6 yıl önce

Syria's Afrin readies for crucial harvest amid war

Most people in the northern Syrian region of Afrin earn a living from their estimated 25 million olive trees. But over the seven years of the Syrian war, many of the harvests have been lost and factories damaged.

TRTWorld

Fahim Mohammed, a Syrians olive farmer says "before the war the work was good and the harvest was good. But during the war we had to stop everything. Now we're returning to work."

A Syrian olive farmer, Fahim Mohammed says before the war began in 2011, the work and harvest were good. The fighting put an end to the farming, but in parts of the country, labourers have returned to the fields.

With the harvest a few months away, factories such as the one owned by Ahmed Hamdo and Marian Muhammed will be important.

They're checking the equipment and deciding what needs fixing and cleaning before processing can begin.

The olive season is very important for Afrin. It makes money for the farmers, so there are more than 350 olive-processing factories in this region.

However, numerous armed groups have occupied this territory and countries are still vying for control of it.

But Fahim and his friends have survived the war. They love this land and are determined to stay with their olive trees.

TRT World’s Sara Firth reports.