The economy of a refugee camp

ENAR

“I am buying make-up to look beautiful for my husband,” proclaims Manal Ahmad Ibrahim, while checking out mascara priced at $1.50. Run by Naqil Bardash, a former hotel manager from Daraa, the shop in the Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in north Jordan sells second hand clothes, tiger print briefs and even rents out wedding dresses. A bit further into the camp, the “Freedom Café” offers cheap coffee, tea and conversation. Owner Omar Siran bought his set up — primarily a stove and a gas burner — for $70. Having established it three months ago, he says he now serves hundreds of customers daily. A cup of coffee will set you back $0.50, of which he says he pockets $0.07 as profit to spend on supplies and vegetables for his house. Bardash and Siran’s stores are but two of the more than 100 that line the dusty street of Zaatari,