Reclining in a leather chair framed by shelves of colourful shampoo bottles, washing powder and jars of deep golden honey, Rakkan Talib surveys the small business he has made his own. The 26-year-old supervises a procession of giggling schoolchildren arriving to buy bread, as they eye the packets of bubblegum on the counter next to his stack of leather-bound ledgers.
Talib arrived in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep in 2014 after fleeing Islamic State’s advance on his home town of Deir ez-Zor, determined to transform his fortunes after abandoning his dream of becoming a doctor. He succeeded, working his way up until he bought his corner shop outright two years ago.
