Syrians struggle with soaring prices as economic crisis tests post-Assad recovery
Fuel price rises have sparked the largest protests since President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power two years ago, as a deepening cost-of-living crisis leaves many Syrians worse off than under Bashar al-Assad. The government revoked the increase after days of unrest, but poverty and rising costs continue to strain households across the country.
BBC World
Protests erupted across Syria last month after the government raised fuel prices, with people burning tyres, blocking roads and chanting slogans in the largest display of discontent since President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power two years ago. Days later, amid calls for further demonstrations, the increase was revoked.
The rise was the latest in a series of measures blamed for a growing cost-of-living crisis. For many Syrians, financial conditions have worsened since rebels led by Sharaa ousted President Bashar al-Assad, ending five decades of his family's rule and more than 13 years of civil war. Sharaa has since led the country's transition and efforts to revive a broken economy after years of mismanagement, isolation and conflict, but the handling of the economy has frustrated many.
Since taking power, the government has slashed long-held subsidies as part of an austerity drive. The price of bread, a Syrian staple, has increased tenfold, fuel prices are now in line with the international average, and electricity costs have risen several hundred per cent for some. Public sector wages and pensions have been adjusted in response, but the effect has been eroded as prices continue to climb.
In a suburb of Damascus, Fatima Saleh Eid, a 50-year-old cleaner, described how her family had cut back sharply. "We eat more sparingly now. We can't afford chicken anymore nor meat. We only eat vegetables but even that is expensive," she said. Her husband had recently found work at a ceramic factory after a year unemployed, and she is among those luckier than the many men who gather in the streets each day hoping, often in vain, for day jobs.
Marwan Bashour, a 68-year-old pensioner, said his monthly pay was around $90, the public sector minimum wage. "It's not enough at all," he said, explaining that he borrows money and sells household items, including furniture, to make ends meet. Aid that he once relied on has stopped as organisations cut back services because of funding cuts. The United Nations Development Programme said 90% of Syrians were living in poverty last year.
Pensioner Nabil al-Remhein, 63, said none of his four adult children could find work and his family now eats one meal a day. His latest electricity bill was about a third of the family's income, and he has not paid it. The government said the fuel increase was partly due to pressure on energy markets from the US-Iran war, which has also affected Syria.
Dr Haid Haid, a Syrian columnist and consulting fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said a significant portion of the population was worse off than before Assad's fall and that the economic crisis was one of the most dangerous issues for the government. "Part of it is related to the lack of financial resources and the legacy left by the former regime," he said, "but it's also the direct impact of the new policies that are moving Syria towards a liberal and free-market sort of economy, which don't take into account the impact on people." A spokesman for the Syrian economy and industry ministry said no-one was available for an interview.
Sharaa has scored important gains. International sanctions imposed in the Assad era have been lifted, the US has removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, and the president earlier this year retook the resource-rich north-east from a Kurdish-led militia. But large parts of the country remain in ruins after a war that killed half a million people and displaced half the population, and the World Bank estimates reconstruction costs at $216bn, saying it will be impossible for Syrians to rebuild without foreign help and investment. Druze still control areas in the south, where they seek autonomy, and Israel occupies parts of the south-west.
Samir Aita, a Syrian economist who heads the Paris-based Circle of Arab Economists, said the crisis was a combination of policies with a government failing to manage expectations and creating unrealistic hopes. "It's unsustainable. If they don't change, I fear chaos," he said. Yet many Syrians remain hopeful. Abu Mahmoud, a cab driver, said: "They inherited the country bankrupt, so people need to be patient. Things don't happen overnight."