AMMAN - In the back alleys of the old city of Damascus, Yaseen al-Obeid carries sacks of bricks to make some extra cash and supplement his monthly foreman’s salary of $15.
Obeid’s problems are common among the estimated 17 million people left in Syria after a decade-long civil war that decimated the economy, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million, or around half the pre-war population. And now, with tightening U.S. sanctions, neighbouring Lebanon’s financial collapse, COVID-19 hitting remittances from Syrians abroad and allies Russia and Iran unable to provide enough relief, the prospects for economic recovery look poor.
A cumulative total of $226 billion in gross domestic product was lost due to the civil war from 2011 to 2016, according to the World Bank. Witnesses said fights had broken out, although open dissent against the authorities is still relatively rare amid fears that they will crack down to quell it.Memories are still fresh of how peaceful protests in 2011 were met with deadly force, fuelling an insurgency against Assad’s government that became a multi-sided war.
In Damascus, some residents say that signs of economic strain are everywhere, including beggars and homeless people roaming the streets of more affluent areas. “The only hope we had was to go to Europe and we did not. The hope has gone, it has died, it has been buried,” he said.Salary increases for war veterans and the military establishment cannot keep up with spiralling prices, and even in Jabla in the Mediterranean province of Latakia - an Assad family stronghold - some Syrians say they are unhappy.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)