Syrian families tend to make preparations for their annual vacations months before the holidays actually arrive. They save part of their income for the annual vacation. Some go to the mall on the pay day itself to buy gifts and accessories, while others wait until the schools close before they go shopping.
The average shopping expenses for a family of five is SR8,000. Arab News interviewed a number of Syrian expatriates, who said they now need to make a tough choice: whether to continue their preparations for the vacation or not.
Ghidaa Al-Basha, a Syrian housewife and mother of three, confirmed that her decision is not final yet. She opted to cancel her vacation, but if the situation improves, she will travel. “I started preparing for the summer vacation at the beginning of the school year in the middle of 2010. The political situation was stable at that time, so we planned our summer vacation like every other year. I have been putting money aside since last year to have enough funds for the holidays,” she said.
Al-Basha added, “I was calm when the protests started in Deraa and Latakia, but recently there were clashes in many cities. The presence of gangs and killers everywhere is frightening.”
According to Al-Basha, buying gifts can be a big problem for many families. “I already started to buy gifts for my relatives. I am not sure where I can keep all these gifts if I cancel my vacation this year. So far, the purchases cost me SR3,000 and I still need to buy more gifts. I am confused whether to stop buying gifts or to continue. Maybe the political situation will stabilize, and I can travel. Actually, I prefer not to keep these gifts for the next year, because they will be old-fashioned and maybe damaged,” said Al-Basha.
Rwaa Al-Alawi, a Syrian doctor who is newly married, bought a large number of electronic gadgets, carpets, and home accessories in Jeddah.
Al-Alawi, who came to Kingdom only a year ago, was planning to take her purchases to Syria during the summer vacation.
“As a newly married couple, my husband and I are building our home in Damascus. This year we planned to buy the furniture in Jeddah. We started with buying small accessories and carpets, in addition to food sets that are very expensive. This cost us SR25,000. It is now stored at home and must be moved to Syria as soon as possible,” said Al-Alawi. “Since the beginning of the protests until Sunday, I was hopeful of going to Syria during the holidays. I ignored minor incidents in some cities. Recently, we saw that a large number of weapons and guns had been seized on the Syrian border with Iraq. This made my husband afraid. Then we saw on TV unknown gangs in Homs, shooting citizens for no reason. These scary events forced my husband to cancel the vacation this year.”
According to Al-Alawi, this sudden decision disrupted her plans: She spent SR5,000 buying clothes and accessories.
Karim Baidoun, a Syrian marketing employee working for a fragrance company in Jeddah, was planning to hold his wedding in Aleppo during the next holiday.
“I believe the situation in Syria is very dangerous and it wouldn’t be the perfect time to hold my wedding party,” he said.
Baidoun expressed his fear that his decision to delay the wedding might upset his fiancée.
“I am planning to call my fiancée and explain the situation to her. She might get angry, especially because I have already delayed our marriage several times,” said Baidoun.
