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Submitted by zozo2k3 on Tue, 2006-01-24 19:18.
Inspired by Studs Terkel's book 'Working', Syria at Work is a collection of oral histories gathered by students at the British Council - Damascus. Read and enjoy these profiles of Syrian workers, their lives, routines, successes, heartbreaks, and dreams.
| Security Manager | |
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Syria at Work
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I think I wasn’t born to be an officer, but I was affected by the circumstances that surrounded me. I graduated from the Syrian Academy of Military Science. It was a very hard job, dealing with different kinds of soldiers, hard training and exhausting duties. I had no time for my family, especially my young boy and girl. |
| full article | source | read more | 31 reads | |
| Diplomat | |
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Syria at Work
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Diplomats are people who work in the shadows, the people always behind the politicians. To get a whole picture about the good and bad sides of the job, we are talking to a diplomat of Foreign Affairs in Damascus. I’ve been working since the year 2000. |
| full article | source | read more | 31 reads | |
| Private Driver | |
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Syria at Work
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It was about six months ago when I first met Mr. Jaber. He was a private taxi driver. He told me a lot about his life in that month which I spent with him. |
| full article | source | read more | 45 reads | |
| Guitar Teacher | |
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Syria at Work
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I wasn't thinking of being a guitar teacher. Music was my hobby. When I was 17, I went to Russia to study electrical engineering, and for some reason, things were changed, and I decided to study music. |
| full article | source | read more | 33 reads | |
| Sandwich Maker | |
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Syria at Work
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I know a 33-year old guy whose work is to prepare shawarma sandwiches in a small shop for selling junk food near my home. Know what he tells me? "Maher, I am bored of all this! My daily life is the silliest one I've ever known or heard about. Every day in the morning I come here at 9 o'clock. I say good morning to many of the neighborhood shopkeepers without caring if they reply or not. Then I shout at the little guy in the shop who didn't finish the cleaning. Or maybe I will wait for him to come so I can explode in front of him for being late. |
| full article | source | read more | 38 reads | |
| Indonesian Maid | |
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Syria at Work
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It was last March when I traveled for the first time ever, away from my family, but I had to do it to support my family. That's why I signed a contract to work for a Syrian family. My seven sisters warned me about Arabs, and how their Caliph would make me his slave, and that his son would rape me. So I went to a doctor who gave me medicine which made me unable to have children anymore. When I got here, I was surprised that nothing bad happened, and I was told that there is no Caliph anymore. |
| full article | source | read more | 29 reads | |
| Tea Boy | |
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Syria at Work
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Here is the tea boy. Is he happy? I thought I was happy one day, but I forgot the meaning of happiness now. |
| full article | source | read more | 30 reads | |
| Train Driver | |
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Syria at Work
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This man is my grandfather. He is 88 years old. I suppose he is old enough to have rich experience in life. |
| full article | source | read more | 33 reads | |
| The Waker | |
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Syria at Work
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It has not been a long time since Ramadan passed. I remember when I was a child and for many ages before there was a person called the Mosaharati. |
| full article | source | read more | 26 reads | |
| Taxi Driver | |
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Syria at Work
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Mr. Sami, a friend of my family, has been driving a taxi for several years. He enjoys his work because it gives him a chance to meet a lot of interesting people. |
| full article | source | read more | 33 reads | |