Syrian people face ruthlessness in securing livelihood  

The humanitarian crisis in Syria continues to worsen with the economic deterioration the country is experiencing, affected by rising energy prices on one hand, and the decline in living conditions on the other, along with arbitrary dismissals and job losses, in addition to the successive losses that farmers and livestock breeders are facing.

While UN indicators, in their latest report, predicted that around 4 million Syrians would fall below the poverty line following the political tensions in the region and the accompanying rise in fuel and food prices, the voices of patients in Syria are rising due to the absence of specialized medications for chronic diseases, amid an unprecedented increase in the number of people suffering from these diseases.

Malnutrition rates among children under five and mothers have increased more than fourfold over the past four years, and the number of children suffering from stunting has reached record levels, according to UNICEF reports.

According to United Nations indicators, more than 90 percent of the Syrian people have fallen below the extreme poverty line, which international organizations have defined as an individual consuming less than 1.9 US dollars per day.

The repercussions of the descent into poverty in Syria are evident in front of bakeries, where women carrying their infants are forced to sell bread to secure their daily sustenance, and university graduates are transitioning to work in restaurants or manual labor to continue living.

Stalls have also spread across all the streets and alleys to earn a living in the face of the significant rise in living costs.

The elderly man, who introduced himself as Abu Khaled, waited at a counter to pay his electricity bill. When he heard the consumption value of his bill, which amounted to 870,000 S.P, he said to ANHA agency, his hands trembling and a tear in his eye, "I am retired. My salary after serving in the state for 40 years is 850,000 S.P, which is not enough to cover just the electricity bill." Where will I live when I am a kidney dialysis patient and a diabetic?

He added, "Medications have increased significantly and are no longer available for free as they used to be, and the price of a loaf of bread has also gone up." I opened a stall with the help of a benefactor to sell socks, but the provincial patrols confiscated it. "We long for death and seek it every morning, and my hope is that my life does not last any longer, for I have had my fill of living in humiliation and disgrace."

For his part, Abu Jassem, a garlic farmer in Saasaa in the countryside of Damascus, mentioned that the current government policy is impoverishing the people and depriving farmers of work. He said, for the first time in the garlic season, there is no export, and the price of garlic has dropped to 1500 lira, which is less than the cost of planting, harvesting, and marketing it. However, what we see as government confusion in agricultural policies and the export schedule makes us not understand what this authority is planning.

Abu Jassim continued, "The farmer's repeated losses are pushing him into debt, as is the case with us this season. There are those who are working to undermine the farmer and impoverish the people."

Engineer Alaa Hassan, who lost his job and opened a fast-food restaurant, observed that his sales are almost nonexistent due to the generally dire living conditions of Syrians.

He added, "More than 10 people pass by my shop daily asking for aid or a piece of bread to stave off hunger, and this situation is getting much worse." He pointed out that his monthly sales don't even cover the rent, which has increased several times over since he lost his job and is trying to make ends meet with the rent.

Engineer Alaa stated that the crisis in Syria is terrifying, and everyone is rapidly descending into poverty.

In ANHA agency's observations, the markets offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but "unfortunately, we cannot to buy anything," says Khadija Naaman, a retiree selecting tomatoes in front of a former Syrian Trading Company outlet.

She added, "Inside the outlet, fresh vegetables are displayed at exorbitant prices, while outside, they sell stale vegetables." She pointed to the class discrimination she has come to feel due to poverty, the decline in living standards, and soaring prices.

"For the first time in my 70 years, I feel humiliated, weak, and impoverished," she said. "I sold all my savings and rely on aid to survive at the bare minimum." She indicated that her life has not been happy, and every morning we hear about dozens losing their jobs, new price hikes, new demands, and new worries. A journalist specializing in social issues, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, stated that the poverty rate in Syria was already very high. After the war in the region and the subsequent rise in fuel prices and the cost of living, the suffering of the Syrian people intensified, pushing millions below the extreme poverty line.

The journalist emphasized that access to healthcare, which was once free, as well as transportation, bread, and utility bills, has become virtually impossible for ordinary Syrians.

He warned that these immense pressures could trigger a social explosion, which is already evident in the rising divorce rates and family breakdown, in addition to the worsening of illnesses due to the lack of medicine and the inability to afford it.

ANHA