The sun was shining bright over the camp and today was not like any other day because we decided to start the first market in the ruins. My brother and Omar spent all morning cleaning a big open space between the broken walls and they used old wooden boards to make tables for the people to show what they have. It was a strange and beautiful thing to see because for a long time we only thought about survival and we forgot how it feels to trade and talk and laugh together. People started coming from their tents and even from the small camps nearby and they brought whatever they could find or make with their own hands. Some women brought bread that smelled like heaven and others brought old clothes they fixed with colorful strings and even some men brought tools they made from the metal of the fallen cars. I stood there with my notebook and I saw a woman trading a small bag of salt for a beautiful handmade toy for her child and both of them were smiling like they just won a treasure.
The air was full of voices and the sound of people talking about the prices and the quality of the things they had and it felt like the old city was waking up from a long sleep. I saw a group of children running around the tables and they were so happy to see so many people in one place and their laughter was the best music we heard in years. My brother was talking to a man who brought some seeds for planting and they were planning how to start a small garden near the well because water is life and we need to grow our own food if we want to stay here forever. I walked between the tables and I saw things that reminded me of my childhood like an old book with missing pages and a small mirror that was still shiny and I felt like we were picking up the pieces of our lives one by one. This market was not just about buying and selling things but it was about showing the world that we are a community and that we can take care of each other even if we have nothing.
By the afternoon the market was busy and full of energy and I decided to draw a picture of the scene in my notebook to remember this day. I drew the colorful clothes and the smiling faces and the tall ruins in the background that looked less scary now because they were full of life again. We realized that when we work together we are much stronger and that the trade route Omar talked about is actually starting right here in our own backyard. People were sharing stories while they were trading and I heard about other groups who are starting to fix their buildings and this gave us so much hope for the future. When the sun started to go down and the market began to close everyone felt like they had a purpose again and they went back to their tents with a light in their eyes. We didnt make any money today because we dont have money yet but we made something much better which is trust and friendship and a reason to wake up tomorrow and keep building. I looked at my brother and he was tired but he had a big smile on his face and I knew that we are finally turning the ruins into a home.