Derik – North-Press Agency

Solnar Muhammad

 

With the beginning of the quarantine imposed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, a number of shop owners launched a civil initiative to exempt the tenants of their stores from paying their dues in the town of Derik in northeastern Syria.

 

Eng. Ahmad Sayed Taher, the owner of a commercial complex in Derik, told North-Press that he and his partner exempted 34 tenants from paying their rent until the end of the lockdown announced by the Autonomous Administration to prevent the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

 

Regarding the reason for launching the initiative, Taher said: "We feel for others and needy people under these circumstances. The tenants of our stores are all from the low-income class and they cannot secure their day-to-day livelihood or dues. Therefore, my partner and I decided to exempt them from the rents until the ban ends."

 

The initiative was launched from Girke Lege (Maabada), a town close to Derik.

 

The Autonomous Administration announced the imposition of lockdown in its areas of control for a period of two weeks, starting from Monday, March 23rd, in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. Five cases of infection were detected in Syrian government-held areas, and about 500,000 people are infected in the entire world. This is in addition to the death of more than 22,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.