Refugees, foreign goods flood Syria as prices rise

By Karin Leukefeld

Damascus

The author has been covering events in Syria and West Asia for decades for the German left daily newspaper, junge Welt, and other mainly German-language media. This article, published Dec. 30, gives a description of her entry into Syria some days earlier after the seizure of Damascus by HTS forces that have the blessing of U.S. imperialism (although they have until recently been called “terrorist” by the State Department and the U.S. only recently removed a $10 million bounty on its leader.) Translation: John Catalinotto.

The Masnaa border crossing, through which one enters Syria from Lebanon, is besieged. Cars are parked all over the place; crowds of people stream into the much-too-small building where the exit is recorded with a stamp.

For holders of foreign passports, the process is quick, and then it’s on foot across the border, past the vehicle controls, until the driver from Damascus waves on the other side and quickly takes the luggage. We continue on foot through the lines of cars to the car that the driver has parked behind a truck.

“Mabruk Syria – congratulations Syria,” beams the driver, as he stows the luggage. He quickly drives past the long lines of cars, which are backed up on both sides of the road. Trucks are lined up bumper to bumper in the direction of Lebanon, waiting to be cleared. Cars with Syrian and Lebanese license plates are lined up facing Syria.

This is where contraband changes hands: boxes of coffee, powdered milk, chocolate, plastic bottles filled with gasoline and empty gas bottles are exchanged for full gas cylinders. A lot of money changes hands in a very short time, then low-slung, fully loaded vehicles drive towards Syria and the Lebanese vehicles turn around and return to Lebanon.

“Everything is available,” the driver assured us, saying that life had suddenly improved with the departure of [Bashar] Assad and “his people,” who fled in a hurry. “Everything is getting better.”

Shortages in Syria had become increasingly severe since the coronavirus lockdown (2020/21) and the imposition of U.S. financial sanctions. The U.S. Treasury’s so-called “Caesar Act” threatened financial penalties for anyone who did business with Syria and wanted to invest in the country. This applied to individuals, companies and states.

The U.S. military occupation of the Syrian oil fields in the east of the country, along with its allied Syrian Democratic Forces, drove up costs for electricity, heating and transportation, which was reflected in the price of every single tomato.

The ever-increasing taxes, which were collected by the tax authorities with an iron hand, led to mass business closures and drove up unemployment. In return, citizens received nothing for the taxes they paid. The Assad government not only had to fill the pockets of profiteers, but also had to repay debts to Russia and Iran for military support and oil deliveries. The government could only control the borders with Jordan and Lebanon, but not with Türkiye and Iraq, and the economy gradually suffocated.

Syrians return home

Now the country is flooded with people and goods. Tens of thousands of Syrians are taking the opportunity to return home without any controls on the Syrian side: young men who have escaped military service, families who want to check on their homes, young people who are looking forward to seeing relatives and friends after many years.

The absence of borders and customs is a boon for a completely unregulated market. The old authority has disappeared and the new rulers have not yet established a new system of order and security. The starved Syrian market is like a sponge and absorbs everything that comes in through the unguarded borders.

“We now have Kitkat,” grins J., who has been accompanying this author for years in Syria. On a tour through Bab Touma in the old city of Damascus, he stops in front of numerous market stalls overflowing with sweets. “Everything on these stalls comes from Türkiye,” he says, holding up cookies and chocolate. “We already have delicious biscuits, good chocolate and sweets here in Syria. But even if our products are cheaper, people now buy things from Türkiye. Kitkat, Hurriya, freedom! Everyone is free to do as they please.”

The price of bread has increased eightfold. Until now, depending on their size, families received at least two rapta of “khubus” a day, as the flatbread is called; it is considered a staple food in Syria. One rapta consists of seven flatbreads.

Because the subsidies have been eliminated, what used to be state-run bakeries are closed or have been converted to private operations. Private bakeries receive a little more than 3,000 kilograms of flour per day. When that is used up, the bakery is closed for the rest of the day. Long lines form early in the morning to get bread, for which 4,000 Syrian pounds per rapta must now be paid. Previously, a rapta cost 500 Syrian pounds.

Government subsidies stopped; prices rise

The new rulers have also stopped the previous state subsidies for petrol, gas and heating oil. Smuggled petrol from Lebanon is offered for sale in large quantities by vendors who presumably work for entrepreneurs. The lively, central Abassiyeen Square in the eastern part of the city has become a trading center for all types of energy sources.

Gas is transferred from a tanker into gas bottles, which the Syrians need for cooking and heating. Next to it is a smaller tanker, the “Masud,” filled with heating oil, which the Syrians need in winter for ovens or to operate generators. Next to it sits a man with his son, offering dozens of plastic bottles of petrol. Finally, there is a large vegetable stand.

The prices for many foods fluctuate from day to day, as does the exchange rate for $1 USD. It is said that from now on every currency will be accepted in Syria. An acquaintance reports from Aleppo that the population has been asked to exchange their Syrian pounds for U.S. dollars or Turkish lira because the Syrian currency will soon no longer be accepted.

Shortly before Christmas, new security forces appeared on the streets of Damascus. Masked HTS fighters were sent by the “Syrian Salvation Government” in Idlib, a government installed by HTS. There are street police officers in light purple shirts and volunteer police officers who wear a yellow safety vest.

But nothing can regulate the dense and chaotic traffic on the streets of Damascus better than the citizens themselves. They manage it with honking and daring maneuvers in a zigzag between pedestrians, mopeds, delivery vans, taxis and stalls that are pushed back and forth. The day-to-day lives of the people continue as usual, in a confusing manner.