They are called “daughters of thunder” or bint al-ra’ad – black and white from the Middle East truffle found in deserts across the region and are believed to be the result of stormy weather and lightning strikes.
Larger and less spicy than their European cousins, they’re an equally prized delicacy. Traditionally, after the winter storms, Syrian families in the east of the country packed their cars to camp in the desert and look for food.
But the cherished pastime of truffle hunting has become a dangerous gamble to make money in desperate economic times. At least 84 people have been killed so far this year while truffle hunting in the country’s central and eastern deserts, according to two groups monitoring the war in Syria. Some were killed by landmines, others were shot or kidnapped by gunmen and later killed.
Instead of venturing into the desert with their families, truffle hunters now take guns and first aid kits with them. Despite this, they go on the expeditions, driven by heavy Poverty and unemployment, a collapsing currency and inflation. More than half the population is struggling to get enough to eat, and amid a nationwide fuel shortage, some Syrians have turned to burning trash and plastic to keep warm or cook.
“People have started to fear poverty more than death,” said Baha Sulieman, 28, who lives in eastern Syria’s Deir al Zour province and went twice to collect truffles about a month ago.
Local residents and analysts say it’s unclear who’s targeting the truffle hunters. In the vast desert region where many have been killed, fighting between warring factions continues after more than 12 years of incessant warfare.
The areas are largely under the control of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and allied armed groups, including Iran-backed militias. Islamic State sleeper cells are also active there, and Syrian state media blame the terror group for all the killings.
Middle East truffle have a more subtle flavor than their European cousins and are eaten much like meat or mushrooms, roasted over campfires, or cooked in stews or with rice. Although local truffles don’t fetch the same prices as European ones, they can bring in some much-needed cash.
A bumper harvest and high truffle prices this year have made it particularly tempting for hunters.
At a market in Damascus, the Syrian capital, black truffles were being sold for $35 a kilogram — equivalent to a month’s wages for many in Syria, where about 90 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations.
A grocery store in an upper-middle-class neighborhood charged about $17 for a kilogram of black truffles — just over two pounds — while white truffles cost about $6, according to shopkeeper Samer Baalbecki.
Taking advantage of the dangerous situation and the desperation of those willing to risk it, pro-government forces have forced truffle hunters to bring them in for protection. The armed forces are also offering information on where mines have been laid and are calling for a large cut in profits. Those who resist the forces risk stepping on mines or being kidnapped or attacked by gunmen, some truffle hunters said.
The National Defense Forces, a pro-government militia, and the Syrian Army’s Fourth Armored Division, an elite unit commanded by the Syrian president’s younger brother, are both involved in the racketeering, according to three people living in eastern Syria.
War profiteers, shakedowns and looting have long been common among armed groups in the Syrian conflict, particularly those linked to Mr al-Assad’s regime.
Some truffle hunters believe some of the attacks are being carried out by the same forces that provide protection – to discourage people from going alone and keep them from a profitable harvest.
About a month ago, Mr. Sulieman, the truffle hunter in eastern Syria, said he had joined a caravan of hunters whose leader had arranged protection from the National Defense Forces militia. The soldiers were armed with automatic rifles and some machine guns.
But Mr. Sulieman was not reassured.
“I saw that they are afraid themselves, so how are they going to protect us?” he said. “There was constant fear”
At the end of the day, they had to sell all of their haul to a truffle dealer who paid half the market price. The rest of the profits went to the militia officers, he said.
Mr. Sulieman gained about 10 kilograms or 22 pounds the first day and 12 kilograms the next day. The money was good. But two days later, some collectors were kidnapped and killed in the same area, and he decided the payoff was no longer worth the risk.
Still, many others have continued to go out, Mr Sulieman said, even some who had previously been attacked.
“It’s a tempting sum,” he said, adding that he’s heard stories of people making up to 3,000,000 lira a day, or nearly $400. “That made people risk their lives.”
When the truffle hunting season started in February, a 19-year-old man in the city of Deir al Zour and his father began walking in groups into the desert hours away. They were accompanied by soldiers from the Fourth Armored Division for protection, he said.
At the end of each day of foraging, the soldiers would take half their harvest and buy the rest for half the market price, said the young man, who asked not to be identified because he lives in a government-controlled town fearing retribution.
About a month ago, the man from Deir al Zour and his father had had enough of handing over three quarters of the day’s profit. Instead, they coordinated with a local tribe to provide armed protection. At 5 a.m., he said, they set out for an area of mountains and valleys, escorted by the tribesmen armed with light weapons.
Suddenly, they were attacked by several attackers who charged at them with assault rifles and machine guns, he said. The truffle hunters crouched on the ground as the tribesmen opened fire on the attackers in an exchange of fire that lasted about an hour.
Six of the tribesmen and two of the attackers were killed, while the rest of the attackers fled, according to the young man.
The truffle hunters were unharmed. But the young man said he thought they would die in the firefight and has not ventured into the desert since.
Syrian state media blame Islamic State. After the group’s self-declared caliphate crumbles and lost its last territorial foothold in Syria in 2019, sleeper cells have been hiding in Syria’s vast desert and using it as a base for attacks.
The Islamic State has not claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.
The deadliest attack occurred on February 17, when 53 truffle hunters in central Homs province were ambushed and shot in the head, one of the attacks blamed by Islamic State, according to state media.
The Syrian war has robbed the country and its people of so much. But the disappearance of this cherished tribal tradition is something that Jassem Abu Baraa, 33, a local councilor in Deir al Zour province, deeply mourns.
Two years ago, a relative was killed while looking for truffles.
“After the war, this camping became too difficult because the security situation‘ he said, lamenting the loss of what was once a beloved pastime. “It’s going to be hard for us to ever get it back.”
