those who can’t afford new clothes”, the 52-year-old told AFP, as he arranged t-shirts and dresses on a rack by the side of the road.

“The average monthly salary of an employee is simply not enough.” In another shop in the market, Ghassan Tabbah said business had never been so bad.

“This is the worst holiday season we have seen in years,” said the merchant, who had initially hoped he would recover losses sustained during the coronavirus lockdown this week.

With the Syrian pound dropping to unprecedented lows, Tabbah’s business is just not reaping a profit.

The businessman said he is offering items of clothing for 500 Syrian pounds ( less than a dollar at the official rate) and yet no one is buying.

Before Syria’s economy crumbled, his customers included poor people searching for “anything to cover their bodies” to middle- class shoppers looking to buy “international brands” at a bargain, he said.

But now, “food is the main priority for everyone and clothes have become a secondary” luxury, Tabbah told AFP.

With business slowing to a near-halt, the cost of keeping up shop has become too high for the merchant, forcing him to put his store up for sale a few days ago.

He expects others will follow suit if the situation remains unchanged.