Photo essay

Syria’s war shatters a village economy

A portrait of Atmeh, abutting the northern border, where farmers say they’d be lucky to get 50 cents for olives they’re unable to export

A Syrian man on a motorbike negotiates the price of fuel with a street vendor in the Syrian village of Atmeh, near the Turkish border (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra)
A Syrian man on a motorbike negotiates the price of fuel with a street vendor in the Syrian village of Atmeh, near the Turkish border (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra)

ATMEH, Syria (AP) — The civil war raging through Syria has battered much of the country’s economy, making life harder for impoverished Syrians who struggled even before the fighting broke out.

The struggles are stark even in places that have been spared large-scale destruction. One such place is Atmeh, a village abutting Syria’s northern border with Turkey.

A Syrian man walks behind two containers full of diesel, left, and gasoline, right, for sale in the street in the Syrian village of Atmeh, near the Turkish border with Syria. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A Syrian man walks behind two containers full of diesel, left, and gasoline, right, for sale in the street in the Syrian village of Atmeh, near the Turkish border with Syria. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

For generations, Atmeh’s farmers have lived off their olive harvests. But this year, they say the war has drastically limited their access to markets and cut in half the prices they can expect for their products.

Assuming they find buyers, the farmers say they would be lucky to sell a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of green olives — which used to go for a dollar — for just 50 cents. The fighting prevents them from marketing their products in most of Syria, and Turkish traders across the border say they can’t import the olives anymore.”At the moment we are lost,” said farmer Mohammed Kadur Hassan, 63. “We don’t know what to do with the extra (olive) oil.”

A Syrian man fills a plastic container with diesel fuel from a street vendor in the Syrian village of Atmeh. (photo credit: AP)
A Syrian man fills a plastic container with diesel fuel from a street vendor in the Syrian village of Atmeh. (photo credit: AP)

The war has hit other sectors as well. Petrol products are scarce since Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government stopped distributing them to areas controlled by rebels seeking to topple his regime.

This leaves locals at the mercy of traders who truck gas in from other regions at a substantial hike in prices.

Fighting for months in and around the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s main economic and commercial hub, has crippled commerce in the surrounding areas by making it difficult for merchants to buy goods for their stores.

In this Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012 photo, a Syrian man fuels his car with diesel displayed for sale in the Syrian village of Atmeh. (photo credit: AP)
In this Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012 photo, a Syrian man fuels his car with diesel displayed for sale in the Syrian village of Atmeh. (photo credit: AP)

A kilogram of sugar, which used to cost about 25 cents, now costs three to four times as much, residents say.

Few see a swift end to the war that has killed more than 36,000 people since March 2011, according to anti-regime activists.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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