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Wheat Fields Promise Abundant Harvest in NE Syria

A Syrian farmer in a wheat field in Afrin on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
A Syrian farmer in a wheat field in Afrin on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
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Wheat Fields Promise Abundant Harvest in NE Syria

A Syrian farmer in a wheat field in Afrin on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
A Syrian farmer in a wheat field in Afrin on Wednesday. (Getty Images)

Stretching as far as the eye can see in the town of Darbasiyah, nestled within the province of Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria, are expansive fields of wheat.

Alongside these golden swaths of grain, promising a season of abundant yield, stand sprawling barley fields, their presence serving as a hopeful testament to the recovery from years of devastating drought that had plagued the region.

Renowned for its cultivation of superior wheat and premium-grade barley, this territory has already entered the harvest season.

“The majority of farmers and peasants have incurred debts to cover the cost of seeds and production expenses, hoping that this season will surpass the previous years,” said Dara Suleiman, a farmer hailing from the village of Salam Aleik in the eastern part of Darbasiyah.

Suleiman, who owns approximately 80 hectares of land cultivated with irrigated wheat using underground wells, mentioned that farmers are selling their agricultural produce to the authorities of Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which offers competitive prices compared to the Syrian government.

“The pricing set by the Damascus government was shocking, as it did not cover a significant portion of the production costs. The pricing offered by the Administration was superior to it,” Suleiman told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Suleiman shares his plight with thousands of farmers from the region who rely on wheat fields as a vital part of their livelihoods, along with the cultivation of barley and yellow corn.

The cultivated areas in the countryside of Darbasiyah stretch approximately 280,000 irrigated dunums, while unirrigated yielding lands stretch 110,000 dunums, according to the agriculture authority affiliated with the Administration.

Farmer Ashraf Abdi, who is from the village of Karbshak in western Darbasiyah, asserted that the wheat pricing set by Damascus for this year (2,800 Syrian pounds, equivalent to 30 US cents) will not cover the initial production costs and expenses.

The cost of irrigating a single dunum of land alone exceeds $150.

Standing by his wheat field, covered in golden yellow stalks that promised a bountiful harvest, he said the current price per kilogram, if sold at less than half a dollar (equivalent to 4,200 Syrian pounds) “would not compensate for the effort and sweat he spent for an entire year.”

“Even the pricing by the Administration is unfair, and I would rather store the crop than sell it at a loss,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Administration and its military forces control the province of Al-Hasakah and its countryside, the cities of Raqqa, Kobani and Manbij, the town of Tabqa, the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor and eastern countryside of the Aleppo province.

The areas serve as Syria’s wheat reservoir and its food basket. The cultivated areas for wheat and barley this year amount to approximately 1.9 million hectares, including 300,000 hectares of irrigated wheat using underground wells.

It goes without saying that the Administration attaches great importance to the strategic wheat crop, setting the purchase price for a kilogram of wheat this season at 43 US cents.

Administration Authorities, as well as some local experts, anticipate a production exceeding one million tons this season.

The Kurdish authorities prohibit farmers and traders from selling their wheat crop to the Syrian government, as the Administration provides sufficient fuel quantities for agriculture at competitive prices. Additionally, they distribute sterilized seeds at lower prices than those set by the government.

In turn, the government in Damascus has set the purchase price for wheat for the current season at 2,800 Syrian pounds (approximately 30 US cents) per kilogram, while the pricing for barley has been set at 2,200 pounds (25 cents).

These prices, compared to production costs, shipping expenses, and agricultural inputs, appear to be “shocking,” as described by farmers and cultivators.

Residents of northeastern Syria, like their compatriots across the country, have had to grapple with a sharp rise in prices in recent months, following a sharp depreciation of the pound against foreign currencies. The price hikes have affected sugar, food items, fuel derivatives, electricity and gas.

A packet of bread is sold from private bakeries for 2,500 pounds, while a loaf of traditional stone bread (in the eastern part of the country) is sold for 1,000 Syrian pounds.

Farmers in the region fear further deterioration in the value of their currency, which would result in significant losses during the wheat season that has already cost them a great deal of money and effort.

“We have sacrificed our blood and heart for it (the harvest season),” said farmers Suleiman and Abdi in conclusion to their conversation with Asharq Al-Awsat.

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Jamal Mustafa: Saddam and Other Iraqi Officials Headed to the Gallows with Heads Held High

Jamal Mustafa al-Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Jamal Mustafa al-Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Jamal Mustafa: Saddam and Other Iraqi Officials Headed to the Gallows with Heads Held High

Jamal Mustafa al-Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Jamal Mustafa al-Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saddam Hussein’s entourage never expected that they would one day find themselves in jail. It never occurred to them that the American military machine would use all of its might to oust Saddam’s regime and overthrow the ruling party and army. They never believed that forces allied to Iran would assume positions of power in the new regime.

Times changed and Saddam, who controlled the fate of the nation and its people, found himself in prison where he counted the days until his execution. The man was unyielding until his last breath and his will remained unbroken.

The men who made up the Revolutionary Command Council or government soon found themselves in prison. They were interrogated by the Americans and Iraqis and a death sentence was always going to be their fate.

In the second installment of his interview to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr. Jamal Mustafa al-Sultan, late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law and second secretary, recalled the execution of his colleagues and relatives. He also recalled how he married Hala, the youngest of Saddam’s daughters, and how the late president acted around his family, away from state affairs.

Other officials who were held along with Saddam included “Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, my uncle and member of the Revolutionary Command Council Ali Hussein al-Majid, my other uncle Abed Hassan al-Majid, head of the Revolutionary Command Council Awad al-Bandar, Saddam’s half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan, Secretary Abed Hammoud and aide to the intelligence chief Farouk Hijazi,” said Mustafa.

He showed Asharq Al-Awsat a video that recently came to light of Khodair al-Khozaei, the former vice president during the American occupation. “In it, he said that he saw no justification for the death sentence against Abed Hammoud. Most dangerous of all, he confessed that he visited Iran and consulted with a judicial official, who encouraged him to sign the death sentence, which he did,” added Mustafa.

“The truth is that we sensed from the beginning that our trial was a means of revenge acting at Iran’s orders. One day, Abed Hammoud was informed that he was going to be moved to hospital and later that day the guards informed us that he was executed,” he continued.

“Mr. President (Saddam) expected to be executed. The truth is that his very existence, whether in jail or otherwise, was a source of concern for them. I can firmly attest that the members of the leadership bravely faced their death sentence. None of them showed any weakness or faltered,” he revealed.

He recalled the day they informed Barzan and Awad that they were going to be executed. “I was working out with al-Bandar when we received the news. I am not exaggerating when I say that he maintained his optimism even in that moment. They were executed the next day. Days later, I learned that Abed Hassan al-Majid, Farouk Hijazi and Hadi Hassan, an intelligence officer, were executed,” Mustafa said.

“Let me tell you what used to happen. One day, they came up with false charges that before the US occupation, I gave Mr. Khamis al-Khanjar (a Sunni politician) a sum of 250,000 dollars. Of course, the charge is baseless. They told me that I would remain in jail for life if I did not confess to the charge. I refused and told them that I enjoyed normal relations with Khanjar,” he went on to say.

“They later came up with a different scenario. They told me that they would take me to the Iraqi embassy in Jordan if I confessed to the charge and that I would late be released in Amman with a hefty sum of money. I told them that I would reject whatever they have to offer because I would not abandon my values to betray Khanjar, who was a friend,” he stated.

“They later accused me of complicity in the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, which I had nothing to do with,” he added.

Saddam Hussein with his daughter Hala in this undated photo. (Getty Images)

First call after Saddam’s execution

Mustafa recalled the first telephone call he had with his wife Hala and her mother, Sajida Khairallah Talfah, right after Saddam’s execution. “Five days after Mr. President’s martyrdom, I contacted my family. I spoke with my wife, and she was in very good spirits. She had very high faith and patience. I asked her about her mother, and she reassured me that she was also doing very well despite the pain,” he said.

“I pray that Gold Almighty will give her health and a long life. We have always derived our strength from her. My mother-in-law lost her two sons, Uday and Qusay, and then her husband. She had played a major role in supporting her husband from the beginning of his struggle. She always used to support him and stood by him throughout his career,” he remarked.

First meetings with Saddam

Mustafa recalled the early days of his meeting with Saddam. “They started when I began working for his special guard. That was when I first met him. Like most Iraqis and Arabs, I believed that he would be a difficult person, but the truth is that I saw him as a paternal figure,” he added. “When you work with him, you begin to develop a different opinion than the public impression. He was a very paternal figure.”

During their first meeting, they learned that they came from the same tribe and were distant cousins.

“I stayed by Mr. President’s side for around 20 years. I started off as part of his personal guard and he then tasked me with people’s affairs, meaning seeing to their needs and addressing their problems. He was very concerned with the people’s affairs and refused any one of them to be wronged. The truth is that many laws were amended or changed at the time following complaints from the people,” he revealed.

“There were two telephones at Mr. President’s office, and both were connected to my office. Whoever had a problem could call the president through the citizens’ line. I used to answer their calls and listen to their problems and set an appointment with the president. Sometimes I used to ask the caller to come in person with their request so that their problem could be tackled. Sometimes Mr. President would interject on the call to ask about the issue and would request to talk to the citizen on the line,” Mustafa said.

“He would listen to the person’s grievance and tell him to head to the dedicated office to tackle the issue. (...) So we used to receive hundreds of citizens every week to solve their problems. Mr. President was very concerned about these issues,” he stressed. “I have never met another person like him. He would listen, care and then come up with a solution.”

President’s son-in-law

Asharq Al-Awsat asked Mustafa about when he asked Hala to marry him. “It was in 1994. As is the tradition in Iraq, I headed with my uncles to Saddam’s family to ask her hand in marriage,” he said. “One of my uncles made the request to Mr. President on my behalf and he agreed and welcomed it.”

“A judge was summoned immediately for the ceremony, and we were married. We had lunch at the president’s house that same day. I first met Hala on September 12, and we were married on September 26. It was a short engagement in line with tradition.”

“Mr. President used to separate state affairs from his relationship with his family. His work was completely separate from family, which had nothing to do with political or state affairs. It never intervened in those issues. Mr. President was a man of state when he was doing his job, and a father when he came home. He treated his family as if he were its father – the perfect father. Every family wishes to have a father that can measure up to him because he looked after all of his children and all of his relatives,” Mustafa said.

“When he sat down to the dinner table, he himself used to serve his own food and ask his children about their day. He would serve them food and generally cared very much for them. The state is one thing and family is another. At the same time, he acted as a father to all Iraqis. He treated them fairly. This is Saddam Hussein,” stressed Mustafa. “He was always keen that Iraqis be treated justly and that none of them be wronged. He was also very firm with his children if they made any mistake.”

Saddam’s hobbies

Saddam was a “very traditional Arab man. He loved traditional Arab and Iraqi dishes. He himself used to cook his own version of the traditional Iraqi dish al-Habeet. (...) He also loved seafood and would cook the Masgouf fish dish himself,” Mustafa told Asharq Al-Awsat.

His hobbies included horseback riding, hunting, swimming and sharpshooting. “Occasionally, before heading to the front to fight against Iran, he would visit the al-Amarah region, where gazelle and geese are abundant, to hunt. As circumstances became more challenging, he limited himself to fishing, which he did regularly,” he added.

He was a skilled shooter from his youth. “Generally, growing up in a tribe, children are taught at a young age how to become a good shooter. This is part of our upbringing. He was also an avid reader. He was always reading something,” Mustafa said of Saddam.