Abu Omar, a displaced person from the eastern countryside of Homs, spends a lot of time in the market of the Rukban camp, thinking and doing calculations in his mind that enable him to bring breakfast at the lowest cost and in proportion to the money he carries.
Despite what Abu Omar does, his attempts often fail, “this is the case of many,” telling us that the average need of a family like his family of five, at a minimum, according to him, is not commensurate with the average per capita income of less than ten thousand pounds per day, in addition to the high cost of food and supplies with the advent of the holy month.
Abu Omar says that the manufacture of the simplest meal such as “mafraka”, and without appetizers, salad or fattoush, you need to buy a kilo and a half of potatoes for six thousand pounds, and five eggs for three thousand pounds, as you have to pay nine thousand pounds except for what you will put at home of oil, onions, coriander, cumin, and kerosene for tigers.
The rise in prices, reinforced by the continued siege and the control of smugglers, prevented the presence of hearty meals and main dishes on the tables of the Rukbanis, and created habits that those we spoke with called “walking the situation”, which Syrians were not familiar with in their Ramadan previously.
Abu Omar says that he resorted to canned food to break the daily routine of the dish, and to silence his children who were fed up with the repetition of potatoes, meatless meals, chicken and appetizers on their Ramadan table, he tells us that he paid thirteen thousand pounds to buy a box of mortadella, a box of soft chickpeas and two bundles of bread, while the suhoor meal has become forgotten.
Maryam, who is displaced in the camp, says that her husband is a low-income person, which makes her look for less expensive meals, as the salad dish, which is always present on the table previously, which costs her fifteen thousand liras, was absent, and she replaced it with sheep’s milk, which has become a partner for most of her dishes, as she buys half a kilo a day for four thousand liras.
Abu Khader, the owner of a vegetable shop and a milk seller, talks about a noticeable increase in the quantities of milk sold, especially since it enters into several cooks, and its presence on the table has increased, and it is “the cooking shawl today, and helps children to get full,” according to what one of the parents told Abu Khader, in return, vegetables are sold in small quantities and at high prices, such as tomatoes at five thousand pounds, cucumbers and lettuce at the same price, and eggplants at five thousand five hundred pounds.
Abu Khader does not call out with his voice to attract the attention of passers-by in the Rukban market about its greenery, most people pay attention to the price without caring about the quality and shape, others were pushed by shame to send their children, they buy tomatoes and other vegetables “with one and two grains”, after they ask about their price and like them.
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