Many returning Syrian artisans are struggling with financial challenges to re-establish their workshops, amid hopes for government support to help them regain their professional activity. These individuals were forced to leave their homes and workshops during the years of the revolution due to shelling and the practices they endured, which resulted in the loss of their livelihood and professional heritage.
In the same context, Samer Obeid is undertaking a new journey to reclaim his profession in furniture making in Saqba, in the countryside of Damascus, after he left with his family in 2018 under shelling, and lost his father during the years of the siege. Despite managing to re-establish his work in Turkey, Obeid faces challenges in securing a suitable location and equipping machinery, and he believes that reviving industrial activity requires providing easy loans and activating exhibitions.
For his part, Tariq al-Nabulsi returns to Damascus after years of absence in Turkey and Egypt, carrying expertise in bag manufacturing that he began in 1996. Al-Nabulsi points out that resuming his work requires providing the necessary capital, calling for the provision of easy loans and assistance for small projects to enable artisans to re-equip their workshops and contribute to revitalizing the local industry.
The head of the Artisans Union in Damascus, its countryside, and Quneitra, Muhammad Khaled Turkmani, indicated that the union is working to facilitate membership procedures and provide training opportunities, and to help artisans access financing through loans offered by Islamic banks guaranteed by the artisan's certificate without requiring real estate guarantees. The union also seeks to market products through exhibitions and the "Artisan's Workshop" online platform, while exploring the possibility of exemptions for accumulated taxes.
The director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, Ahab Zakkar, clarified that the authority is setting up free workshops and shared workspaces at the Damascus Vocational Training Center, in cooperation with UNIDO to develop training and financing programs, in addition to a project with the Islamic Development Bank to enable project owners to obtain financing through banks.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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