{"id":1025,"date":"2020-09-21T08:48:35","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T08:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thepaphospost.com\/?p=1025"},"modified":"2020-09-07T10:49:02","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T10:49:02","slug":"golden-future-beckons-for-young-syrian-entrepreneur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepaphospost.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/21\/golden-future-beckons-for-young-syrian-entrepreneur\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Golden\u2019 Future Beckons For Young Syrian Entrepreneur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Bejay Browne.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peace, progress and perfection are the main goals for a young Syrian entrepreneur who has opened a stunning new venture selling sweet delicacies in Paphos, the first of a number of companies he hopes to establish in the town he has come to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahmoud Shikhoni, 30, is from Aleppo and has lived in Cyprus with his wife Zoha for the last six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A shop selling Syrian sweets might not be the obvious choice for a software coder, but nothing about this young man is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Golden Sweets\u2019 opened only recently, and the attention to detail is impressive. The shop\u2019s interior is as luxurious as the sweets on offer, which are all made on site by his wife\u2019s brother, experienced in creating these delights, and helped by Zoha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy family make all of the things here. The Syrian baklava is from our city, Aleppo, it\u2019s all handmade and not rolled using a machine. We have all sorts of sweets and we have changed the names for everyone to understand what they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the customers so far are Cypriots, about 80 per cent, 15 per cent are Arab, and five per cent is \u2018everyone else\u2019, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shikhoni\u2019s modest, almost humble, approach to conversation is in direct contrast to the perfection he strives for. His command of the English language is good, no mean feat as he is self-taught, and he was unaware of the word \u2018entrepreneur\u2019 but agrees the term describes him perfectly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m just starting this business, but I hope to expand it. I will also start another company that will import and export catering equipment for hotels and other businesses. I am also coding still and am about to start another job as a technician for Apple products. I will also look for other opportunities in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His enthusiasm and drive are impressive, and sound exhausting, especially as the couple are also parents to a five-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe speaks Arabic, Greek and a little English. My wife speaks good Greek and I\u2019m working on mine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took seven months to create the shop, which he designed. He delayed the opening by a couple of months as the design wasn\u2019t completed and the coronavirus pandemic hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His family are proud of his achievement and his mother has been a great role model. She moved to Cyprus 15 years ago with his sister and had two dress shops in Polis Chrysochous. It was on her recommendation that the couple decided to move to Cyprus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings are difficult in Syria, and the climate in Cyprus is similar and the people are good. My mother said come here. It\u2019s a good country to start your jobs and also good for your family, both for safety and for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shikhoni studied in Aleppo, and at university in Egypt. He describes himself as \u201cjust a normal man, always looking to the future\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His love affair with Cyprus is apparent on entering his artistically designed shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the young businessman, his safety and that of his family is the most important driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like guns or fighting and I\u2019m always looking to the future for a safe and good life. I am always thinking to improve things for my family and me. In Syria, we can\u2019t do this with the war. If you want to stay in Syria, you must use a gun, I don\u2019t like that at all and don\u2019t want to be involved in these things which are wrong. I always look for peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And even if his humble nature prevents him from wanting to be seen as a role model or advocate for the young Syrian refugee population of Paphos, Shikhoni is their unwitting champion, suggesting a special college for refugees to help them find and explore their passions and learn skills and a craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope they make a small place like this for the refugees to find out what they like to do and help them to study. Some like photography or cooking, for example, and they need help and support. It would be good to find out what they are passionate about, this is important.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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