Bridges out of service, Ferries, primary mode of transportation ,in the Syrian Raqqa.

The People of Raqqa city are forced to use primitive means of transportation to travel between the banks of the Euphrates River, back and forth, to and from the city, due to the invalidity of the bridges linking between the two banks of the river, upon  the hostilities that took place in Raqqa  in February /2017/, between Syria Democratic Forces on one hand, and the armed groups of the Islamic State, Who declared Raqqa city a capital of their caliphate in 2013, on the other hand

The ferries ” Bargiyat”, ships and small boats, are the only means of transportation used by the people of Raqqa, to travel along the banks of the Euphrates River, because of the reason mentioned 

The ferries dock at the Euphrates’ right and left banks , facing the city of Raqqa , making a garage-like parking, in the same place, where the people of Raqqa used to pass from and to the city, before the installation of the old Raqqa bridge, south of the city, in 1942.

Unsafe means for moving civilians

In addition to being basic and helpful means of transportation, to meet the needs of the people in Raqqa, the ferries are a source of livelihood for dozens of families, whose young people work in moving on the two sides of the river, as well as the spread of unemployment, because of the damaged infrastructure.

The fare of  moving one passenger, by ferries, is \100\ Syrian Pounds (20 US cents), while the fare of small cars is  \500\ Syrian Pounds (one US Dollar), also, the fare of moving one taxi is ]\300\ Syrian Pounds, (about a half US dollar). and the fare of moving a medium-size  truck is up to \1000\ Syrian pounds (US $ 2).

These transportations  are classified as “unsafe”, because of the difficulty of moving using them. These ferries are dangerous, such as, drowning, where  two children were drowned in July, last year, plus,  the damage caused to cars, while uploading them to big ferries.

Moreover, they are affected by rain and strong wind, which stop its work, to preserve passengers and workers’ life.

In the city of Mousl in Iraq, a tourist ferry was sunk in the Tigris river, on March 21th of this year, which led to the drowning of 120 people, including women and children, as a result of poor protection and an increase in passengers’ number.

Pleas for Job Creation in Case of rehabilitation of the bridge.

Shibun  Alali, 20 years old, a young man works in ferries in Raqqa. He works as an accountant on one of the ferries with a daily salary of( 4000 Syrian Pound) (8 US dollars). Through his talk to the NPA,   Alali appealed to Raqqa municipality to secure employment for the young people who are engaged in Ferries work. after completing the old bridge’s reconstruction in Raqqa, which will put an end to the work of ferries in general.

Shiboun hopes to go to Deir al-Zour, east of Syria, to work, there, in ferries to earn his living, after repairing the bridge and the disruption of the source of his only livelihood.

 Mohammed AbdulJalil, a 43-year-old, a taxi driver in Raqqa, spoke about his personal suffering and the suffering of the people of Raqqa, in general, in crossing and traveling through ferries. He explained that the suffering began after the emerge of “terrorists” , as he named them, referring to the  Islamic State Organization. 

The people accuse the local council and organizations of preoccupation with less important matters

The driver blamed the Civil Council (founded by the Democratic Self-Administration of North and East of Syria, and the organizations operating in Raqqa, which promised the people to build the bridge in two months or less) for delaying their main work, saying that they were engaged in works less important than the rehabilitation of the bridge is.

He pointed out that the suffering of the people, as a result of promises delayed by the Council and organizations to rehabilitate the bridge, led to the drowning of some civilians and vehicles in the Euphrates River, while traveling by ferries, explaining that the owners of taxis suffered a lot of damage caused to their cars ,as they pass their them through large ferries, to do their work inside the city.

It is worth mentioning, that the population of Raqqa city, before the beginning of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, reached \300.000\ people, mostly from Arab tribes and some Kurdish, Armenian and Circassian families. The city of Raqqa is the center of Raqqa governorate, which the cities and towns of Ein Isa , Tal Abiad, Ma’adan, Assbkha and Altabqa belong to it. The population of the entire province of Raqqa , countryside  and the city, is about one million people, before the start of the Syrian crisis.

Before the expulsion of the Islamic State Organization’s militants , the city of Raqqa  was considered the capital of the Islamic Caliphate, announced by the Organization in Syria and Iraq, until the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the International Coalition for fighting the Islamic State Organization, expelled them. The military operations resulted in a major destruction in the city, especially, the destruction of