Basra: Alawi enters Iraq every Friday to sell his vegetables in the Basra markets, which act as a refuge for Iranians suffering from economic sanctions. He is just one of several Iranian street vendors that make the difficult trek across the Chalamja border into southern Iraq. Due to severe currency devaluation and skyrocketing inflation, they bring necessities like cooking oil, eggs, poultry, and household goods to sell at low costs in the hopes of making a profit that would be unthinkable back home.
In reference to Western sanctions against Iran, Alawi stated, “The embargo is the reason the situation is challenging.” The 36-year-old claimed he had not given up on his homeland easy and had attempted to sell his product in a market there, but he asked to have his last name withheld out of concern for consequences back home. He told AFP, “We had to throw the products away and end up losing money because there were no customers and they would spoil.”
He has been traveling to Iraq for the past seven years, where he sells dates in the winter and okra in the summer, earning between $30 and $50 per day, which is far more than he could make at home. “There’s a lot when we convert Iraqi money” for Iranian rials,” the father of two stated.
He went on, “We can spend it in five days or even a week.”
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