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Syria’s first wheat shipment since al-Assad ouster points to recovery 

A ship carrying wheat has arrived in Syria’s Latakia port, the first such delivery since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December, the government said, as it pushes to boost an economy ravaged by nearly 14 years of ruinous civil war.

Traders say Syria has this year been largely relying on overland imports from neighbours.

Officials of the new government led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa say that while imports of wheat and other basics are not subject to sanctions from the United States or United Nations, challenges in securing financing for trade deals have deterred global suppliers from selling to Syria.

The Syrian General Authority for Land and Sea Borders said in a statement that the ship carried 6,600 tonnes of wheat. It did not identify the nationality or destination of the boat, but one regional commodity trader told the Reuters news agency it was from Russia.

Russia and Iran were Syria’s primary military and economic backers under al-Assad. They previously provided most of Syria’s wheat and oil products, but stopped after opposition fighters swept through the country in triumph and al-Assad fled to Moscow.

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Syria’s border authority called the shipment “a clear indication of the start of a new phase of economic recovery in the country”, adding that it should pave the way for more arrivals of vital supplies.

Al-Sharaa’s government is sharply focused on economic recovery after 14 years of conflict and has also been making efforts to open travel routes to the country.

Most international airlines suspended operations to and from Damascus in 2012 amid the Syrian government’s violent crackdown on protests that began in 2011 and the subsequent civil war that drew in multiple outside actors.

However, in January 2024, several airlines resumed service at Damascus International Airport following an announcement by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority that international flights would be accepted.

On Saturday, a Syrian passenger flight departed on Sunday for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking the resumption of air travel between the two countries.

A UN official said on Saturday that Syria’s authorities should also begin the process of economic recovery, without waiting for Western sanctions imposed under al-Assad’s rule to be lifted.

“Waiting for sanctions to be lifted leads nowhere,” Abdallah Al Dardari, the regional chief for Arab states at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), told the AFP news agency in an interview in Damascus.

Al Dardari said this process should include “projects… directly affecting citizens”, the provision of services by civil society, particularly in education, and “the rapid improvement of public services”.

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“People need to feel the improvement quickly … especially in such a difficult period,” he said. “With a clear vision and well-defined priorities, once the sanctions are lifted, funding will flow into Syria.”

Some countries, including the US, have said they would wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power and ensure human rights before lifting sanctions, opting instead for targeted and temporary exemptions.

 

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Shared Stories of Life With Avelino Samuel at Weekend Memorial

On a Saturday in Friis Bay, St. John, friends and family lingered over memories of their life with Avelino Samuel. Hundreds of people gathered at Miss Lucy’s Restaurant to remember Samuel as patriarch, craftsman, educator, athlete and fisherman.
Samuel, 68, died June 7 after a lengthy illness. Those assembled in seats under a canopy with a platform set up for speakers faced a portrait of the deceased painted by his sister, Karen Samuel. There was no urn, no casket — nothing left to mourn.
Nephew Kurt Marsh Jr. invited anyone who wanted to share the stories of the time they spent with Avelino, also known as Bino.
There were many. All of them recalled a humble, unassuming man who set high standards for himself and all of those around him.
Evans Williams shared a lifetime of memories for a man he called his best friend. Michael Hodge spoke about the days they played volleyball together at school and in the St. Thomas Advanced Power League.
Coach Elridge Blake told a story about taking Samuel and his teammates from the then-College of the Virgin Islands to a regional competition where they returned home as medalists.
Like a proud parent, Blake added that all of those teammates went on past their college years to contribute to their community; doctors, coaches, military men, and artists.
Librarian Janet Burton and others spoke about the 30 years he spent teaching industrial arts at the Julius E. Sprauve School. She also recalled the days he sat quietly in her classroom. “Avelino was my student in the seventh- or eighth grade,” she said.
What caught her attention were the items he made in wood shop and brought back to the classroom; from that time, his teacher saw Samuel as someone who would grow up making “beautiful and practical things.”
Williams remembered the day he brought the spinning top he made in a shop to school and showed it to his friend. The next day, Bino showed up with the top he made.
“Yeah — he would mash up everybody’s top,” said another classmate seated in the audience, not without a hint of humor.
Those who remembered said that was the start of a lifetime of woodworking and woodturning. It was a skill that flowed into another lifetime passion — spearfishing. As time went by, the spearguns came mounted on polished native wood turned on the craftsman’s lathe.
One young relative said he gained a passion for spearfishing from an uncle who held demanding standards for catching, scaling and filleting the catch. Son Jonte Samuel told how he followed his dad into the undersea world. He remembered Bino’s reassuring presence even as five-foot sharks swam by; something that could cause some concern for Jonte, who was often swimming along carrying the fish they caught.
There were also those who found it fitting to share these stories outdoors on a sunny Saturday blessed with a cooling sea breeze, alongside the ocean Bino loved.
Gallery owners David and Priscilla Knight spoke with pride about having Samuel’s pieces featured in their St. John shop. Williams spoke about the dining room set his best friend made for him.
So did Tregenza Roach, now lieutenant governor, who asked for a dining room table, although he had just returned from law school with little to his name. Arrangements were made for payment and the table was delivered.
At the gallery, the artist would meet with collectors for his finely-turned, stained and polished pieces. Once, while pursuing the Smithsonian Museum website Priscilla said she admired a wood vessel with familiar features.
Then, she said, she looked at the artist’s name: Avelino Samuel, Coral Bay, St. John. Picking up the phone, Priscilla asked if he forgot to mention something.
“What?” he said.
If he had pieces that were being featured at the Smithsonian. He answered casually – Yes.
“And you didn’t tell anyone?” she asked.
“No,” he said.
The gallery owner said she urged him to travel to Washington, D.C., for the debut of his work at the nation’s renowned museum. With some persuasion, he agreed.
Upon returning home to St. John, she said Samuel thanked her for encouraging him to make the trip.
Perhaps his middle school teacher summed up the sentiment expressed by most at the Saturday memorial. “I saw in him humility; he was a regular person. Despite his fame, he was the same person you met in life — that was him,” Burton said.

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