Syria’s textile industry was once one of the country’s economic bright spots, with its products coveted throughout the region and beyond.“It should be in Europe’s interest to facilitate trade, because Syrian workers without jobs now want to leave to Europe,” he said.“We had 100 employees, today only 30 of them are still working for us,” said Abu Dahab, who was one of around 100 Syrian textile manufacturers at a trade fair set up in Beirut.
I had 220 machines before, now I only have 10,” said Alaa Aldeen Maki, owner of Dream Girl Lingerie, an Aleppo-based business.“Seventy per cent of (textile) factories were closed or destroyed by the war,” said Feras Taki Eddine, president of the Syrian Textile Exporters Association, next to a mannequin in black underwear and stockings.“They started at six in the morning, worked until 11, then slept. “Some of the machines were destroyed and some were stolen.When the war arrived in Aleppo in mid-2012, eventually dividing the city between government control in the west and rebel control in the east, some businesses relocated to small workshops in the city’s safer areas.”But while regional buyers continue to purchase Syrian textiles, clients from further afield were nowhere to be seen.Several vendors said Custom Punching letter Signs Manufacturers they were committed to staying open, ensuring jobs for Syrians and the industry’s survival.Abu Dahab’s family once owned a factory in Harasta, a Damascus suburb ravaged by fighting between rebels and the regime.“Most of my employees emigrated because of the situation and some because they were forced to join the army for military service,” he said.
3 billion a year, according to the Syrian Economic Forum think-tank.Manufacturers blame shrinking exports in part on sanctions slapped on Syria after the government began its crackdown on dissent following anti-government protests five years ago.“I had 72 workers sleeping at the factory” at one point, he said at his stall, surrounded by bras of all hues and comfortable cotton sleepwear.“Buyers used to come from all around the world but the war has scared them and now very few come to Syria,” said Abu Dahab, surrounded by products made in a small workshop in Damascus.The conflict that followed has killed over 260,000 people and displaced more than half of Syria’s population, with many joining a wave of refugees seeking safety in Europe since 2015.Before Syria’s conflict began, textiles represented some 63 per cent of the industrial sector’s total production. It’s better than Turkish or Chinese merchandise and almost competitive price-wise,” he said.Others, based in the relative safety of Damascus, have done whatever they can to survive.Daadush Lingerie once exported 70 per cent of its products to Europe, but its owner said only 10 per cent now goes there.
At a stall in a Beirut exhibition hall, Syrian businesswoman Reem Abu Dahab displays her workshop’s lacy pink and white nightgowns, hoping to attract increasingly elusive buyers.But the sector, like the economy in general, has been devastated by the war that erupted in March 2011, with factories destroyed, workers displaced and sanctions hampering trade.And the rising costs of production, difficult trading environment and shrinking workforce, all mean competitors from Turkey and China are increasingly able to pinch clients from Syria’s textile industry. The migrant crisis and outflow to Europe have also depleted its workforce.The sector was worth 12 per cent of GDP, employed a fifth of the workforce and exports netted around $3. They would only go home to their families from Thursday night to Saturday morning.But it was completely destroyed in the war, and now the business is run out of a small workshop in the capital. Muhanad Daadush owns the country’s biggest lingerie and pyjama factory, located in the capital..“I like how Syrian manufacturers create a unique mix between Eastern and European styles.
But by 2014, private sector textile exports had fallen by half, with the industry particularly affected by fighting in Aleppo city, the country’s former commercial hub and home to many textile factories. Thieves took them to Turkey.In addition, many businesses lost machines and employees.Taki Eddine said Europe should be bolstering trade with Syria to keep citizens at work in their home country.”For all its challenges, Syria’s textile industry continues to enjoy a reputation of quality in the region, and the Beirut fair attracted some 500 buyers, mostly from West Asia.“It’s important for us to show that Syrian industry is still alive,” said Taki Eddine. Fadi Baha was in town from Egypt, where he owns a chain of stores. He still employs 450 people, many of who sleep in the factory during upticks in violence.“I buy Syrian textiles because of their quality
