The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Closure of Semalka border crossing | Small factories and workshops suspend work in Aleppo, leaving thousands of workers unemployed

Aleppo province: Work in many small factories and sewing workshops and exporting goods from Aleppo have stopped after closure of Semalka border crossing linking the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration.

At the end of 2021, government of Kurdistan Region of Iraq closed Semalka crossing on the border with Syria. Semalka is one of the vital border crossings in north and east Syria and the main access for Syrian goods into the Iraqi markets.  After closure of the crossing, some textile and dressmaking factories in Aleppo city suspended their work because they were basically depending on the crossing to export their products to Iraqi markets. These factories were major sources of income for thousands of Syrian workers in several provinces, especially in Aleppo.

A lady known by her initials as F. A. told SOHR sources that she was living with her family: her husband, two married sons with their wives and three children in a nearly 50-square-metre house.

“Due to the closure of the border crossing  that links the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration, the small factories in Al-Sheikh Maqsoud and Al-Ashrafiyah districts halted their work and my sons lost their only sources of income,” she said.

The lady added, “my two sons have no enough money to buy formula for the babies or other basic essentials.”

She explained that since the closure the border crossing, most of the small dressmaking factories have stopped production after the exportation of products to Iraq have been suspended. It is worht noting that the woman’s sons were forced to join the ranks of military forces in north-east Syria.

On the other hand, a young man known by his initials as A. J. from Afrin city and living now in Aleppo told SOHR sources that he lost his job in one of the small clothing factories in Al-Sheikh Maqsoud  after suspension of exportation of goods to Iraq.

The young man points out that he is a father to five children, including a new-born baby, to whom he could not secure a pack of formula due the high prices. He also adds that after the closure of Semalka border crossing, it was even difficult for him to secure his family basic commodities.

He added that the workshop he worked for stopped production because the owner could not sell his products that were valued at thousands of US dollars, and asked the workers to stay at home until the border crossing reopened, so he can sell the products and pay their wages.

He also refers to the fact that the ban by the regime-bakced 4th Division and State Security Service on the entry of clothes and tools needed for making clothes is another reason behind halting the work of the clothing factories, noting that merchants pay large amounts of levies to bring in those tools which impacted the costs of production and doubled its prices.

The young man adds that the Iraqi merchants now prefer the Chinese clothes to the Syrian ones because of their cheaper prices and better quality.

It is worth noting that the closure of Semalka border crossing has impacted not only Aleppo province, but also all the areas under control of the Autonomous Administration in north and east of the country. This also leads to unwelcome repercussions, including shortage of food commodities and poor health and industrial services.