Cost of living and service shortages worsen hardships for Hasakah residents

Living conditions in the city of Hasakah have deteriorated sharply amid a severe economic slowdown and fluctuations in the prices of basic food items. With wages and residents' purchasing power declining, securing daily necessities and even basic food has become a genuine challenge beyond the financial means of many people.

In interviews conducted by AHNA agency, several residents spoke about the difficulty of balancing their incomes with the costs of food, water and heating, amid limited employment opportunities and continued electricity and water cuts.

Price Fluctuations and Declining Purchasing Power

Resident Saad Dibs said food prices vary considerably across markets, attributing this to economic instability, the absence of invoices for goods and a lack of price controls.

He said that, according to his observations, the price of a tin of ghee had risen from 80,000 to 115,000 Syrian pounds, despite the recent stability of the exchange rate, noting that the dollar had previously been worth around 15,000 Syrian pounds.

With winter approaching, Dibs expressed concern over the difficulty of purchasing heating diesel, saying that a barrel costs around 3.5 million Syrian pounds.

"We have young children, and if we do not buy heating diesel, we will end up paying for this barrel to doctors to treat them for illnesses," he added.

Dibs said exploitation by some traders and weak market oversight were adding to the financial burden on residents. He also noted an increase in begging on the streets and said many families were relying on assistance from abroad to meet their basic needs.

Wages Fail to Keep Pace with Expenses

For his part, resident Ferhad Ahmad highlighted the widening gap between wages and the cost of daily living. He said employees' salaries range from one million to 1.2 million Syrian pounds, an amount insufficient to cover basic necessities.

He said a single visit to a grocery store could cost around 150,000 Syrian pounds, while daily expenses range between 150,000 and 200,000 pounds. He added that the minimum monthly wage should be no less than six million pounds to cover these costs.

Purchasing a single barrel of heating diesel, he added, costs the equivalent of approximately three months' wages, making heating a significant financial burden for employees and their families.

Ahmad also pointed to limited electricity supply, saying that in some areas electricity is available for only two or three hours, often late at night. Water cuts also continue, particularly in higher-elevation neighbourhoods.

Calls for Better Services and Higher Incomes

Meanwhile, resident Hamid al-Hussein described living conditions in Hasakah and the Jazira region as difficult, noting that limited employment opportunities and shortages of services and fuel were worsening the hardships faced by families, particularly those with children and elderly members.

Al-Hussein questioned how residents could continue coping with these conditions, saying that low wages and the lack of prospects for improvement were leaving many employees and workers frustrated.

He said the opening of government offices and the creation of new job opportunities would not be enough to improve living conditions unless wages were adjusted to reflect prices. The low purchasing power of salaries, he added, limits the impact of such opportunities in easing families' financial burdens.

ANHA