A new study by the “Harmoon Center For Contemporary Studies examines the world of warlords who were formed in the regime’s areas and under its auspices during the years of war, those who created huge fortunes, filled financial voids formed by general conditions, and rose to the top of the economic scene, becoming the most facet of the Syrian economy. Its symbols are effective, and most of them express the current economic scene and the economic policies pursued.
The study prepared by "Wajih Haddad" touched on many issues related to the phenomenon of warlords, including the conditions that paved the way for their emergence, the mechanisms of their formation, their social, economic and security background, and the extent to which their rapid wealth is linked to both the objective circumstance and effective political and security interventions? And who are the most prominent war rich people, by names, according to the mechanisms of their formation, their hybrid origins, the amount of their influence, the extent of their wealth, and the direction of their regional or local connections.
Haddad relied in his study, titled (The New War Rich Replace Old Businessmen in Syria), on “documented and field information from people who reside in Syria and monitor what is happening, in addition to many articles published on many websites, and this is the reason for the extreme silence before Government departments, and the inability to obtain abundant documented information that would help in building a duly documented study.”
Haddad pointed out that the nature of the phenomenon with its dynamic interactions in the complex Syrian scene and the closed information system that inhibits the passing of sufficient and accurate official documents and data necessitated the adoption of a complex mixture of descriptive, analytical and inductive reading in order to monitor the phenomenon of warlords, its variables and its consequences in the current Syrian reality.
He also noted that It started from monitoring the repercussions of the rapid transformation of the war economy in Syria after 2011, and the accompanying loss of central control in the Syrian economy and the emergence of economic dynamics related to the violent context, leading to the transformation of financial profit into a major goal of the war and a factor in its continuation, and the new dynamics allowed a group of marginal people, from the economic and social bottom, accumulated enormous wealth, by exploiting the conditions of the war and its repercussions, to gradually occupy the forefront of financial leadership, at the expense of the old elites (in both their traditional parts historically, and the part formed by the beginning of 2000), which formed for a long time the economic front of the regime, and it seemed irreplaceable or irreplaceable, as the organic extension and the only financial arm of the system, such as Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf, Imad Ghriwati and Mohamad Hamsho.
Manufacturing warlords
Haddad pointed out in his study, which was provided with illustrations, documents, and statistical data, that in conjunction with the objective condition for the rise of the new war-rich people, the conscious intention of the regime with their industry appeared, and the conditions for their increased growth were created by giving them the necessary support and influence from the actors in the regime, which is Maher al-Assad's "Fourth Division" (mostly via his office manager, Brigadier General Ghassan Bilal).
Haddad referred to the case of Khader Ali Taher, nicknamed (Abu Ali Khader) and “Amer Khaiti,” as well as the Republican Palace, which, through Major General “Bassam al-Hassan” - the security arm of Bashar al-Assad, sponsored Saqr Rostom, a militia leader in the National Defense” in Homs, and “Hussam Katerji,” as well as the “Air Force Intelligence,” if they formed - according to him - a cover and a reference for some of the rising war-rich people, such as the case of “Ali Muhanna,” the commander of the “Al-Sahabat Regiment” who opened a huge commercial center in Tartous with billions of Syrian pounds, while the wealthy received war Others are sponsored by various security and military bodies, such as Military Intelligence and State Security.
Makhlouf-Assad split
In his study, Haddad noted what he called "Makhlouf-Assad divorce", which constituted the most prominent message to the old elites, the necessity of submission and clearing the scene in front of the newcomers and submitting to their domination, adding that the fate of the old elites was divided between total abolition and the seizure of their property, such as "Imad Hamisho", the emperor of assembly. And the automobile industry and agent of the Chinese “Chery” and “Saba” of Iran, and “Imad Ghriwati” the largest agent for assembling and importing cars in Syria (Jaguar, Ford, Lincoln, Land Rover, Kia).
However, due to marginalization, self-retrospection and the inability to compete, they accepted background roles and performed the duties of obedience and submission in front of "Haitham Joud", who offered an apology and royalty to allow him to return and continue, and the likes of "Hashem Anwar al-Akkad", whose presence has decreased in recent periods.
Unprecedented downturn
The author of the study stopped to point out that the management of the new war-rich people of the Syrian economy, both formal and informal, and the mentality of the militia led to an unprecedented deterioration, and to a humanitarian catastrophe, the indicators of which were manifested - as he says - in the decline in the purchasing power of all citizens, the lack of public services, and the scarcity of most basic materials, including medicine and food, in addition to the decline in the purchasing power of incomes and wages to the level of one dollar a day, with successive increases that exceed their global counterparts due to the monopolistic nature of the wealthy of war, which coincided with violent measures, towards competitors, which amounted to the destruction and burning of their property to force them to pay more royalties.
The wealthy of war: origins and transformations
In its subsequent pages, the study dealt with a discussion of the most prominent factors affecting the rise of the war-rich people and the hybrid rise of the war-rich in Syria, the most prominent of these war-rich people, their role, and their transformations from integration and adaptation to hegemony, and the impact of the new segment of warlords on the living reality of Syrians, and Haddad appended his study to a list of the names of Syrian businessmen sanctions were removed from the Syrian economic scene.
The study concluded that the intersection of political decadence with the current economic degeneration with its symbols coming from the world of brokerage, fraud and criminal acts, its catastrophic effects exceed the capabilities of its continuity as an existing and generalized economic pattern, to the lack of confidence in the capabilities of re-establishment.
Mar as an inevitable necessity to avoid more disasters and tragedies for a people who lack all the necessities of safety and life, and are standing on the threshold of an actual famine, whose acceleration is reinforced by the presence of the war-rich at the forefront of the Syrian economic scene.
By Faris Al-Rifai
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