Women warn women against scammers in Idlib
In NE Syria, an estimated three million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Particularly women are at this risk. Many women trying to rebuild their lives and to erase the scars of war fall into trap of scammers. War doesn’t only bring destruction, hunger, and poverty with it but also the collapse of social moral values.
SUHAİR EL İDLİBİ
Idlib – Women pay the high price of the ongoing war in Syria. Women are trying to participate in daily life again in Idlib, one of the places where women had to withdraw from working life due to ISIS. But now, women are facing many problems due to the economic crisis. Women living in Idlib are at risk of falling into trap of scammers. Many women looking for a job have become the victims of scammers in the city.
She was defrauded while trying to start a detergent company
35-year-old Safaa El Bakour is one of these women. She was defrauded while trying to start a detergent company in the city. Safaa looked for a job for a while but she couldn’t find any and decided to start a detergent company. “Starting a detergent company made sense for me. I could make money in a short time and contribute to my family’s income. I thought I could also create employment for women.”
“I lost all my life savings”
Safaa gave $ 2,000 to a newly opened detergent company and became a partner. She worked for three months as a partner of the company. After three months, she went to the company but couldn’t find anyone. “They suddenly disappeared. Everything happened too fast to be realized. I never thought I would be defrauded,” Safaa said she lost all her life savings.
She launches a campaign to prevent other women from being defrauded
Safaa also stated that no authorities supported her when she wanted to go after the scammers to get back her saving. She has launched a campaign on social media platforms to warn women against the scammers, “Be careful if you plan to spend all your saving.”
Salwa El Jaber loses her gold jewelry
25-year-old Salwa El Jaber has the same story. She saw an ad about products such as cosmetics, skincare, and jewelry on social media platforms and she contacted the people defrauding her. “When I called them, I was told I could buy the products from a shop in Idlib and sold them. It made sense to me. Then, they asked me how they could trust me, whether I would pay the full price of the products when I sell them. I never thought and told them I had gold jewelry and I could give them as a guarantee. I sold the products for three months. I worked hard to sell them but then I saw no shop.”
“I am sad and angry”
Salwa is sad to lose her gold jewelry, “There is no law protecting victims. I wouldn’t be sad if we had a law. I am sad and angry because I know that I have no right to take them back.”