Tony’s passion is spices . The man, thirty-seven years old, is married and has four children. Before the outbreak of the war he worked as an employee, then his life – like that of many Syrians – went into crisis. With the attacks and the devastation it was impossible to continue working.
How to find hope for a future in Syria, his country? Where to start again? RestarT was for him the opportunity to turn the situation around and focus everything on his dream: opening a spice shop.
Tony needed, first of all, to fill the shelves of his new business to attract customers, encourage them to come in and buy. Becoming one of the protagonists of RestarT was crucial, the program in fact supports the restart of small commercial activities through the supply of capital goods and – where necessary – goods to sell.
Rice, sugar, flour, bulgur (sprouted wheat), oils, margarine, spices of all kinds and some detergents filled the shelves of Tony’s shop, making it look totally different than before. And on the economic front, things have changed too. Income increased, a period of greater tranquility began for him and his family, which also benefited the psychological aspect.
Now Tony looks to the future with hope. Becoming independent gives him the drive to imagine new developments for his business. And it is with great generosity that he puts into practice the reciprocity clause signed when he became a beneficiary of RestarT : to those who cannot afford it, Tony gives away the products on sale in his shop. He was one of the first, after the earthquake, to help the community.
