They are called “daughter of thunder,” or
Bint Al-Raad — Middle Eastern black and white truffles that are found in
deserts across the region and thought to be the product of stormy weather and
lightning strikes.
اضافة اعلان
Larger and less pungent than their European
cousins, they are an equally prized delicacy. Once the winter storms have
passed, Syrian families in the east of the country have traditionally packed up
their cars to go camping and forage for them in the desert.
But the cherished pastime of truffle
hunting has become a perilous gamble to make money during desperate economic
times. At least 84 people have been killed so far this year hunting truffles in
the country’s central and eastern desert, according to two groups that monitor
Syria’s war. Some were killed by land mines, others shot by gunmen or kidnapped
and killed later.
Now, instead of venturing out into the
desert with their families, truffle hunters are taking rifles and first aid
kits. Still, they go on the expeditions, driven by severe poverty and
unemployment, a collapsing currency and inflation. More than half of the
population struggles to get enough food, and amid a nationwide fuel shortage,
some Syrians have resorted to burning trash and plastic to stay warm or cook.
“People have started to fear poverty more
than death,” said Baha Sulieman, 28, who lives in Deir Al-Zour province in
eastern Syria and went out twice to collect truffles about a month ago.
Residents and analysts say it is unclear
who is targeting the truffle hunters. In the large desert region where many
have been killed, battles between warring parties are continuing after more
than 12 years of a war that has not ended.
The areas are mostly under the control of
the government of Syrian president, Bashar Assad, and allied armed groups,
including Iran-backed militias. Islamic State sleeper cells are also active
there, and Syrian state media have blamed the terrorist group for all of the
killings.
Middle Eastern truffles have a more subtle taste than their European cousins and are eaten much like meat or mushrooms would be, roasted over campfires or cooked in stews or with rice. Although the local truffles do not command the same prices as European ones, they can bring in some much-needed cash.
Middle Eastern truffles have a more subtle
taste than their European cousins and are eaten much like meat or mushrooms
would be, roasted over campfires or cooked in stews or with rice. Although the
local truffles do not command the same prices as European ones, they can bring
in some much-needed cash.
A bumper crop and high price of truffles
this year have made it especially tempting for the hunters.
At one market in Damascus, Syria’s capital,
black truffles were selling for $35 a kilogram — the equivalent of a month’s
salary for many in Syria, where about 90 percent of the population lives below
the poverty line, according to the UN.
A grocery store in an upper-middle-class
neighborhood was charging about $17 for a kilogram of black truffles — a little
more than two pounds — while white truffles go for about $6, according to the
shop owner, Samer Baalbecki.
Taking advantage of the dangerous situation
and the desperation of those willing to risk it, pro-government forces have
coerced truffle hunters to bring them along for protection. The forces also
offer information about where mines have been laid and demand a large cut of
the profits. Those who refuse the forces face the risk of stepping on mines or
being kidnapped or attacked by gunmen, some truffle hunters said.
National Defense Forces, a pro-government
militia, and the 4th Armored Division of the Syrian army, an elite unit
commanded by the younger brother of the Syrian president, are both involved in
the protection racket, according to three people living in eastern Syria.
War profiteering, shakedowns and looting
have long been common among armed groups in Syria’s conflict, especially those
associated with Assad’s regime.
Some truffle hunters believe that some of
the attacks are being carried out by the very same forces offering protection —
in order to dissuade people from going alone and leaving them out of a
profitable harvest.
About a month ago, Sulieman, the truffle
hunter in eastern Syria, said he joined a caravan of hunters whose leader had
arranged protection from the National Defense Forces militia. The soldiers were
armed with automatic rifles and a few machine guns.
But Sulieman was not reassured.
“I saw that they themselves are afraid, so
how are they going to protect us?” he said. “There was constant fear.”
Now, instead of venturing out into the desert with their families, truffle hunters are taking rifles and first aid kits.
At the end of the day, they had to sell
their entire hauls to a truffle trader who paid half the market price. The rest
of the profits went to the militiamen, he said.
Sulieman collected about 10kg the first day,
and 12kg the next. The money was good. But two days later, some foragers were
kidnapped and killed in the same general area, and he decided the payoff was no
longer worth the risk.
Still, many others have kept going out,
Sulieman said, even some who have been previously attacked.
“It’s an enticing sum,” he said, adding
that he had heard stories of people making up to 3,000,000 lira a day, or
nearly $400. “That is what has led people to risk their lives.”
When truffle hunting season began in
February, a 19-year-old man in the city of Deir Al-Zour and his father began
going out in groups to the desert, hours away. They were accompanied by
soldiers from the 4th Armored Division for protection, he said.
At the end of each day of foraging, the
soldiers would take half of their harvest and buy the rest for half the market
rate, said the young man, who did not want to be identified because he lives in
a government-controlled city and feared retribution.
About a month ago, the man from Deir
Al-Zour and his father had had enough of handing over what amounted to
three-quarters of the day’s profit. Instead, they coordinated with a local
tribe to provide armed protection. At 5am, he said, they headed out into an
area of mountains and valleys accompanied by the tribesmen armed with light
weapons.
Suddenly, they were attacked by a number of
assailants who ran at them with assault rifles and machine guns, he said. The
truffle hunters huddled on the ground as the tribesmen opened fire on the
attackers in a gunfight that lasted for about an hour.
Six of the tribesmen and two of the
attackers were killed, while the rest of the assailants fled, according to the
young man.
The truffle hunters were unharmed. But the
young man said he thought they were going to die in the firefight, and he has
not ventured out into the desert since.
Syrian state media blame the attacks on the
Islamic State group. After the group’s self-declared caliphate crumbled and
lost its last territorial foothold in Syria in 2019, sleeper cells have hidden
out in Syria’s vast desert, using it as a base to carry out attacks.
Daesh has not claimed responsibility for
any of the attacks.
The deadliest attack was on February 17,
when 53 truffle hunters were ambushed in central Homs province and shot in the
head, according to state media, one of the attacks it blamed on Daesh.
The Syrian war has robbed the country and
its people of so much. But the disappearance of this cherished tribal tradition
is something that Jassem Abu Baraa, 33, and a member of a local municipal
council in Deir Al-Zour province, mourns deeply.
Two years ago, he said, a relative was
killed while foraging for truffles.
“After the war, this camping became too hard
to do because of the security situation,” he said, lamenting the loss of what
was once a beloved pastime. “It will be hard for us to ever get it back.”
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