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War puts Syrians on unexpected career paths

Young graduates in Damascus are having a hard time securing a job in their field, thus turning to nongovernmental organizations and volunteer work.
People sit in a shop as they watch TV broadcasting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaking as he is sworn in for a new seven-year term, in Damascus July 16, 2014. Al-Assad, who was sworn in for a new term on Wednesday, said Western and Arab states that have supported "terrorism" will pay a "high price" and that he would fight insurgents until security was restored to the whole country.
 REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3YVXN

DAMASCUS, Syria — Behind the Umayyad Mosque in the old city of Damascus, where the streets are still busy during the day, Abu Mohammed sits on a wooden chair in front of his gold shop playing backgammon most of the time. The gold trade is no longer in vogue as the number of customers has drastically decreased, and so he has time on his hands.

Al-Monitor met Abu Mohammed at his shop, which has become a place where he spends time at leisure instead of working. “Two years ago customers stopped visiting the shop, except for a few people who come in to sell their possessions or to ask about the constantly rising prices of gold, due to the Syrian pound’s drop against the US dollar,” he told Al-Monitor.

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