From being born in Syria and enduring the atrocities of the civil war, to working as a child in Turkey to help support his family and eventually immigrating to Canada, few could have predicted that Ala Alhaj Obid would one day have his own business.

At just 21, he opened his alteration and tailoring shop, D&F Tailoring Experts, at 543 Herald St. in downtown Victoria on July 31.

This marks the culmination of years of hard work and a chance for him to pour his talent into every garment he is entrusted to alter, repair, or create.

From Aleppo to Istanbul

Born in Syria, Obid recalled a childhood shaped by the civil war between the Assad regime and rebel forces, where constant air raids became part of daily life.

“It was horrible… the planes would come and just bomb houses,” he recalled so

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