ANOTHER GAZA BANKNOTE REPAIRMAN

 

In a bustling Gaza City market, a money repairer expertly inspects a worn, yellow 100 shekel ($30.50; £23.10) note. He straightens it out and enhances its faded colour with careful strokes of a pencil.

Baraa Abu al-Aoun should have been studying at university - but instead he ekes out a living from a table he has set up at the roadside, taking a small sum to help keep cash in circulation.

Fixing banknotes is a thriving new business in Gaza.

Ever since the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023 and the devastating war that ensued, Israel stopped transfers of banknotes, along with most other supplies.

 

Most banks were destroyed in Israeli strikes, and many were looted. While some branches have reopened since a ceasefire took effect seven weeks ago, there are still no working ATMs.

But people need cash to buy food and essentials. That has forced them to turn to informal money merchants who charge enormous commissions to turn digital transfers into cash. It has also sparked a huge increase in the use of e-wallets and money transfer apps.

And it means that every existing banknote matters more than ever - no matter how tattered. That's where Baraa comes in. "My tools are simple: a ruler, pencils, coloured pencils and glue," he says.

The lack of cash circulating has "caused problems for both sellers and buyers", says Zakaria Ajour, a stall-holder at another market in Gaza City. People don't want to accept worn and delicate notes at face value any more, "if there are even small scratches or pieces of tape on a note.

"Some customers come to me just because they want small change for transport, but I don't have change," Mr Ajour goes on. "Ten-shekel coins are barely found, and even when they are, they have virtually no value because of inflation due to the cash crisis."

Back in Gaza City, Baraa Abu al-Aoun holds the banknote he has been working on up to the light. expertly. He has more customers waiting, attracted by his sign promising repairs "with high professionalism and without adhesive tape".

 

To read the complete article, see:
Why I spend hours painstakingly repairing banknotes (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yq6g1gv4jo)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
REPAIRING GAZA'S TATTERED BANKNOTES (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n48a26.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web