DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Alawi al-Muhammad describes the economic situation in Deir ez-Zor in east Syria as “dire.” It greatly affects the social life of the population and contributes significantly to people’s emigration from the region, he says.
Al-Muhammad, head of a family of ten living in the village of Meheimideh, 12 km west of Deir ez-Zor, said the economic conditions are “extremely difficult. There is no opportunity to build a stable life in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor.”
The people of Deir ez-Zor suffer as economic conditions deteriorate, a result of the negligence of NGOs, the lack of support for economic projects, and the collapse of the Syrian pound’s value against foreign currencies.
He believes there are no economic projects in Deir ez-Zor, whether funded by NGOs or the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The NGOs argue that they do not want to launch projects in Deir ez-Zor, mainly due to a lack of security as a result of the Islamic State (ISIS) activity, increasing assassinations, and the proliferation of arms among civilians.
Al-Muhammad criticized the lack of support from the AANES and NGOs, which negatively impacted the living conditions of the locals, especially amid a scarcity of job opportunities, and high prices caused by the collapse of the Syrian pound.
Ahmad al-Abdullah, 35, a father of four, from Hawayij Bumasaa, 14 km west of Deir ez-Zor, said he is forced to work as a teacher despite the low salary. He searched for a better job to support his family, but to no avail.
He thinks that the reason behind the unemployment and dire economic conditions is the lack of support for agricultural projects that play a major role in the local economy, as a majority of Deir ez-Zor locals work in agriculture.
Mahmoud al-Khalaf, 45, from the village of Hamar al-Kasra, 22 km west of Deir ez-Zor, believes the decline in basic services, such as the lack of fuel subsidies and the scarcity of bread, has played a role in the declining economy. All these factors contributed to the emigration of Deir ez-Zor business-owners.
He told North Press that, “currently, the region is short on new projects due to a lack of material support, especially of fuel.”
Muhammad al-Ali, the co-chair of the Deir ez-Zor Economic Committee, attributes the absence of projects to the dilapidated infrastructure in the region. Deir ez-Zor was ISIS’ last stronghold and witnessed fierce battles.
“The economic embargo played a significant role as well, in addition to the robbery that occurred in the facilities by factions controlling Deir ez-Zor,” he added.
He noted that after the “liberation” of Deir ez-Zor, the AANES worked on rehabilitating the main sectors. Since agriculture was the most important, they rehabilitated irrigation projects and farmer’s associations to enhance the living quality of the population.
The Economic Committee is working on enhancing people’s material situation based on available resources by granting the needed permits to businessmen or stores and facilitating the transportation of goods to and from AANES-held areas, according to al-Ali.
Additionally, they granted permits to industrial enterprises to provide subsidized diesel fuel through the AANES Fuel Board in order to reduce production costs and enhance the economy in the region.