DARAA/SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Zain al-Hussein, a pseudonym for a university student at 20s from the village of al-Taeba in the east of Suwayda Governorate, south Syria, prepares to travel to Libya in a bid to reach Europe fleeing the deteriorating living conditions in the governorate and inaction by service related bodies that push locals to even buy water.
Many youths in Suwayda lave left to the Gulf States in a bid to travel to Europe in a second mass migration after the first one in 2015.
Many people believe that factors which push Syrians in the south to migrate do not differ from shelling. The aim is to make youths leave the area. The common purpose is seeking a dignified life.
Agriculture disregarded
In a policy described as “soft”, the Syrian authorities intended to marginalize agriculture in the south of the country as it is a main pillar there.
In a bill presented on the expenditure of the government to improve economic situation and living conditions in the parliament, Hussein Arnous, Prime Minister of Syria government, refuted the amounts that were assigned to the agriculture sector.
Tens of billions of Syrian pounds were spent by the government in 2022 to develop agriculture in all Syrian governorates. However, Suwayda was at the bottom of the list with a billion and a hundred million Syrian pounds while Latakia was assigned 47 billion SYP in contrasting disparity that reflects the disregard given to the governorate of Suwayda.
During the approaching time of apples reap, (the most notable one in Suwayda) the government has disregarded Suwayda production by buying the product with belittled prices from farmers.
Besides, the best quality of the product is taken while the remainder is left with no way out.
Father of Zain al-Hussein has sold his apple orchard because he had to pay for the fees of his son travelling after it was revealed agriculture no longer earned a living.
Al-Hussein said, what had they earned from the product in the past could earn them a good living added to his father’s salary. However, now, he is no longer capable to continue his university study, “For this I preferred to travel that I could help my family earn a living.”
Many people in Suwayda say, “Losses implied in agriculture such as wheat, oranges and apple with the absence of a sustainable channel to sell suitably pushed many to migrate.”
Daraa in no better condition
The situation in the second governorate in southern Syria; Daraa is no better than Suwayda. Though it is important agriculturally, inaction by the government led to catastrophic results.
Khaled al-Rabdawi, 55, a farmer from the western countryside of Daraa told North Press that previously, people largely depended on agriculture as a main resource for living.
However, the situation has been changing over the past years due to the deteriorating economic depression in the country and impotence by the government to find solutions, al-Rabdawi added.
Due to the deteriorating situation in the agriculture sector and challenges facing farmers, the man was compelled to exit all his sons from Syria to “secure them a future,” according to al-Rabdawi.
Al-Rabdawi pointed out that reduction in sowing spaces reaches more than 50% due to high prices of diesel – if available – and the low frequency of power.
The increasing de-evaluation in the Syrian pound adds more pressure to the agriculture sector where farmers buy medicines and seeds with USDs, as demanded by distributers.
Besides, there are transferring fees and rejection by a number of countries to receive Syrian products that adds more to losses incurred by farmers that eventually make them stop working.
Service dereliction
In the service arena, Wael Naim, 40, a pseudonym for a civil employee in the city of Suwayda, said the mass inaction in the service arena in the governorate of Suwayda “affected immensely the economic crisis, migrations has become the sole solution for people.”
In the south of the country, people are faced with unbearable challenges due to lack of diesel and electricity feeding hours that affect water and communication.
Naim affirmed that lack of diesel used for home heating in the winter is the main obsession of people in Suwayda whose winter days are very harsh due to its mountainous nature. A liter of diesel reaches 6.000 SYP ($1.3) in the black market; winter has become a “nightmare perturbing locals.”
“The state depends on the notion of dismissal with locals in Suwayda,” adding, “Just this is affordable.”
For decades the authorities have sought to empty Suwayda. It has always facilitated their migration to Venezuela and the Gulf States. Today it disregards the governorate and does not meet their service related needs just to make them emigrate, according to Naim.
Naim’s all brothers are living abroad, each in a continent, “The policy to deport sons is to make families hostages. Had it not been for assets transferring by expatriates, there would has been no life in Suwayda,” as he put it.
Lack of medical services
Disregard given to the medical services has the most painful side of locals. Mahmoud al-Balkhi, 45, said lack of medication was a main reason behind migration of his peers.
Al-Balkhi’s cousin was compelled to migrate to a neighboring country due to his need of treatment from a chronic illness.
Al-Balkhi added lack of medication and equipment at government-run hospitals in Daraa and the increased prices of admission to private hospitals pushes a large number of locals to migrate.
He indicated that a patient has to wait for long months to have magnetic resonance imaging or CT scanning which could cost two million Syrian pounds.
Underemployment
Canada-based economical expert Usama al-Qadi told North Press “93% of Syrians living in areas under the regime control live under the poverty line.”
Inflation has exceeded 1.000% and rarity of bread, water and electricity has brought to ashes their hopes of a dignified living on such a spot of land.”
Usama said unemployment has no longer a meaning, “Even those working their monthly earnings do not exceed 30 USDs. This is underemployment. This earning cannot afford more than few days a simple life.”
Damascus-based economic researcher Rasha Siroup wrote on her Facebook account “Employees in the public sector need 111 years to purchase a house whose space does not exceed 60 m.”
Siroup called on the Syrian government to invent a new ministry called “migration and death,” due to the deteriorating living conditions that led to the migration of a large number of Syrians.