Daish terrorists came to me quickly after they seized the town. They said I would pay five times more rent from that moment on. Otherwise I would have been killed," Masri said.
Apart from what Masri endured during the Daish reign, locals were in urgent need of bread and basic foods. Daily Sabah learned that the price of a loaf of bread skyrocketed after Daish seized bakeries. People bought bread eight to 10 times more expensive in the post-Daish Jarablus.
Dervish Salim, a 63-year-old Syrian earning his life by selling clothes and goods on the street, was also among those who could not flee Daish terror. "Life was unbearable when Daish was here. Thank God we are much better now. At least we can again sell something to earn our living on the street," Salim sighed.
Jarablus, which looked like a ghost town only two months ago, was bustling with shops and buyers. The difference between this Jarablus and the one two months ago was worth seeing, as Masri told. "I was only killing time there sitting in front of the shop. Then there was the fear of Daish terrorists. Today it is entirely different," he explained.
Despite better conditions for Salim and his eight children following the liberation of Jarablus, he called on the world to act on Syria. "Daish only brought poverty into our town. We thank Turkey every day for liberating our Jarablus. The world should also take action. Making a living here is not that easy," he asserted.
Salim's son who helps him sell the goods on the street, 27-year-old Muhammed, said that he is currently unemployed. "I help my father currently because I am unemployed. Daish spoiled the business in the town over the course of the last two-and-a-half-years," he said, adding that the people in the town are trying to bounce back.
Operation Euphrates Shield, which was launched on Aug. 24 with the aim of sweeping out Daish terrorists in Syria, has apparently bettered the lives of the people in Jarablus. As the operation enters its 53rd day, the liberation of the whole Syria remains a target for the FSA.