Raqqa, Oct. 6 (SANA) In the cotton fields of northern Raqqa countryside, the day begins for women cotton pickers with the first light of dawn. Carrying their bags, they head into the fields to harvest what is locally known as Raqqa’s “white gold,” embarking on a long workday, or “sarwa,” that stretches into the evening.
For nearly two months each season, they work from dawn to dusk in search of an income to help support their families.
From Deir Ezzor to Raqqa, Livelihood Among the Fields
“I know no work other than picking cotton. Since I was a child, I have grown up working on agricultural land,” Fatima al-Nasser, a 40-year-old cotton picker locally known as a “laguta,” told SANA.
Standing among rows of cotton in the village of Ain al-Arous in Raqqa, Fatima recalled how the profession has accompanied her since childhood. Today, she travels from Deir Ezzor with her four orphaned children, relying on cotton picking as her only source of income.
Each season, Fatima spends about two months in the fields, setting up a tent and beginning work in the early hours of the morning until evening. She picks cotton by hand in the hope of earning enough to meet her children’s needs.
But the income, she said, barely covers basic living expenses. Workers receive about $70 per ton of cotton picked, forcing her to borrow another $100 to cover other necessities.
Daily Struggle with Harsh Working Conditions
Fatima’s story reflects the experience of other families living in temporary tents that offer little protection from the conditions of the cotton-picking season. Sun, wind and rain follow the workers both in and outside the fields.
Several workers have suffered exhaustion during the recent heatwave, while one woman was taken for emergency medical treatment after developing a health condition that required care.
Farmer Khalil al-Hamoud, who also came from northern Raqqa countryside to Ain al-Arous, described the work as increasingly difficult.
“The nature of the work has changed, and cotton picking has become harder than it was in the past,” he said, adding that some workers have abandoned the job for other forms of employment.
Abdullah al-Ibrahim, the workers’ foreman, said about 90 percent of the laborers in the area come from Deir Ezzor, with entire families arriving during the cotton-picking season and staying for nearly two months before returning home.
Despite the difficult conditions, the wages no longer match the work involved, he said, amid rising cotton production costs and declining returns compared with the effort required from both workers and farmers.
Workers are organized into teams and assigned to farmers according to the size of their fields and labor requirements, al-Ibrahim explained. The crop is harvested in two stages, locally known as the “first round” and “second round,” while workers from outside the province receive the same wages as local laborers.
Rising Living Costs Reshape the Cotton Season
Long working hours and declining returns have also changed the character of the season. The songs that once accompanied women workers in the fields and the festive atmosphere that traditionally marked the cotton harvest have faded under the pressure of rising living costs.
Workers no longer view the harvest simply as an abundant crop. Instead, they calculate how much it will provide for themselves and their families once the season ends.
As Fatima prepares for another day in the fields, she gives little thought to how the season compares with the past. Her only concern is whether what she gathers will be enough to meet her children’s needs and whether she can return home with enough to support them until the next cotton harvest.
MHD