Syrian residents who live in the regime-controlled area have come to realize that Assad cares very little about the quality of their lives.
In a continuation of the practice of cronyism which helped spark the revolution in 2011, many favored businessmen in Syria are still enjoying the support of the Assad regime.
Thousands of Assad thugs have also amassed fortunes, either through stealing, kidnapping, or trading in the files of detainees.
But living conditions have become increasingly more difficult for average Syrians nowadays, so much so that even the Assad regime’s official media has confirmed that a family of five needs an average of 500 USD per month just to survive − an astronomical sum by Syrian standards which falls far short of the average monthly government wage.
Currently the value of the Syrian pound has depreciated to the point where one US dollar equals about 4000 Syrian pounds, an extraordinary and extremely huge amount of money for the people whose incomes are so limited.
Abo Nadeem, a Syrian lawyer who lives in Homs, told SYRIAWISE that the “prices of common everyday necessities are high like a fashion street in Paris, but the quality of life is like desert or nomadic life.”
Louise, who lives in Aleppo and works in a government commodities center, struggles to continue from month to month without incurring debts due to the huge increases in house rents as well as in groceries and transportation. “Our salaries are barely enough for a few days… or a week at best,” Louise told SYRIAWISE.
The current price of a grilled chicken is between 15 and 18 USD, making it an extraordinary luxury that most residents cannot afford.
As well as suffering from high inflation and a shortage of food, Assad’s security forces have detained hundreds of thousands of civilians and sent them to fight with Assad’s “military forces.”
In addition, city services have fallen to the wayside. Garbage is not picked up regularly, water is not always available, and the unsanitary conditions have created health problems for residents.
The difficulties of life combined with persistent regime propaganda and the incessant blaring of songs that support Assad, have caused many residents to be ill tempered and irritable.
Assad thugs rule the streets and no one feels safe outside of their own homes. But even they have become dissatisfied with the current situation in Syria and act out their frustrations by preying upon defenseless residents.
Morals and manners have become a thing of the past.
“And if you are sick and want to be admitted to a hospital, God be with you,” Sara, who works for the government sector, told SYRIAWISE, adding that the price of a one-night stay in the hospital is half a month’s wages.
Best case scenario would be for the economy to collapse and the regime to implode paving the way for a change of leadership in Syria that would be beneficial for all Syrians and allow for the return of many refugees.
