{"id":10827,"date":"2023-06-11T17:56:42","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T22:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whia.us\/?p=10827"},"modified":"2023-06-11T17:56:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-11T22:56:42","slug":"syrians-turn-plastic-waste-into-rugs-to-make-a-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/10827\/","title":{"rendered":"Syrians turn plastic waste into rugs to make a living"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In rebel-held Syria, recycling is rarely an environmental impulse but rather a grim lifeline for needy residents looking for work or items they otherwise could not afford.<\/p>\n

Braving the stench, insects and risk of disease, 39-year-old Behlal hacks through the rubbish pile with a scythe and his bare hands.<\/p>\n

He and two of his six children earn a living sifting through the refuse in Idlib province’s village of Hezreh, earning $7 to $10 a week each.<\/p>\n

“It’s tiring… but what can we do, we have to put up with this hard lab our labor,” said Behlal, who was displaced from neighboring Aleppo province during Syria’s civil war.<\/p>\n

“Thank God, at least we have work with the trash,” he added.<\/p>\n

Behlal was shot in the leg during fighting and has had trouble finding employment.<\/p>\n

Hunched over to collect pieces of plastic or metal, he throws everything into a bag to sell to a nearby scrap facility.<\/p>\n

Syria’s conflict has killed more than 500,000 people, and around half of the country’s pre-war population has been forced from their homes since fighting broke out in 2011.<\/p>\n

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The mats have become a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings<\/span>\u00a9\u00a0Aaref WATAD<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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More than four million people, most of them dependent on aid, live in areas controlled by jihadists and Turkish-backed groups in Syria’s north and northwest.<\/p>\n

Farhan Sleiman, 29, is among those who handle the material brought in from the landfill.<\/p>\n

“We buy plastic from roaming trash-picker trucks and children,” said Sleiman, originally from Homs province.<\/p>\n

He expressed fear of the risk of contracting “cholera or chronic illnesses” from working with the rubbish.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in northern Idlib province, workers at a factory making mats and rugs churn out brightly coloured plastic thread while large weaving machines click and clack.<\/p>\n

Factory owner Khaled Rashu, 34, says rug-making is a family tradition.<\/p>\n

“We have more than 30 employees” at the factory, he boasted as a significant feat in a region where many are jobless.<\/p>\n

Large mats featuring geometric designs, some made with striking red or purple plastic thread, emerge from the weaving machines and are stacked into piles.<\/p>\n

Shop owner Mohammed al-Qassem, 30, is among those selling the mats, which he says are a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings.<\/p>\n

The mats made from recycled plastic cost between $5 and $15, while traditional Persian-style rugs are around $100.<\/p>\n

“In summer, demand for plastic mats increases” because they retain less heat, Qassem said from his shop in Maaret Masrin, a town in Idlib province.<\/p>\n

But “they can also be used in winter and are less costly”, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mats made from recycled plastic cost between $5 and $15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[498,142,131,199,128],"tags":[],"series":[1027],"coauthors":[238],"class_list":["post-10827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bawabet-aliraq-en","category-most-important-topics-en","category-pentagon-en","category-top-stories","category-updates-en","series-whia-synergy"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/mats-e1686524192907.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/feed\/podcast\/whia-synergy","embedCode":"

Syrians turn plastic waste into rugs to make a living<\/a><\/blockquote>