Since the fall of Bashar-al Assad’s brutal regime in December, Syrians speaking to The Irish Times have frequently cited economic problems as their biggest concern. The financial impact has been felt across the country – from eastern cities Damascus and Homs, to Raqqa in the north and Daraa in the south.
Corruption, neglect and the destruction of war have led to a breakdown of services, while international sanctions have isolated the economy. The Syrian pound has collapsed since the war started 14 years ago. In March 2011, the exchange rate was 48 pounds to the US dollar. The rate is now about 10,000 pounds to a dollar.
Of approximately 23 million people in Syria, 16.5 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Estimates for the cost of reconstruction range between $250 billion and $400 billion.
“All things considered, Syria’s transition has gone just about as smoothly as could have been envisioned, but external actors don’t appreciate how fragile the situation is becoming,” Charles Lister, the director of the Middle East Institute Syria programme, posted on X in February. “Assad’s departure gave way to euphoria, as Syrians embraced newfound freedom. But regime change did nothing to fix Syria’s broken economy and worse-than-ever humanitarian crisis.”
The web of sanctions affecting Syria is complex. Vittorio Maresca di Serracapriola, sanctions lead analyst at the consultancy Karam Shaar Advisory Limited, which specialises in Syria’s political economy, said it is important to distinguish between two types.
“First, there are the sectoral and Assad-related sanctions, which the EU, US, and UK imposed following the uprisings, although the US started its sanctions policy against Syria much [earlier], with the country being designated a state sponsor of terroris...
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