Emily Feldman, Journalist
Abdullah is sitting outside of the bakery he co-owns in Istanbul. Photo by Emily Feldman, January, 2014
Abdullah Binnishy didn’t take sides when war broke out in Syria. He continued running his bakery and hoping that the conflict would wrap up quickly. Instead, it moved onto his block. Rebel and regime forces clashed in front of the shop he had run for years, forcing him and his family to flee.
First they went to Jordan where they planned to wait out the war. Binnishy still believed that it would be just a little while longer before he could return home and pick up from where he left off. But the war dragged on, his money ran out and he found himself looking for work, which he found in Istanbul.
That’s where I met him in November. By Syrian refugee standards he was doing well. He had linked up with former competitors from Aleppo and opened a small, but cheerful bakery. He was with his family, had enough food to eat and a roof over his head. But his basic comforts paled in comparison to all he had lost. His old bakery had been destroyed and he was slowly letting go of the notion that he would ever return to his old life. Instead, he was trying to build up a new one in a foreign place.
What struck me most about Binnishy, besides his positive spirits under the circumstances, was his removal from the Syrian conflict. He was not a political guy and did not protest or take up arms when war broke out. In fact, he did exactly what I imagine my own father would advise me to do if I were ever in Binnishy’s shoes: Mind your own business and you’ll stay out of trouble. I thought about that when I met Binnishy and whenever I consider the staggering number of people fleeing that war. I’m sure most of them were just keeping their heads down and waiting for the storm to pass.
Read the whole story here: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/displaced-syrians-find-home-istanbul-street-n39221
