Language curb squeezes Syrian business
By an IWPR-trained reporter
DAMASCUS - Twelve years after opening an electronics shop in Damascus, Khaled
has been forced to change its name.
In place of Roussil, a Kurdish word meaning "sun disc", he was made to pick an
Arabic name. Patrols from the capital's municipality told him that they would
close his store if he refused to do so. He gave in and chose an Arabic word.
"This is not a wise decision ... we use the names that we feel comfortable
with," said Khaled, who declined to give his last name. "Why this fanatical
attachment to the Arabic language?"
In an effort to consolidate the use of Arabic in Syria, the authorities decided
recently to enforce a years-old ruling that lays
down a minimum proportion of Arabic in any sign on shops, restaurants and
cafes.
The move affected hotels and restaurants aimed at tourists in the old town of
Damascus and other cities. Only agents of foreign brands, such as Mercedes or
Adidas, were exempt.
The decision stipulates that at least 60% of the space on a sign should be in
Arabic. Latin letters can be used as long as they do not occupy more than 40%
of the sign.
Although some welcomed the decision as a way to preserve the integrity of the
Arabic language, many minority groups in Syria with a different mother tongue
regard the step as a further attempt to undermine their cultural identity.
Syrian authorities focused on enforcing the decision in the northeastern
provinces of Syria, including Hassakeh and Qamishli, where a majority of the
population are Kurds and use Kurdish names for their businesses, according to
reports by civil rights organizations.
A spokesman for the Kurdish human rights organization Maf told IWPR that the
Kurdish language should not be treated as a foreign tongue, like French or
English.
"Kurdish Syrian citizens feel that their culture and language are being
attacked by Syrian officials," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, making up between 10% and 20%
of the population.
Local and international human rights groups say the Syrian authorities are
repressing the cultural and linguistic freedoms of the Kurdish community.
Maf said that Kurds were not allowed to open private schools to teach their
language and faced difficulties when trying to register their children with
Kurdish names. The language was also banned from government offices, it said.
Other ethnic groups that use languages such as Armenian and Assyrian have also
protested against the decision to require Arabic in businesses.
Hassan Berro, an author and a lawyer, warned in a widely publicized online
article that the latest move was "planting the seeds of strife and hostility"
among Syrian citizens. He asked why Kurds, Armenians and Assyrians were treated
as second- or even third-class citizens.
Officials, however, defended the decision as a way to reinforce the use of
Arabic.
"All countries in the world protect their languages. We also need to preserve
our language and cultural identity," said Mofleh Azar, the vice president of
the bureau for the consolidation of the Arabic language.
The move, he said, was part of efforts to promote the use of classical Arabic
in state institutions and schools.
The decision to require Arabic for store names was ssued in 1961. The
authorities only started to enforce it effectively in 2008, when Damascus
became for a year the cultural capital of the Arab world.
This year, officials enforcing the ruling have been sending patrols into
commercial districts. They often threaten with closure shop owners who refuse
to change the names of their stores into Arabic, merchants say.
Some businessmen criticized the move, arguing that the names, which are
sometimes decades old, have become well known to their customers so the change
will affect their businesses.
Morhaf Mino, a designer of shop signs working in Damascus, said some businesses
are directed towards foreigners and tourists and so need to have an English
name to attract clients.
"People should be free to choose whatever names they want for their shops," he
said.
Chaalan Sbaiini, the owner of a popular hotel for tourists near Homs, said that
the local authorities obliged him to change the name of his hotel, Francis, 10
years after he had opened it.
After negotiations, they found a compromise. The Arabic version of its name now
occupies 70% of the sign.
"Using Arabic names for touristic hotels does not encourage investors. Does
this really help bolster Arabic?" he said.
Others said that changing the signs cost them a lot of money and that they had
not received any financial compensation from the government.
Malek Ikhwan, the owner of a cosmetics shop in Homs, said he paid US$4,000 to
redesign his sign and change the name of his salon from Maria Gallery into one
in Arabic.
"If the decision was issued in the 1960s, why did they allow us to use foreign
names in the first place?" he said.
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