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“Al-Kandaraji” believed that his profession had become a memory of the past, and that he had known glories. It coincided with the prosperity of the shoe industry which, before and during the Civil War, was comparable to French and Italian footwear in terms of quality. Peace returned and brought with it another type of war that destroyed the Lebanese shoe industry and the work of shoemakers, after flooding the market with cheap imported shoes. Thus, the workshops and small shops that filled the markets of Burj Hammoud, Tripoli, Sidon and other areas were gradually disappearing, and the smell of poia, the sounds of hooks, the nails that installed new shoes …
Garo Colcullian, owner of the old New York atelier in El Jadida, cannot find anything better than to describe “crazy people” to speak of the high influx of clients. The age of the operator is close to a century, a family trade inherited from father to grandfather, in which Garo spent almost 50 years making or repairing shoes.
The shoe was a sign of “pomp and social fear”: tell me the brand of shoes you wear, I’ll tell you who you are. People, according to Garoux, “It was easy to get rid of their old shoes and replace them with new ones. Today everyone refers to us, at the forefront of those who are financially comfortable. Everyone is the same in front of a shoemaker. “
With winter approaching, great demand to fix winter boots, boots and shoes
Colcullian notes that “the attack began in April and May, and has grown tremendously in recent weeks, with the arrival of winter, to fix winter boots, boots and shoes.” What is striking is the change in the quality of customers. “Many of those who come to us are Aïshti clients who buy shoes for more than $ 500 and sometimes $ 1000. Previously, most of our clients bought shoes that did not exceed $ 150.” Sarcastically, he says: “What’s so strange, then Aïshti will sell food!”
The suffocating crisis imposed the “inheritance of footwear”. Abu Ali, the old Kandarji Trabelsi, says: “Today many come to us asking that the shoes be smaller or expanded to fit the feet of another member of the family.”
Also, the profession of “Al-Kandarji” did not escape the high prices, which forced the shoemakers to reduce their earnings to a minimum in order to continue and work after the stagnation of their profession. Keep in mind that there is no choice but to lower the cost for customers, as even the simplest “deductions” are expensive by today’s standards. Colculian explains: “The heel of a men’s shoe cost us two dollars, or 3,000 pounds, and they paid us about 10,000 pounds, or about 6 dollars. Today two dollars are worth more than 16 thousand lire and they pay us 20 thousand, so we earn 4 thousand lire. It is impossible to put a price of 8 thousand pounds per dollar. Who can afford 48,000 heels? As for “women’s fine heels, they cost around two and a half dollars and they paid us 20 thousand.” Today two and a half dollars are worth more than 20 thousand pounds and we are obliged to charge between 35 thousand and 40 thousand pounds.
After the markets were full of “Kandarji”, many of them abandoned the craft, which had lost its luster, believing that it was no longer necessary. “The profession was not limited to the poor and whoever worked for it was not a job. On the contrary, mastering it required high skills, and provided high returns and a decent life for its owners,” says Abu Ali, who laments the profession, “We will not be able to pass it on to other generations for a number of reasons, including low yields and unattractiveness to young people. Economic hardships may have returned some souls to the blind, but we are saying last gasps.”
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