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After nearly 20
long months of conflict, many Syrians are now digging deep
into their pockets, with many having to sell their jewellery
-- including family heirlooms -- just to survive.
(AFP)
By AFP
Damascus
In a Damascus
jewelry shop, the customer’s
jaw drops when he hears what
he is being
offered for his gold
ring. Barely $100. “Can’t
you do any better?” he asks timidly before accepting the deal.
After nearly 20 long months of conflict, many Syrians are now digging deep
into their pockets, with many having to sell their jewelry
-- including family heirlooms -- just to survive.
The conflict between government troops and the rebels may have brought the economy to a stalemate, but the gold market is experiencing an unprecedented frenzy.
For those who have lost their livelihood
with the closing down or
destruction of their workplace,
selling off jewelry is an unwelcome but necessary option so they can feed
their families.
For the rich, the precious
metal represents a bulwark against the collapse of
the Syrian pound.
According to Sonia Khanji,
a member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, 30 percent of small
and medium enterprises in the country have now closed, throwing
roughly a quarter of the workforce out of a job.
In the jewelry souk of Hariqa
in the heart of the capital, one young woman tensely
discusses the price of an
enormous ring inherited from her grandmother.
“I’ll buy it for 55,000 Syrian pounds
($740) when you’ve
made up your mind,”
says the prospective buyer.
She goes on her way, convinced
that his offer is too
low.
“She’ll be
back,” he says, confidently. “It looks like
she needs the
cash.”
Long accustomed to stable prices
and currency, Syrians
have seen rampant inflation reduce
their purchasing power by
one third since the revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad broke out in
March 2011.
Damascus blames the country’s economic woes on sanctions imposed by
Europe and the United States, whose administrations
accuse the regime of conducting
a bloody crackdown on its
own people.
“The demand for jewelry
has declined significantly
over the past two years over the rising price of gold on the world market
and the weakening of the Syrian
pound” which has lost
half its value against the dollar, according
to jeweler Bassil Mdari.
Today, those who still have a steady income put their faith in gold.
“People prefer to buy
gold or sterling ounces rather
than trinkets,” Mdari says, adding
that people are hunkering
down for a protracted period
of unrest.
“People have lost faith
in the national currency. Whenever
new economic sanctions are announced,
I notice that the rich flock to buy gold. They believe that acquiring the yellow metal offers security,” says Michel, a jeweler.
Damascus industry professionals agree that the precious metal provides a form of savings that appreciates in times of political and economic uncertainty.
“To save money, people prefer
gold. They fear a rising dollar and the fall of
the Syrian pound, and gold is
easier to transport if we
need to leave quickly,” said Hisham, a goldsmith on Abed
Street in downtown Damascus.
He acknowledges that it is mostly
the upper and middle classes who
invest in gold, “as in most
countries in the world.”
The rise in price of gold
shows no signs of abating,
going up 265 Syrian
pounds ($3.60) per gram in the past week alone, government
daily Al-Thawra said on Sunday.
“Gold is on track
to reach new heights,”
Georges Sarji, the head
of a local jewelers’ association, was quoted as saying.
He blamed the price hikes on soaring international markets, but insisted that “the sales market is improving, despite the fact that Syrians continue to sell their gold.”
According to Sarji, more than 100 pounds in weight of
gold are now sold daily in Damascus -- $2.8
million dollars’ worth.
The price of an ounce of
gold finished the week at $1,739.04 on the international market.
Source: Syrians convert gold into cash to survive
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