The Merchant of Syria: A History of Survival [Hardcover]

Tells the life of Abu Chaker, a cloth merchant from Homs who lived from 1921 to 2013. Drawing on interviews conducted in Syria, Lebanon and Britain, Abu Chaker's story exemplifies many of today's pressing global issues -- poverty, Islamic values, religious co-existence, refugees, displacement, multiculturalism, political unrest and terrorism.Barely literate, and supporting his mother and sisters from the age of ten, Abu Chaker built up a business empire--despite twice losing everything he had. Diana Darke follows his tumultuous journey, from instability in Syria and civil war in Lebanon, to his arrival in England in the 1970s, where he rescued a failing Yorkshire textile mill, Hield Bros, and transformed it into a global brand.The Merchant of Syriatells two parallel stories: the life of a cloth merchant and his resilience, and the rich history of a nation built on trade. Over millennia Syria has seen great conflict and turmoil, but like the remarkable story of Abu Chaker, it continues to survive.PrefaceIntroductionChapter 1 The Mercantile TraditionChapter 2 An Ottoman InheritanceChapter 3 The Patriarchal SocietyChapter 4 Childhood and Patriarchal PrivilegeChapter 5 The French Mandate and the Great Syrian RevoltChapter 6 Marriage, Divorce and RemarriageChapter 7 Syrian Independence and the Rise of the Ba'ath PartyChapter 8 Early Business Ventures Thwarted by PoliticsChapter 9 The Lebanon EffectChapter 10 Expansion into LebanonChapter 11 The Commercial Climate under Hafez al-AssadChapter 12 An Economic Migrant comes to BradfordChapter 13 Bashar al-Assad and the Beginnings of Economic LiberalisationChapter 14 Life in London as a Syrian MillionaireChapter 15 The Syrian Revolution and the War EconomyChapter 16 Return to Homs and Final DisplacementChapter 17 The Merchant Legacy and the Future of SyriaDiana Darke is an Arabic translator and cultural specialist who has lived and worked in the Middle East for over thirty years. She is the author ofMy House in DalcŠ