A hardworking peasant from As-Sweida drives a tractor and distributes milk on a motorcycle

As-Sweida, (ST) – With the early morning every day Mrs. Safaa Sobh goes out of her house to start her long working day with a firm will and unrelenting determination. She spends her day moving between the cow farm and the field to return home at sunset exhausted and tired, because she does hard work that only men can do, as it requires great effort.

The 42-year-old Safaa from Salkhad city in As-Sweida governorate, tells SANA reporter that she has left a comfortable life and chose to work in the field relying on herself and that she is living her experience with high vigor and hard work to make her agricultural project a success. She wanted to prove her ability to defy the hard circumstances and earn her living from the resources of the land to meet her family’s living requirements.

Safaa, who engaged in agriculture 22 years ago in order to support her husband at work, as she explained, found herself facing a challenge after his death. Therefore, she continued the work alone without anyone’s help, which increased her determination to take care of the land, converting it from wasteland to productive agricultural land. She also expanded her farm, to include, instead of one cow, a herd of cows, giving her an abundant production of milk.

Umm Ghaith, as everyone calls her, does not find it difficult to drive an agricultural tractor, or a motorcycle that the man drives and works on, as it is known. She is keen on plowing her land and cultivating it herself with crops such as wheat, chickpeas, and lentils, in addition to various vegetables, as a step towards achieving self-sufficiency for her family. She also manufactures dairy and cheese and sells milk with the help of her motorbike that she drives herself to distribute the production as requested.

“I know it is a hard but an enjoyable profession. When you love the land and give it attention, it will exchange your love and giving.” With these words, Safaa describes her work and her relationship with the land, which has become her source of livelihood, calling everyone to take care of the land because it is the source of goodness and giving.

Umm Ghaith, the mother of three children, two daughters who are pursuing their studies at the university, one of them is married and a young man at the age of 17, is one of the Syrian women who represent a distinguished example to be followed with their will and determination. They give hope, strength, and courage to others to be self-reliant and face life’s circumstances and requirements.

Amal Farhat