By Mozn Murshid
(Zaman al-Wasl)- “Syria is no longer a country for the poor,” says the 50-year-old woman on the phone. “Our country has oppressed us so much, professor.”
Her words hurt me. For so long we heard this proverb since childhood, wherever I went I heard "Syria is a country for the poor.” Syria was indeed a country for everyone.
In the streets of Damascus, you could not distinguish the social class of the people. The same pieces of clothing from those new brands and sold to the rich are also sold for a quarter of the price to the poor.
In the meat market in Sarouja, you buy all kinds of meat, the best of which is half the price of those sold at shops of Damascus like Sha’alan and al-Qassa’ or in Jaramana district.
From the cardamom market the best selection of vegetables and fruits, sold at less than half the price in Kosour square.
Syria, country for the poor ... Both its poor and its tourists buy the same goods from Al-Hamidiya market, one buys it at a very normal price and the other buys at a high price calculated on the price of the dollar.
Syria, country for the poor ... The children are educated in public schools that teach the same curriculum of the highly expensive private schools.
Syria was truly a country for the poor, despite all the economic difficulties faced by the people. The stability of the Syrian Pound for more than a decade made the economic situation a little more stable when it came to the standard of living.
Today, after nine years of economic decline and the depletion of the country's capabilities and reserves for armaments and a war on the people, the Syrian pound is recording its lowest rates in the history of Syria. Today, the dollar reaches 660 SYP (from 50SYP). The price is paid only by the citizen who is crushed under the heavy weight of wars on all fronts. There is no safety, no guarantees. The Syrian people have been humiliated, made homeless and tyrannized.
Yesterday we saw a picture of a girl who committed suicide in the capital. The girl, not yet twelve, killed herself out of starvation, a child who craved death and had the courage to seek it.
The highest salary in the country is 40,000SYP. The price of a kilo of rice exceeds 500SYP, the cheapest school bag is at 4,000S YP, even potatoes, the bread of the poor, are no longer affordable, and meat has become a dream, with the price of lamb reaching 7,000 per kilo.
Syria was a country for the poor. Now, it is a country of the poor.
Zaman Al Wasl
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.