Syrian government under fire over failed economic policies
Amidst an economic crisis in war-torn Syria, Assad’s government is under intense scrutiny as many believe that is lacks the capability to solve the ongoing financial turmoil, according to Human Rights Watch.
The country has experienced terrorist dominance and a civil war more generally for over a decade due Bashar Al-Assad’s brutal shutdown of pro-democracy protests back in 2011.
The conflict has led to over half a million deaths and the fleeing of millions of citizens, who have gone to either neighbouring countries or Europe.
A 2024 draft budget was drawn up and amounted to 35,500 billion Syrian Pounds (SYP) divided into 26,500 billion SYP for current spending and 9,000 billion SYP for investments, meaning the total deficit was 9,404 billion SYP.
Economic experts in the country have noted that the government policy from 2018 to 2023 resulted in an imbalance in the distribution of national wealth.
READ: Osama Al-Sharif: Time for Assad to embrace a solution to Syria crisis
Following the recent budget announcement, The General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) held talks with government officials to discuss the dire economic situation as well as wages for ordinary workers.
Founded in 1948, the GFTU is the sole trade union centre nationally and all unions are required to be affiliated with the organisation.
Syrian journalist Maad Issa said the dismal job market situation is linked to “crises and government decisions” and that every crisis creates new job opportunities regardless of the security of such employment.
It was recently found that farmers, who in some cases had been working on their land for an excess of three decades, had to look for more traditional forms of employment due to the harsh climate, war as well as the aforementioned economic turmoil.
The agriculture industry is dying, emphasised by 50-year-old farmer Omar Abdel-Fattah who has had to look for a new job following the sale of his precious, Raqqa-based farmland that he had been working on since his early twenties.
The farmer has eight children and in order to provide them with an adequate education and lifestyle, he has had to ditch his beloved trade.
Human Rights Watch
