Reporting by Abdul Karim Ayoub; Translation by Yusra Ahmed
(Eqtsad)- The North countryside of Homs is considered one of the most sources of U.S Dollar for the Central bank in Syria, almost USD 30 thousand go to regime-controlled areas in Hama city daily to be exchanged into Syria pounds and returned to opposition’s areas.
Dollars are spent in different ways, but most of them end up in the central bank.
Abdullah Ayoub, money dealer, told Eqtsad: “our Dollars go to the central bank whatever we do, we need the Syrian pound and they need the Dollar.”
The North countryside of Homs has been under hard siege for more than 4 years, which affected the amount of Syrian pounds enter the opposition-held areas where the only source is government’s employees salaries or selling some harvests.
The Dollar on the other hand enters in high amount through the different opposition’s institutions and relief organisations, besides Dollars with people who had exchanged their Syrian pounds into Dollars in the beginning of Syrian crisis, according to Abo Ibrahim, a resident of Rastan.
The exchange rate of U.S Dollar against the Syrian pound is SYP 20 lower in North countryside of Homs, compared to Hama, therefore, traders in Homs gain the difference in exchange rate when they do the exchange in Hama, while traders in Hama obtain the Dollars.
In the beginning of this month of June, the exchange rate of U.S Dollar had witnessed huge fluctuation, according to Loay Dehaik, owner of money exchange office, who added that everyone had exchanged Dollars on his own price.
Dehaik explained that unprecedented fluctuation by the dramatic drop of the Dollar rate in one day, from SYP 650 to SYP 450, leading to panic among traders.
Amid the siege, trading in money is very dangerous job, as the trader need to move through barriers carrying thousands of Dollars from Homs to Hama, and millions of Syrian pound in their way back, where they are subject to arrest or abduction.
In Rastan people always tell the story of a man who work to Sabsabi, the biggest money trader in the area, who went missing while he was carrying dozens of thousands of Dollars and millions of Syrian pounds, many think that he was arrested at the barrier of Taqsis near Hama city.
"Necessity is the mother of invention", well known say that inspired money dealers in North countryside of Homs to find tricks to minimise chance of being arrested or risk themselves.
One of the tricks is that the money dealer pays for the wholesale trader in Hama in Syrian pound on behalf of the wholesale traders in North countryside of Homs, when the deal finishes, the wholesale trader return the Syrian pounds to the money trader, in this way, money dealers minimise chances of physically carrying money.
Moreover, trading money has spread and no longer restricted to offices of money exchange, as malls, fuel stores, jewelleries an gold shops, clothes shops, even grocery shops trade in money, but most of them work for few big money trading offices.
“I buy and sell Dollars for a money exchange office for an agreed bonus, which brings me good income with less risk”, Mohammed Mansoor, the grocery owner, told Eqtsad.
(Eqtsad)- The North countryside of Homs is considered one of the most sources of U.S Dollar for the Central bank in Syria, almost USD 30 thousand go to regime-controlled areas in Hama city daily to be exchanged into Syria pounds and returned to opposition’s areas.
Dollars are spent in different ways, but most of them end up in the central bank.
Abdullah Ayoub, money dealer, told Eqtsad: “our Dollars go to the central bank whatever we do, we need the Syrian pound and they need the Dollar.”
The North countryside of Homs has been under hard siege for more than 4 years, which affected the amount of Syrian pounds enter the opposition-held areas where the only source is government’s employees salaries or selling some harvests.
The Dollar on the other hand enters in high amount through the different opposition’s institutions and relief organisations, besides Dollars with people who had exchanged their Syrian pounds into Dollars in the beginning of Syrian crisis, according to Abo Ibrahim, a resident of Rastan.
The exchange rate of U.S Dollar against the Syrian pound is SYP 20 lower in North countryside of Homs, compared to Hama, therefore, traders in Homs gain the difference in exchange rate when they do the exchange in Hama, while traders in Hama obtain the Dollars.
In the beginning of this month of June, the exchange rate of U.S Dollar had witnessed huge fluctuation, according to Loay Dehaik, owner of money exchange office, who added that everyone had exchanged Dollars on his own price.
Dehaik explained that unprecedented fluctuation by the dramatic drop of the Dollar rate in one day, from SYP 650 to SYP 450, leading to panic among traders.
Amid the siege, trading in money is very dangerous job, as the trader need to move through barriers carrying thousands of Dollars from Homs to Hama, and millions of Syrian pound in their way back, where they are subject to arrest or abduction.
In Rastan people always tell the story of a man who work to Sabsabi, the biggest money trader in the area, who went missing while he was carrying dozens of thousands of Dollars and millions of Syrian pounds, many think that he was arrested at the barrier of Taqsis near Hama city.
"Necessity is the mother of invention", well known say that inspired money dealers in North countryside of Homs to find tricks to minimise chance of being arrested or risk themselves.
One of the tricks is that the money dealer pays for the wholesale trader in Hama in Syrian pound on behalf of the wholesale traders in North countryside of Homs, when the deal finishes, the wholesale trader return the Syrian pounds to the money trader, in this way, money dealers minimise chances of physically carrying money.
Moreover, trading money has spread and no longer restricted to offices of money exchange, as malls, fuel stores, jewelleries an gold shops, clothes shops, even grocery shops trade in money, but most of them work for few big money trading offices.
“I buy and sell Dollars for a money exchange office for an agreed bonus, which brings me good income with less risk”, Mohammed Mansoor, the grocery owner, told Eqtsad.
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