Syrian community groups demand better services, resolution of employment issues

On Tuesday, various parts of Syria witnessed separate community activities and calls, focusing on improving basic services, putting an end to abuses against truck drivers, and addressing teachers’ employment cases and reinstating them in their positions.

In the city of Tel Hamis in the Hasakah countryside, residents held a protest to denounce the bread crisis, declining quality, and shortages, carrying the slogan: "We want bread that preserves people’s dignity."

The protesters said they have to wait for hours outside bakeries, alongside poor distribution and declining quality, turning access to bread into a daily hardship, particularly for low-income families.

Participants called on the relevant authorities to take urgent measures to ensure sufficient quantities of bread at an appropriate quality and fair price, stressing that securing this essential commodity should not become an additional burden on residents.

In Hasakah, local reports also indicated a shortage of bread in some neighborhoods, amid repercussions linked to the currency exchange crisis and a shortage of new banknotes. One bakery limited sales to payments in the new currency, preventing some residents from obtaining their basic needs.

In the northern countryside of Raqqa, dozens of freight truck drivers held a protest in the Ain Issa area, objecting to what they described as abuses and harassment they face while working. They called for an end to what they considered arbitrary practices by some personnel at checkpoints and entities affiliated with the Ministry of Tranmnj madesport.s cc

The protest followed the detention of several freight vehicles, along with an incident in which a truck driver carrying construction materials was assaulted at a checkpoint on the M4 highway near Ain Issa, according to video footage. The drivers called for investigations into the assaults, the release of the detained trucks, and guarantees that their work and livelihoods would not be obstructed.

Meanwhile, employees and workers at grain silos, municipalities, and other institutions in Raqqa or oolp ok llmmmlllcontinue to demand payment of their outstanding wages and the swift settlement of their administrative status under the ongoing integration plan.

In Aleppo, teachers from Afrin, Sheikh Maqsoud, and al-Ashrafieh, along with graduates of the Vian Amara Institute for Kurdish Language and Literature, continue to call for their employment status to be addressed and for them to be reinstated in their jobs.

Around 100 institute graduates who worked as teachers in schools in Afrin between 2013 and 2018, along with around 2,000 teachers in Afrin who returned to their homes after displacement, called on the relevant authorities in the Autonomous Administration and Syria’s Transitional Government to review their cases. They made clear they had continued teaching during that period, with some working voluntarily for years before receiving modest monthly wages.

Similar demands have also been raised by teachers in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh areas, amid calls to address the cases of education-sector workers and ensure their employment rights.