DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – When al-Saken goes to work early every day, he witnesses undesirable scenes of children selling tobacco to passersby for pennies in areas held by Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militia in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria.
Ahmad al-Saken, a pseudonym of a man from the town of al-Mayadin, east of Deir ez-Zor, saw one of the boys selling a little bag to a man, out of curiosity, he asked one of the boys about his work; the child replied that he sells narcotic pills, in case he wants to buy any.
Drug dealing spreads in areas held by Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militia, and children are being used in to carry and sell narcotics. Meanwhile, the government and its security institutions turn a blind eye.
“The increase of unemployment and the deteriorating living conditions make children an easy prey for drug traffickers, who suck them into this kind of work,” al-Saken told North Press.
“What raised my suspicions is that the children, who are supposedly selling tobacco or biscuits in stalls, do not make any profit, and sell their products at wholesale prices,” al-Saken further explained.
“I noticed a young man driving a taxi stops near the children and has a short conversation with them, then they hand him a black bag – this happens on a daily basis,” al-Saken told North Press.
It later became clear to al-Saken that the taxi driver is a soldier of the National Defense Forces, affiliated to the government, and that he is a large drug dealer in the town.
Easy money
Al-Saken was worried about the child, so he tried to contact his father to tell him what his 13-year-old was doing. He was surprised that the father knows about his son’s work and do not want him to quit, as it has become a profitable source of income for the family.
The next day, a patrol of the National Defense Forces came to al-Saken’s workplace and warned him of talking to the child or interfering with his work.
Activists in Deir ez-Zor said that the proliferation of drug distribution networks was a result of the war, which led to the absence of security and allowed some armed groups to establish networks for drug dealing. War also led to widespread poverty, which Deir ez-Zor residents suffer from.
Children are easy prey and are targeted by drug traffickers who want to expand their market because the police usually do not suspect them. It is also difficult to trace and identify them. Additionally, children can be employed on the cheap.
Hundreds of children from several villages and towns in Deir ez-Zor – ranging from 12 to 16 years of age – are selling narcotic pills. Most of them work in the areas of al-Jorah, Hatla, al-Sinaa and al-Mayadin, which are more densely populated.
Ali al-Abaid, a resident of the town of Hatla, in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, left his town and moved outside the areas controlled by the Iranian-backed militia and government forces, after learning that one of his children was selling drugs and delivering them to the homes of customers in the town.
No way but displacement
Al-Abaid’s 15-year-old son was supposed to be working in the vegetable market in the town. His son’s daily income, which exceeded the wages of any worker in that market, as well as his strange behavior, aroused his father’s suspicion.
Al-Abaid followed his son to work one day, but instead of going to the market, his son went to the National Defense Forces headquarters on the outskirts of town. “He stayed there for half an hour and came out carrying a bag,” according to the father who could not catch up with his son because he was riding a bicycle.
Al-Abaid told North Press that he waited for his son at home. After a long discussion, his son admitted that he works in drugs distribution for 20,000 SYP ($2,20) per day.
After the incident, the terrified father sold his belongings and left the town to a village in the countryside of Hasakah, fearing that his son might do drugs, and that he would be pursued by the National Defense Forces if he stopped working for them.
Several international reports, including by the US Department of the Treasury, accused the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, alongside with the Iranian-backed militian, of running large drug trafficking networks in this border area with Iraq, as well as other Syrian regions.
According to residents of Deir ez-Zor, Firas al-Jaham, the commander of the National Defense Forces in Deir ez-Zor and a senior leader in the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is considered one of the most prominent drug dealers in the region. Reportedly, he owns millions of dollars which he made from drug dealing.
The use, sale, and production of drugs has become a major issue in the region. Activists in Deir ez-Zor are calling on international organizations to intervene and put an end to the exploitation of children, and to limit the spread of drug use, as this phenomenon increases insecurity and crime rates.