A New Co-operative Shop Opens in Afrin

This is a translation of an Arabic article that first appeared on Hawar News on 19 September, 2017

Six people in Qestel Xidir village in the area of Bulbul have opened a co-operative society in co-ordination with the Centre for Economic Development. The shop will satisfy people’s needs for food and cleaning products in the surrounding villages. Each participant is paying 3,000 SYP [Syrian Pounds], and the shop’s rent is 5,000 SYP per month.

Two people are working in the shop, one woman and an elderly man who both live in the village. The shop opens at 7:00 am and shuts at 10:00 pm.

The attendees of the inauguration ceremony included administrators of the Centre of Economic Development, representatives of the Movement for A Democratic Society (Tevgera Civaka Demokratik, TEV-DEM), members of Kongreya Star and many other people from the village.

Thuraya Mustafa, Co-chair of the Movement for a Democratic Society said in her speech, “Our hope is to strengthen the ties between the people of the region through their participation in cooperative societies, and also to make it easier for people to get food products at lower prices.”

At the end of the speech people started dancing dabke, and singing folk and revolutionary songs.