When Remas fled Syria and took shelter in the Kawergosk refugee camp in Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), in 2016 with his wife and five children, he had only one certitude: baking pastries is not only his passion; it will help him support his family in exile.
Remas’ pastry skills were passed down to him and his brothers during their teenage years by their father, who learned them from his father. “It runs in the family,” he laughs.
His family’s life in Qamishli in Northeastern Syria was disrupted by conflict. In Iraq, Remas found safety, but his family struggled to adjust, from living in their own home to living in a camp and struggling to make ends meet.
Faced with financial challenges, he and his wife started a home business. “I started baking sweets at home. Simple ones, of course, as I did not have the ability to buy proper kitchen equipment’s like a gas stove,” he explains. “I could not even rent a place, but I was sure that one day, I would be able to have my own shop”. Over the years, as business grew, so did Remas’ shop. He now rents a shop a 10-minute walk from his home.
During Ramadan, the smell of fresh baked sweets whiff out from Remas’ shop at all hours of the day. In the morning, he prepares Maarouk – a fragrant brioche-like bread from Syria that is a must at Suhoor, the meal eaten before sunrise to prepare Muslims for a day of fasting. The rest of the day, he prepares sweets that customers prefer for Iftar, when families gather in the early evening to break their daily fast. “My favourite sweet to make is Baklava…” he says. “These sweets remind me of home.”
His small shop is overflowing with orders as Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, approaches. “I feel the blessing of Ramadan upon me. Business is doing very well.”
Remas is optimistic about the future. “One day,” he says with a smile, “we will have a bigger place, with room for all the sweets we dream of making.”
Currently, some 8,000 Syrian refugees live in the Kawergosk camp. Out of the 309,884 refugees and asylum-seekers in Iraq, 89.3 per cent are hosted in the KR-I. The majority of Syrian refugees live in urban areas, while some 33 per cent still live in nine refugee camps.
As we gather with our loved ones this Ramadan, let’s remember the refugees and displaced families who will be breaking their fast away from their homes and loved ones. Your support will help set a place for those who have endured unimaginable challenges, offering them hope, and making a lasting impact on their lives.
In 2024, UNHCR needs USD 203.6 million to protect and achieve solutions for forcibly displaced populations and local communities in Iraq.
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