- Title: Displaced Iraqi grows aubergine at refugee camp
- Date: 2nd August 2017
- Summary: KIRKUK, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS PEOPLE WALKING IN REFUGEE CAMP VARIOUS OF DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, MYASAR KHALIL ALI, WATERING AUBERGINE PLANTS NEAR HIS TENT IN CAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, MYASAR KHALIL ALI, SAYING: "I owned a photocopying service in my town before I was displaced, which was the main source of income for my family. After our displacement to Kirkuk, I could not find a job to feed my family and my children. So recently I came up with the idea to grow green aubergine, a rare vegetable in the region and in Iraq. I used to plant green aubergine in my town and now I decided to start planting it here in Kirkuk." VARIOUS OF ALI PICKING GREEN AUBERGINE AUBERGINE IN BOX (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, MYASAR KHALIL ALI, SAYING: "We prepared and planted seeds and we made it a one hundred percent success, thank God. I planted an area of some tens of metres near my tent and thank God the produce is very good." VARIOUS OF ALI AND CHILDREN CARRYING BOXES OF AUBERGINE ALI ENTERING SHOP AT CAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN FROM TAL AFAR, MYASAR KHALIL ALI, SAYING: "There is a small shop here run by one of our people. We pick around 15 to 20 or 30 kilos each day and take it to the shop to sell. People come from inside and outside the camp to buy produce, thank God. We even have demand for aubergine from Baghdad and we sent them, thank God. We sent 20 to 25 kilos." ALI EMPTYING BOX OF AUBERGINE ON GROUND SHOP WORKER WEIGHING AUBERGINE SHOPPER PAYING FOR PRODUCE VARIOUS OF SHOP WORKER SORTING AND WEIGHING AUBERGINE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN CAMP
- Embargoed: 16th August 2017 13:06
- Keywords: Aubergine farmer displaced Iraqi man Kirkuk refugee camp northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar
- Location: KIRKUK, IRAQ
- City: KIRKUK, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0016SGOTP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Forced to leave Tal Afar, a largely ethnic Turkmen town, Myasar Khalil Ali now lives in a refugee camp near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
Abandoning his home and business - a photocopying service - after the town's capture by Islamic State in August 2014, Ali moved to Kirkuk with his family, living in the Yahyawa camp in the Lilan district.
The father of six left most of his belongings behind but one of the few things he took with him were the seeds of green aubergine.
Unable to find a job, Ali decided to try to grow aubergine near his family's tent in the camp.
"After our displacement to Kirkuk, I could not find a job to feed my family and my children. So recently I came up with the idea to grow green aubergine, a rare vegetable in the region and in Iraq. I used to plant green aubergine in my town and now I decided to start planting it here in Kirkuk,'' he said.
Tending to his narrow farm each day with his children, he said he is now able to produce around 20 kilos of the vegetable each day.
"We prepared and planted seeds and we made it a one hundred percent success, thank God. I planted an area of some tens of metres near my tent and thank God the produce is very good," he said.
Ali said demand for his produce was high from customers both inside and outside the camp, with an aubergine order even coming from Baghdad.
"People come from inside and outside the camp to buy produce, thank God. We even have demand for aubergine from Baghdad and we sent them, thanks God. We sent 20 to 25 kilos," he said.
Ali now generates an income from his small business, selling 1 kilo of aubergine for around 1000 Iraqi dinars (85 US cents) from the camp's grocery store. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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