“Maha” is accustomed to start the day having coffee with her two neighbors who become her second family .They love to drink coffee chatting and telling stories where they sometimes laugh while in another get sad for the crisis the country is going through. However, they smile again despite pain and grieve attempting in their meetings to creat methods and new ways in order to improve the miserable sustenance they are living.
Syrian women creativity has been revealed in the years of wars to prove to the whole world that despotism and tyranny can never damped their will and perseverance to live on and to protect their families; they were excellent in house keeping and in taking advantage of everything even of worthless objects in order to recycle it to use it again. Circumstances during war have made more than 80 percent of population in Syria beyond proverty line where the high cost of living and unemployment high rate due to lack of jobs oppertunities since most industrial and service facilities have been targeted and becoming out of order; there must be an individuals efforts to recreat some careers in an attempt to look for substitute sources to earn money.
Maha has got married after liberating Idlib city last year where she was forced to part from her parents because her husband had decided to seek asylum in Germany. She is not lonely since she has got her two neighbors who help her a lot and stand by her. They decided to creat from what remain of candles waxworks to form them again in a beautiful artistic ways in order to find some thing good to do in their free time and financially make use of them selling them later.
Maha competes with her two neighbors in waxworking.To explain the way to do them she said: ” I ask my neighbors and relativesto to keep what remains of candles since many people use them in lightening due to electricity cut; where the idea came to my mind. I melt white wax in glasses then mix it with Pigment according to what I need , after that I add some drops of odorous liquids to release nice smell once lightening . In old plastic toys or empty cola bottles I pour it inside to reshape it again. Somtimes I use a scarifier to give it the shape I want .Finally , I enfold it with some colorful ribbons to be eventullay an artistic piece many would like to have.”
Her neighbor laughed and added: ” her husband buys all our works to sell them in his shop of hardware, however he does not rightening between us cause he sells his wife’s works with higher prices..” , she smiled after saying this.
Despite the fact that her husband has a shop of hardware and Kitchen tools but the rise in their prices and the difficulty in bringing them from regime territory have made this business weak . Waxworks made by his wife are popular and wanted by his customers for their beautiful shape , suitable price and demandingly needed in every Syrian house.
Their houses turn to small factories, in which they creat and produce artistic works challenging their difficult reality with simple means and humble potentials ; life goes on and war must come to an end eventually, this is Maha’s and all the Syrian women’s wish particularly after that bloodshedding in all the Syrian territories. She made a red map of Syria and wrote on it : “Syria will get better and be the warm home for all of us”.
By Samah Khaled
Translated by Sabah Najem
#Syrian_Press_Center
Despite War.. Syrian Women of Endless Creativity
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