MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – Ahmad, a young man from Syria’s northern city of Manbij, is on the lookout for a new job with a better salary. He has had no luck so far. His current job, which he is forced to retain, pays a meager wage.
The 21-year-old Ahmad al-Abdullah is the breadwinner of his family and works at a clothing store that pays hardly enough to cover his own needs.
The noose is tightening around young men working in restaurants, clothing stores, auto repair shops, and other private sector professions, as wages stagnate and the Syrian pound’s value against foreign currencies is in free-fall.
On Tuesday, the Syrian pound was valued at 6.600 SYP against the US dollar.
Al-Abdullah and his peers are faced with dim future prospects amidst a failure of political forces to regulate the market, the collapse of the Syrian pound, and decreasing job opportunities.
The young man already believes that getting married and having children will be near impossible under the current circumstances.
Syrians in all regions are suffering under a stifling economic crisis caused by a weak pound, insecurity, and political instability. Plummeting purchasing power makes meeting even basic needs impossible.
Al-Abdullah receives a weekly wage of 40.000 SYP (or around 6 USD) working at a clothing store in Manbij’s central market.
“My wage does not cover my expenses, and finding another job is impossible. Most shop owners are letting their employees go to lessen their expenses,” he said.
Above-market rental prices also get in the way of local entrepreneurs, such as Khaled Hamedi, 21, who thought of starting his own business repairing cars. The monthly rent of 50 USD (roughly 330.000 SYP) for a commercial space is “way too much,” he says.
He finds himself forced to carry on working at a local auto repair shop for a monthly wage of 350.000 SYP (53 USD). Although he is a skilled repairman, he sees only an unknown, insecure future before him given the current prices. His fate is that of a majority of Manbij’s youth.
The Syrian pound has seen a turbulent few months, dropping to 7.000 SYP to the dollar at the end of 2022 and recovering only slightly in early 2023.
Abdurrahim al-Ali, 35, a father of three working at a fast-food restaurant, is unable to cover his family’s expenses.
Al-Ali’s monthly salary, 500.000 SYP (83 USD), is not enough to cover his expenses. He pays 150.000 SYP (23 USD) for rent alone.
Like many of Manbij’s residents, al-Ali is struggling to make ends meet in these conditions, as wages are paid in pounds while they continually lose their value against the dollar. More than his own, he fears for his children’s future.
High prices are leading to a recession. Ali al-Saeed, the owner of a sewing factory in Manbij, was forced let go of some of his employees due to a decline in orders.
Many people in Manbij have resorted to buying second-hand clothes, which are cheaper and thus more affordable for residents, al-Saeed complains.
Beyond hand-me-downs, he says, the current recession is leading to a high rate of unemployment and poverty.