Valentine’s Day Music Concert in Damascus Draws Ire
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Amid hunger and poverty, news about a $100 Valentine’s Day concert has sparked outrage and mockery among Syrian citizens.
Local media in Damascus reported that Hany Shaker, an Egyptian singer, and Marwan Khoury, a musician from Lebanon, would be performing at a special ‘Valentine’s concert’ in Damascus on February 14.
The price for tickets to Khoury’s concert ranged from 350.000 to 650.000 Syrian Pounds (SYP – $52–97), while Shaker’s event would put Syrians back between 450.000 and 750.000 SYP ($67–111).
Even the cheapest seats cost double of what a Syrian civil servant makes in a month. The most expensive tickets are out of reach for most Syrians. The poverty rate recently went up by 90%, a UN study found.
Some people expressed outrage on social media; others poked fun at the banality of holding an extravagant music concert in the country, considering the current crisis.
Syria has experienced concurrent crises relating to food, fuel, transportation, health, agriculture, water, and epidemics. One international report described the situation in Syria as “scary and terrifying”.
The Syrian government, meanwhile, blames Western and US sanctions for its ills.