Reopened al-Bab bakery provides relief to city residents

After liberating the Syrian city of al-Bab from the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL), Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions have been working with the city's local council to provide the population with food and other necessities.

Residents welcomed the reopening of the city’s automated bakery with great relief, as it will help to meet the needs of the large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are returning to the city.

"FSA factions are co-operating with al-Bab’s city council with regard to everything related to making living necessities available," said al-Bab local council member Hassan Ismail.

As a result of this co-operation, he told Diyaruna, the automated bakery has been reopened, and bread is now available.

"It had been non-operational since 2015, when ISIL looted all its equipment and took it to al-Raqa," he said, adding that all that was left of the former bakery was the building itself.

Since the bakery's reopening, Ismail said, the local council has issued a number of decrees to regulate the baking and sale of bread, and has prohibited the buying and selling of flour and wheat through unauthorised channels.

Distributing bread

The local council conducted a census of the region’s residents and compiled a detailed list to facilitate the distribution of bread and other aid, Ismail said.

"Bread produced by the automated bakery is distributed [free of charge] to families based on the census, while a small portion of the bread is sold at the token price of 100 Syrian pounds ($0.47)," he added.

"The quantity of flour needed to meet the residents’ daily needs amounts to about five tonnes, while the quantity currently available is about three tonnes, or the equivalent of more than 12,000 bundles of bread," he said.

Efforts are under way to address the shortfall, Ismail said.

"The period that followed the liberation of the city of al-Bab and its rural areas from the group’s elements was hard on civilians, due to the lack of most food items," said Marwan al-Shihabi, commander of an FSA faction based in al-Bab.

Humanitarian and relief organisations fled the area as ISIL targeted them and obstructed their operations, he told Diyaruna.

Some merchants took advantage of the situation to monopolise the sale of flour and wheat, selling it at "outrageous prices" due to the urgent need, he said.

"Some even monopolised the sale of bread itself, which was being brought in from other areas, driving the price of a bundle of bread to more than 1,500 Syrian pounds ($7)," al-Shihabi said.

Feeding the people

Al-Shihabi said the FSA "hastened to reopen the bakery and did so within two weeks of liberating the city and clearing it of mines".

Al-Bab resident Mohammed al-Naouss told Diyaruna the reopening of al-Bab's bakery brought peace of mind to local residents.

"Bread is an indispensable staple and the lack of flour to produce it was a cause of dismay to all," he said.

Before the automated bakery resumed operations, bread was being produced by small bakeries and it was of poor quality, he added.

Al-Naouss said the measures that were taken to ensure the availability of bread and prevent its sale in the black market "brought relief to residents and eliminated one of the major pressures of daily life".

"I receive my daily need from local council representatives, and it consists of two bundles of bread that are sufficient for four [family] members, as determined by the census conducted in the city and its rural areas," he said.

After the census, the council excluded from the free distribution of bread a number of well-to-do families who can afford to buy it in the market, he said, which allowed the distribution of free bread to a larger number of residents.

The decision to establish the local council so quickly after the liberation of the city facilitated the return of residents and allowed life to gradually return to the city and its rural areas, he said.

Repairs and construction are under way, he added, including bringing the electricity and water distribution networks back online.