Ice cubes: new suffering in Moadamiyet al-Sham

Translation by Yusra Ahmed

(Eqtsad)- Ice cubes or ice piece, a new unfamiliar reason pushes people in Moadamiyet al-Sham to gather and clash with each other during the Holy Month of Ramadan. 

Mowafaq, 44, talked to Eqtsad about his suffering to get a piece of ice: “I spend almost two hours before Iftar amid heavy crowd of people around the ice shop, they are really awful two hours, words cannot give the complete description, as the hot weather pushes us to the ice seller, then people gather,   crowd and clash with each other, hand-fighting sometime takes place” 

Living conditions have slightly improved since the beginning of Ramadan, as some relief products entered the city, then many shipments of food, vegetables and bread were allowed in the city. 

The “ice crisis” is an ongoing scene during days of the Holy Month of Ramadan, it almost starts at five afternoon and continue till the Iftar time.

 

Marwan, 33, stopped buying ice due to heavy crowd. 

Maher, 34 said that he never bought any piece of ice because he finds it expensive: “the ice piece is sold for 1300-1700 Syrian pound which is expensive and I need that money to spend it on buying food like eggs, yogurt and vegetable.” 

Haj Abo tawfiq explained the “Ice crisis” was created due to two reasons, the first is shortage of this product in the city, and the second is lack of order, as people are not used to queue and stand in order to get their service.