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Inhabitants of Qamishli in Syrian Kurdistan have been struggling with poverty and the inability to buy basic provisions due to the high cost of living and extreme depreciation of the Syrian pound. In late November, the exchange rate began to exceed 1,000 pounds to the dollar. The cost of buying and shipping foodstuffs and merchandise from Damascus and Iraqi Kurdistan has increased 35% to 45% according to merchants in the area.
Bakhtiar Rasoul, a wholesale cosmetics trader, told Al-Monitor, “Sales have dropped by more than half, and purchases are now limited to foodstuffs. Other professions — such as those involving cosmetics, clothing and men's and women's accessories — are no longer as popular as they once were.”
