Al Hasaka – Majid Al Salem
68-year-old Jalal al-Dahwi, from northeastern Hasakah, is famous for collecting rare antique rosaries and old coins.
Al-Dahwi in the town of al-Qahtaniyah receives some old rosaries as gifts, especially from Arab Gulf countries. He has a prized collection, which he keeps in a “bag” with a secret number. Some of them are worth around US$100. dollar.
When he faces financial difficulties, he resorts to a bag of rosary beads and coins, which he reduces in each financial emergency.
Aldawi said Enab Baladi Most of his daughter’s birth expenses came from selling silver embroidered rosaries worth about US$50.
What makes him sad is that he can’t take back the old rosaries and coins he sells, or buy them for others because they are expensive in light of their poor living conditions.
It’s an expensive hobby, especially when talking about old and precious things, but other priorities in life take precedence, like ensuring day-to-day needs, Ardhawi said. Enab Baladi.
He knows all the shops and stalls that sell rosary beads, coins, and old silver rings that dot the Kamisili market and other towns in the province, and their owners know him, but he visits them frequently. The goal was to sell, not to buy, as he had done before.
A career of fun and good fortune
Walid Al Hussein, 29, used to work as a pharmaceutical salesman. Due to his work, he travels daily to most towns in the province such as Al Jawadiya, Al-Malikiya, Rumeiran, Al-Yarubiya and Al-Darbasiyah.
Al-Hussein said that part of his job is visiting stalls and shops selling rosaries and antiques. Enab Baladieven a certain percentage, became an intermediary to purchase certain things for people living outside the country.
Over time, Al-Hussein devoted himself entirely to this profession, benefiting from his market experience and ability to bring collectibles from one city and sell them in another.
Al Hussein thinks the job is fun, but it also depends on luck. Sometimes he succeeds in “a deal that made a profit equivalent to a month’s salary at his previous job in one day,” and sometimes less, but with little loss, he added.
Al-Hussein is not satisfied with sales in stores and stalls. Social because he found a large market of amateurs from all over the world in the media professional group.
Al-Hussein shows these groups what he has purchased and sometimes conducts online transactions, but finds it difficult to receive prices for the goods if the buyer lives outside Syria.
Alaa Al-Hamdush, 45, owner of a stall that sells rosaries and old coins, has spent 15 years in this profession. He reaches 1 million Syrian pounds.
On the buying and selling movement, Al-Hamdoush said the buying and selling movement was less and not as much as it used to be because people were “hungry”, adding that “buying such things has become a luxury”.
Sometimes Al Hamdoush goes a week without selling anything, but he’s making up for the loss with success elsewhere. Nonetheless, working at a street stall helps him keep his job, as it doesn’t burden him with paying rent or taxes.
Residents of Al-Hasakah Governorate suffer from high cost of living and low value of monthly salaries and pensions in the private and public sectors, leading many to work independently.
On October 30, the Kurdish-led Syrian Autonomous Authority in Northeast Syria (AANES) added an additional 100,000 Syrian pounds (approximately US$17) to raise the monthly wages of workers in the areas of influence.
Borough workers’ salaries start at a teacher’s salary of 260,000 Syrian pounds (US$42) and rise gradually depending on the institution they work for, the position they hold, or the certificates they hold. Until you reach 900,000 Syrian pounds (approximately US$155).
Markets in northeastern Syria have seen waves of high prices for most basic commodities, mainly legumes, grains, vegetable oils, and some types of imported canned products, and are common among residents. dissatisfaction arises.
A sector without accountability
According to Walid al-Hussein, old coins on the market are divided into two parts, some of which are considered antiques and young people trade to avoid legal accountability. We are afraid and limit our trading to fewer coins. 100 years old.
As for gemstone rosaries, most are imported from Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and the Arab Gulf countries.
Among these stone types are amber, turquoise and coke, which are priced higher due to the elaborate work. Rosary factories, on the other hand, are located in Damascus and Aleppo, but their production relies on commercial aspects, and although they are cheap, they do not attract amateurs.
According to al-Hussein, there are no organizations or institutions in the province that regulate the sector, instead relying on experienced people whom merchants rely on to value their valuable commodities.
