'You destroy, we rebuild': a builder's
life in war-torn Syria
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[July 04, 2017]
By Lisa Barrington
BEIRUT (Reuters) - When builder Abu Salem
repairs a shell hole in a house in rebel-held southern Syria, he knows
it might not be the last job he does on the structure.
"There is a chance the buildings will be hit again," he told Reuters.
"But in the short term people should be able to take refuge in their
homes."
Abu Salem heads a group of 12 construction workers who rebuild and patch
up buildings damaged by barrel bombs, air strikes and shelling in and
around Syria's Deraa city.
With no access to modern tools, and materials made expensive by the war,
Abu Salem's men break up buildings, mix concrete and carry loads by
hand. Despite the difficulties, they have kept their sense of humor.
Three months ago a video circulated widely on Syrian social media
showing masked men kneeling in formation, brandishing staffs and rising
to shouts of "God is Great".
At first glance it looks like a typical example of the belligerent
propaganda footage often posted by armed groups in the Syrian conflict.
But it isn't what it seems.
"In the name of God, I am Abu Salem al-Muhameed and I announce the
formation of a Concrete Pouring Brigade in the free areas!" Salem shouts
into the camera in an unmistakable parody of fired-up rebel leaders
fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
"If you destroy, by God we will rebuild!" he cries as his men wave
pickaxes and shovels and then descend into laughter.
After the You Destroy and We Rebuild Brigade's video appeared, people
began stopping Abu Salem in the street.
"They said: you are the best brigade formed since the start of the
Syrian crisis," he told Reuters by phone.
WAR ECONOMY
Syria's war has destroyed the national economy and fractured the country
into a patchwork of areas of control which bisect trading routes,
raising prices and causing local shortages of vital commodities.
But money can sometimes talk louder than political loyalty, and across
Syria goods still find their way across front lines, with heavy bribes
and taxes paid at checkpoints.
Abu Salem lives in a rebel-held area but sources his building materials
from government-controlled zones.
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Abu Salem, a builder and head of "You Destroy and We Rebuild
Brigade" consisting of a 12 construction workers, drinks tea with
his coworkers at a construction site, in the rebel-held town of
Saida, in Deraa province, Syria May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir
Cement secured from Damascus may cost about 30,000 Syrian pounds a
ton at source, he said, but arrives in Deraa at a price of 50,000 to
55,000 pounds after passing through all the checkpoints.
"By the time they get to us the price has become 50, 60 or sometimes
100 percent more than their real price," said Abu Salem, a
39-year-old father of five who was a builder before the war.
Abu Salem is passionate about his mission to reverse the
destruction, but laments he can't do as good a job as he'd like.
There are no engineers, modern construction techniques or cement
mixers. He and his colleagues reuse rubble and steel from destroyed
buildings and do everything by hand.
"The quality of building has changed significantly ... If there was
equipment we would be able to build faster and better. But these are
war conditions," said Abu Salem, who has had to vacate and repair
his own house because of air attacks.
Brigade members are paid in accordance with what customers can
afford, averaging the equivalent of a mere four or five U.S. dollars
a day.
"It's always just (enough for) food and water. There are no savings
because of the high prices," Abu Salem said.
Abu Salem said he and his men stood ready to help whichever parties
eventually agree to rebuild Syria. "But if someone comes with a
rocket or a weapon and says 'fight', I won't," he said.
(Editing by Andrew Roche)
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