(Translation by Yusra Ahmed)
(EQTSAD)- It has become familiar to see adverts on social media offering fake and forged Syrian official documents like passports, driving licenses, university certificates, birth certificate and others, as many Syrians left the country without any document and discovered later their need to them. Even many adverts provide phone numbers and encouraging costs, time and quality.
The question now who are those forgers, and how effective and valid those forged documents, and are Syrians able to get benefits of them or they are just another way to blackmail Syrians and use their desperation from decent life.
Iyad, an activist and was a first-hand victim of fake document talked to Zaman al-Wasl about the experience he went through it twice, first time was because of need, and the other for curiosity.
“when I left Syria in 2012 and went to Jordan, I had had only my ID card, when I had an opportunity to travel, I was advised to contact someone who demanded $3000 for a fake Syrian passport, but I was not able to afford that huge amount of money, and I had another offer for 50 Thousand Syrian pounds. But luckily I did not paid them or lost them but I lost their value," Iyad detailed.
Iyad, carried on detailing: “Another time I needed a driving license and a friend connected me with a forger who promised me to do it for free. Few days later, I received a Syrian driving license very similar to the original one, and my friend told me that source of the documents were obtained from the some opposition’s parties when they seized Syrian official buildings and documents. The surprise was when I discovered that the forger offers all sort of documents for very low prices and he gave me the driving license for free in order to recommend him for other people.”
Iyad, the activist in northern Syria told Zaman al-Wasl that forgery has become familiar and acceptable and users do not feel it risky or dangerous practice, and each day they discover new document they can forge. Even they sometime offer to forge simple Turkish documents.
The Activist mentioned that the Free Syrian Army had seized amount of empty original documents with stamps, therefore they cannot be distinguished from the original ones, except the problem that they do not have serial numbers, which make them easy to be known if they were used in regime’s areas and airports.
Iyad mentioned that many forgers have connections to many dealers in Turkey who catch desperate people and blackmail them to provide them with documents they need, and costs sometimes reach to hundreds of dollars depending on the desperation and need of the victim. (Eqtsad is Zaman al-Wasl's fellow business newspaper)
(EQTSAD)- It has become familiar to see adverts on social media offering fake and forged Syrian official documents like passports, driving licenses, university certificates, birth certificate and others, as many Syrians left the country without any document and discovered later their need to them. Even many adverts provide phone numbers and encouraging costs, time and quality.
The question now who are those forgers, and how effective and valid those forged documents, and are Syrians able to get benefits of them or they are just another way to blackmail Syrians and use their desperation from decent life.
Iyad, an activist and was a first-hand victim of fake document talked to Zaman al-Wasl about the experience he went through it twice, first time was because of need, and the other for curiosity.
“when I left Syria in 2012 and went to Jordan, I had had only my ID card, when I had an opportunity to travel, I was advised to contact someone who demanded $3000 for a fake Syrian passport, but I was not able to afford that huge amount of money, and I had another offer for 50 Thousand Syrian pounds. But luckily I did not paid them or lost them but I lost their value," Iyad detailed.
Iyad, carried on detailing: “Another time I needed a driving license and a friend connected me with a forger who promised me to do it for free. Few days later, I received a Syrian driving license very similar to the original one, and my friend told me that source of the documents were obtained from the some opposition’s parties when they seized Syrian official buildings and documents. The surprise was when I discovered that the forger offers all sort of documents for very low prices and he gave me the driving license for free in order to recommend him for other people.”
Iyad, the activist in northern Syria told Zaman al-Wasl that forgery has become familiar and acceptable and users do not feel it risky or dangerous practice, and each day they discover new document they can forge. Even they sometime offer to forge simple Turkish documents.
The Activist mentioned that the Free Syrian Army had seized amount of empty original documents with stamps, therefore they cannot be distinguished from the original ones, except the problem that they do not have serial numbers, which make them easy to be known if they were used in regime’s areas and airports.
Iyad mentioned that many forgers have connections to many dealers in Turkey who catch desperate people and blackmail them to provide them with documents they need, and costs sometimes reach to hundreds of dollars depending on the desperation and need of the victim. (Eqtsad is Zaman al-Wasl's fellow business newspaper)
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