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Samawa-Markets (Feature) :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

Voices of Iraq: Samawa-Markets (Feature)

Posted by: nakr2004 on Sunday, March 11, 2007 - 05:57 PM

Samawa-Markets (Feature)
Sifwan flea markets flourish in southern cities
By Fahd al-Badrawi
Muthanna, March 11, (VOI) – Most southern cities have witnessed the spread of so-called “Sifwan markets,” assuming the name of the city of Sifwan on the border with neighboring Kuwait.
After the fall of the former regime in 2003, Sifwan has become one of the largest border outlets to experience a prospering trade in second-hand goods and commodities, especially those coming from Kuwait.
These markets offer second-hand clothes – or what is called the bale – as well as electrical appliances and used furniture brought by merchants from Sifwan. The goods are in high demand with a large portion of Iraqi citizens, particularly lower income families.
In the southern Shiite province of Samawa, like in many other southern Iraqi cities, the Sifwan market stretches over a large area, crammed with Iraqi buyers.
Ali Jassem, a seller of bales in a Sifwan market, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), “used clothes are in high demand amongst impoverished families, during both the summer and winter seasons, thanks to their cheap price compared to new garments.”
“Clothing prices range from between 500 (less than half a dollar) and 5,000 Iraqi dinars (roughly 4 U.S. dollars) per piece, while the price of a new garment, even for children, is three times this amount,” said Jassem.
He added that the used garments are sought “not only by impoverished families but also by some well-off people who visit the souk on a regular basis.”
On the type of shoppers coming to the souk, or market, Jassem said “we sell to women more than men because women spend more time in the souk.”
Abu Mohammed, a seller of household appliances, told VOI “most of the electrical devices and furniture we sell are fit for use and might even be better than their new counterparts on the local market, thanks to their famous brands and high quality.”
“The Sifwan market has its own rules, unlike an ordinary market. Shoppers may bargain with the sellers because, after all, there are no prices set in this souk,” said Abu Mohammed.
A seller, who declined to be named, said “the market has expanded immensely during the past three years and the workers are growing in number, reaching now perhaps more than 500 people.”
On the origin of the goods, Abu Mohammed replied, “we buy them from certain merchants in the city of Sifwan, the largest center for used goods coming from Kuwait, in addition to the bales of goods coming via the port of Umm Qasr, mostly from European countries.”
Local residents, however, were divided on their opinions of the second-hand goods markets. Some approve these kinds of souks, while others described them as “garbage.”
Shopper Ali Qassem told VOI “our demand for such goods is attributed to the fact that our homes, during the past 15 years, have gradually become empty of possessions due to low incomes. We used to sell our own electrical appliances and furniture to make both ends meet.”
Another shopper, Salem Sadeq, said, “I go to this souk because I am no longer able to shop from stores with my low income.”
“I get nearly 300,000 Iraqi dinars (roughly 235 U.S. dollars), of which 200,000 (roughly 156 U.S. dollars) goes to house rental and household necessities and other things. In the end I have nothing left with which to buy new clothes for one of my three children,” Sadeq complains.
Abu Jawwad, 45, wonders “why these kinds of goods, which Kuwait only wants to dispose of, are allowed to enter the country?”
“I believe these used goods are nothing but garbage that no other country except Iraq allows to enter,” said Abu Jawwad.
Another citizen, 39-year-old Ahmed al-Lami, said, “Kuwait is not to blame for sending these goods to us. Those who are in charge of the Iraqi border posts should be blamed for allowing everything into the country.”
Lami said “above all, Iraqis in general are to be blamed for bringing in these goods from Kuwait, or from any other country, just for the sake of making profit, but having no respect for themselves or for their people.”
AE/TP

Source: Samawa-Markets (Feature) :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq