There is any corner of the world iftarto eat break one’s fast It can be interrupted immediately at sunset during the month of Ramadan. The violence of some soldiers or bombs those who fall from the sky are the ones who stop it by anchoring it in conflicts that have no expiration date, whether in Palestine or Yemen. But some in other destinations such as Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco or Egypt severe economic crises to prevent that feast from taking place. It is added that there is no roof to protect the celebrations in Syria and Turkey, which have been hit hard.
in the Middle East, where More than 90 percent of food is importedMuslims experience the most humble ramadan. According to Islam, fasting brings believers closer to Allah and reminds them of Allah. suffering of the poor. Increasingly, it is their own poverty that is reflected in their less and less iftar.
No sweets in the misery of Egypt and Lebanon
Inside Sweetcorn, the situation reached decisions that amounted to humiliation. HE price increase And 50% depreciation of sterling Egyptian cuisine has motivated some of the most famous patisseries in the country to offer the possibility to purchase their famous typical desserts in installments.künefe’. Covered with angel hair and sherbet, this mass of cheese can be paid in three months, interest-free, for just one night’s enjoyment. almost 30% of 100 million Egyptians live in poverty, according to official data. In January, annual inflation reached a new high as the local currency continued to decline.
This war in ukraine It has come to aggravate a situation already affected by the pandemic and the government’s austerity policies. largest wheat importer of the world. These results are also noted. Lebanonsince then it was founded in the fourth year of one of the worst economic crises on the entire planet. 1850, according to the World Bank. The country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, 123% inflation In January figures.
iftar Cannot be met for 80% Number of people in the country, according to the American Near East Refugee Assistance (ANERA) agency. Lebanese pound depreciated 98% of its value Against the US dollar since the end of 2019. In a country where only 10% of the population earns Dollar, supermarkets and other businesses have been showing their prices in this currency since the beginning of March. Salad is the star dish of Ramadan.fat’ Bringing together 14 different materials, it is three times more valuable than last year. its price 40 times more expensive Before the onset of the economic crisis in 2019.
Türkiye and Syria: They quickly overcame the debris of the earthquake
among the new tent cities Rising around the quake’s debris, hundreds of thousands of people line up at sunset each evening. For Muslim believers, Ramadan is the month of meeting with family and friends, constant and crowded gatherings among relatives and loved ones.
But this 2023, Ramadan, the holy month of Islam in parts of southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria most affected by the February earthquake, represents something else: living on hold tents, difficult conditions, destroyed houses, missing relatives and above all, queues to get food to break the fast or to start the fast, according to the time.
Inside TürkiyeAs the Turkish government explains, the State and organizations distribute it every day two million menus to citizens still stranded in earthquake zones, tents or recycled shipping containers.
in northwest Syria, humane aid and food leaking from the Turkish border, Ramadan is experienced differently. “This Ramadan the hardest i have ever experiencedbecause everything is so expensive and because we depend on the food NGOs give us,” he explains. Meryem Hallulmother of a family who lost their home in the earthquake to Qatar television ‘Al Jazeera’.
They currently live in the northwestern region of Syria, approx. 4.5 million peoplemany displaced by the war. HE 90% ofAccording to UN data, he needs humanitarian aid to survive.
Although aid has come to the north, to Turkey, this Ramadan is also the most extraordinary this will be remembered over the decades. “Everything in the fields is obtained by tails. ‘Go to the bathroom to get a tampon, take a shower, eat…’ tells the newspaper ‘Cumhurriet’, a Turkish opposition deputy residing in the most affected province. error: “This is how everything is achieved, and in 70% of cases, the answer many citizens get at the end of the line is: ‘no more’ or “no more”. situation hopeless”.
The drought dragging the Maghreb
The price increase also negatively affected traditional Maghreb food Ramadan tables will not be missing. Most of the basic ingredients for ‘Harira’ or ‘chorba’, two soups very popular, they have become more expensive. “The ‘Harira’ you bought on the street this year tastes more like flour than tomatoes,” he complains. Sofia in Rabat. The latest official figures show the annual inflation in food products. twenty% in the North African country. Also, many items go higher during the holy month, such as at Christmas in Spain.
Inside TunisiaAlong with the increase in purchasing costs, citizens are facing fear this month. famine In the core products caused by the economic crisis facing the country Algerian markets The price of onions is what pisses me off the most: It has tripled in a year.
In addition to the international context marked by the war in Ukraine, drought Behind this increase is the oil that has hit the region for three years. Rains are scarce and wells are increasingly empty. “The onion crop needs a lot of water. With the drought in the country production is getting harder”, explains an Algerian farmer to local media ‘TSA’.
In the long run, farmers’ biggest fear is grain cultivationespecially wheat. Morocco has already activated an orange alert last week. high temperatures in the south of the country and the thermometer reached 40 degrees in early spring. They speak in the local media “critical stage” Experts and experts from these crops warn that if there is no rain in the coming weeks, the crops planned for the coming months will be in danger.