The Syrian authorities have arrested 500 beggars in Damascus, seeking to restrict the mounting number of people who took begging as profession, the Social Affairs Ministry said Tuesday.
State-run Tishreen newspaper quoted the Director of Social Affairs, Mahmoud Al-Dumarani, as saying that the Directorate and the Ministry of Interior are combating trafficking and beggary file as well they are prosecuting child laborers.
The government will increase the fine for those who are practicing Begging or forcing children to do so, according to Tishreen daily.
Syria is in the thick of a grinding economic crisis that has seen its pound hit record lows against the dollar, while inflation has soared, plunging most of the population into poverty.
With the pandemic, "citizens from different segments of society have been forced to choose between hunger and poverty... or illness".
International sanctions against the Syrian regime, damage to the country’s industry from the fighting, and panicked Syrians’ sending their money abroad pushed the currency down sharply during the conflict.
Zaman Al Wasl
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