Recent weeks have seen the Syrian economy deteriorate further and the national currency, the Syrian pound, fall to an all-time low.

Four years of an uprising-turned-civil war have taken their toll on Syria’s economy and society. Following European sanctions on its oil sector and the takeover of all the main oil fields by ISIL and Kurdish groups, the government has stopped generating foreign currency receipts, while the destruction of most business activity has reduced fiscal revenues. Increasingly, the government is seeking the help of its allies, Iran and Russia, to fill the gap.

Iran, in particular, has taken a leading role in providing financial support to Damascus.

In January 2013, it extended a credit line of $1 billion. The Syrian government could use the money to pay for imports with the condition that 60 percent of these imports came from Iran. Since then many tenders issued by public sector companies have included the mention that bidding is open only to Iranian companies.

Then, in August 2013, Tehran provided another credit line, this time worth $3.6 billion, dedicated to the purchase of oil products, also mostly from Iran.

These two financial agreements helped Iran increase its share of Syrian imports to a third of the total.

(continued via http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/iran-building-long-term-influence-syria-1770733224)

A selection of articles from the international press on social and economic issues affecting Syria.

The “Gang of Girls” risk their lives to report from inside a war zone: “Amid the rubble of Syria, a band of women are risking prison, or worse, to report, write, and edit the civil war’s paper of record.”

Syrian Economic Collapse: the Nail in Assad’s Coffin: “A new report claims the Syrian economic collapse is one of several indicators of the decline of the Assad regime as it struggles to retain unity and power.”

Syria’s Trading Game: Prices Inflate as the Dollar Falls: “It is the game of the traders; when the dollar exchange rate rises, shop owners raise the prices of their goods, even if they have been in storage. When the dollar exchange rate drops, their prices remain the same.”

After Syrian Army’s Defeat, People Trickle Back to Idlib Towns: “The municipality has begun clearing away the rubble of fallen homes and buildings destroyed during the shelling, cleaning the streets, dismantling barricades, reopening the main highway and restoring vital areas like the vegetable market and other central marketplaces.”

Mental Health Issues the Most Underreported Problem in Syria – Doctor: “The World Health Organisation estimates that 2 million or more Syrians are suffering from mild to moderate mental problems.”

Syrian Textile Sector Loses 33 Billion SYP: “Executive Office of Unions of Textile releases report claiming textile industry under-performed for 2014 with a shortfall of over 30 billion Syrian pounds.”

Interim Govt. Employees Continue to Await Salaries: “Opposition government staff wait for four months of backpay as the SIG struggles to obtain financing from Gulf states.”

A selection of ten articles on economic and social aspects in Syria.

Syria, Iran Discuss Boosting Cooperation in Reconstruction Stage: “Iranian ambassador meets with Public Works minister to discuss joint cooperation in the reconstruction of Syria’s infrastructure and service projects.”

Vegetable Prices Increase After Regime Loses Nasib Crossing: “Regime’s loss of Nasib border crossing with Jordan responsible for a hike in fresh produce prices inside Syria.”

Cabinet Announces Decisions to Stabilize Exchange Rate: “Ministers discuss efforts to stabilize the Syrian currency as the SYP continues to drop against the US dollar.”

U.N. invites Syrian parties to Geneva peace talks in May: “The United Nations envoy to Syria said on Friday he will begin meeting in May with the country’s government, opposition groups, and regional powers including Iran to assess by the end of June whether there is any hope brokering an end to the war.”

UN Envoy on Syria Warns That May Talks Are Not Negotiations: “A new series of talks on the Syrian war that begin next month in Geneva should not be seen as negotiations toward a peace deal, the U.N. special envoy on Syria warned the Security Council on Friday, while an Iranian diplomat indicated that his country would take part.”

Jordan’s most important trade route has been cut after the Syria border closure: “He said there were more than 1,000 traders doing business there — Syrians, Jordanians, even Iraqis — with a combined inventory of more than $1 billion (917 million euros).”

Workers Rights Deteriorate Inside Syria: “Although the total workforce in Syria is over 5.8 million, the conditions of many industrialists, artisans and workers have collapsed, with many qualified and experienced workers finding themselves on the street.”

Damascus fair encourages people to ‘buy Syrian’: “Syria’s entrepreneurs, suffering from crippling losses after four years of civil war, have launched a drive to encourage consumers hit by burgeoning inflation and a shortage of imports to “buy Syrian.”

Deir al-Zor Suffers Under Islamic State’s Harsh Rules on Aid: “Islamic State wants to keep us hungry,” she said. “It wants to break us by depriving us of our daily bread so that we don’t even think of rebelling. It’s exactly the same tactic used by the Assad regime.”

The ‘Slow Death’ Report: Why the U.N. Has Grossly Underestimated the Number of Syrians Living Under Siege: “In a report entitled “Slow Death”, the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said 640,200 Syrians are currently living in at least 49 besieged communities across Syria, more than three times the U.N. estimate as of February 2015.”

A selection of 15 articles on Syria including a map of border crossings, articles on ISIS decreasing income, the opposition’s governance of Idlib and many others.

Will Syrian opposition move interim government to Idlib? “Moving the headquarters of the government to the interior requires “an agreement with the factions in Idlib as well as international help to protect the government,” according to Touma.”

Syrian Rebels Fear ‘IS-Like’ Islamist Takeover Of Idlib, Civilians Fear Assad: “Seejri said that the behavior of JAN and Jund al-Aqsa “suggests that they want to take Syria back to the Middle Ages.”

Despite Crackdown, IS Says Turkey-Syria Border Still Open: “It is still possible to cross into Syria from Turkey, the message said, despite rumors that the Turkish authorities have closed the border.”

Closure of Syria’s last border crossing hits Jordan economy: “Looters from nearby Syrian villages swarmed on foot, by bicycle or by car into the free zone, which straddles the two countries’ border, and seized food, computers, cash and about 350 new cars.”

Syrian rebel takeover of border crossing severs ancient link to Jordan: “The crossing, which was captured on the Syrian side by moderate rebel forces, was the last official gateway between Jordan and Syria along their 230-mile border.”

The Site That Shook the Syrian Economy: Syria Stocks Stops Monitoring the Dollar: “What kind of state is this, if its economy can be shaken by a website?
”

Education Suffers on Both Sides of Divided Aleppo: “War has cast its dark shadow over the education system in Aleppo for more than three years now. Learning has become difficult for children living on either side of the lines, in areas held by the regime and its opponents.”

Isis: Inside the struggling Islamic State economy in Iraq and Syria: “The Islamic State (Isis) economy is in dire straits. Pushed out of the oil fields it controlled in Iraq and hampered by increasing scrutiny of foreign banking transfers from wealthy donors, there are already reports in Mosul and other cities that IS is overstretched.”

Islamic State Loses Iraqi Oil Fields, Crucial Income: “The daily said the IS “can hardly sell oil anymore,” cutting off a major income source for the group.”

Isis Demands $1 Million Per Person as Ransom for Releasing 217 Assyrian Christians: “The Islamic State (Isis) militants in Syria are reportedly demanding a whopping $1 million per person as ransom for releasing the 217 Assyrian Christians taken hostages by the Sunni group.”

Plane Delivers Belarusian Aid to Syria’s Displaced: “Aircraft loaded with 40 tons of food arrives in Damascus, with Belarusian ambassador praising coordination efforts between Minsk and the Syrian government.”

Senior Intelligence Officer Smuggles Oil From ISIS-Held Areas: Leaked Report: “Leaked documents implicated regime colonel in the smuggling of goods from Iraq to Syria, including oil from ISIS-held areas.”

‘Live Syria 2015’ Shopping Festival Kicks Off in Damascus: “The Damascus Chamber of Industry chairman, Samer al-Debs, said the festival will be held on a monthly basis to encourage industrialists who have remained inside Syria despite the crisis.”

Who controls border crossings in Syria (map)

Our selection of articles on Syria’s economy and society.

Turkey Moves to Close All Gates at Border With Syria: “After maintaining an open-door policy through the four years of civil war in neighboring Syria, Turkey has begun shutting out refugees amid fears of a possible terrorist attack.”

No sign of Turkey-Syria border reopening: “On March 9, Turkish authorities closed the Bab al-Salam and Bab al-Hawa border crossings with Syria. Commercial trucks and emergency medical vehicles were exempt.”

UN Warns Emergency Fund for Palestinians in Syria Near Empty: “Just four percent of emergency work in Syria for Palestinians has been funded so far this year, threatening the viability of a cash assistance program that UNRWA.”

The Syrian odyssey in Istanbul: “As the Syrian war enters its fifth year, Turkey’s economic centre, Istanbul, has seen the population of distressed Syrians swell. The patience of the local population, along with aid from the government, has been wearing thin.”

Regime and ISIS Agree to Share Electricity in Aleppo Countryside
: “Deal between regime and ISIS shares power station with over half of the facility’s output going to ISIS-held areas of Aleppo.”

Interim Govt. Faces Severity of Financial Crisis as Funds Deplete: “As the Syrian opposition’s interim government verges on dissolution, Interim Prime Minister Ahmed Tomeh continues to deny the government’s failures and bankruptcy.”

Regime Targets US Dollar in Damascus Arrest Campaign: “Opposition media sources in Damascus said that many arrests took place recently against the Damascene merchants who work in the dollar exchange market following tip-offs by Syrian intelligence forces.”

AOHR Requests Arab States Accept Expired Syrian Passports: “Draft resolution submitted to Arab League asks member states to accept Syrian passports regardless of their validity.”

Coalition Revokes State Of Emergency in Syria: “National coalition issues decree annulling Syria’s 1963 state of emergency act.”

A dozen articles on Syria as it enters its fifth year after the beginning of the uprising.

Syria four years on: No end in sight: “Mapping the situation for internally displaced Syrians and refugees after four years of civil war.”

Mortgaging Syria’s future: “Four years after their cry for change, Syria’s poorest people have only become more fragile and distressed.”

Doctors in the Crosshairs: Four Years of Attacks on Health Care in Syria: “The Syrian government is responsible for 88 percent of the recorded hospital attacks and 97 percent of medical personnel killings, with 139 deaths directly attributed to torture or execution.”

Millions Pledged to Relieve Besieged Areas
: “The campaign’s $2.5 million budget will be used to serve food security, health, infrastructure and education sectors.”

Syrian crisis: health experts say more can be done: “As the Syrian confl ict enters its fifth year this month, doctors and public health experts highlight the major health problems and the actions needed to address them.”

Hundreds of medical workers have been killed in Syria, almost wiping out health care: “The brain drain of Syrian doctors … is one of the worst untold stories of the crisis.”

UNHCR warns of bleaker future for refugees as Syrian conflict enters 5th year: “With no political solution to the conflict in sight, most of the 3.9 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt see no prospect of returning home in the near future, and have scant opportunity to restart their lives in exile.”

Birth Registration in Turkey: Preventing Statelessness of Syrian Children: “Plenty of Syrians in all the neighboring host countries remain unregistered themselves—either by choice or because of circumstances. As a result, their children may also go unrecognized by any formal registration system. What is the future for children whose births have not been registered and therefore have no documentation of their Syrian heritage?”

Global warming contributed to Syria’s 2011 uprising, scientists claim: “US study claims regime’s unsustainable agricultural policies meant drought led to collapse of farming in north-eastern region and triggered mass migration to cities and added to feelings of discontent.”

Aid agencies slam UN Security Council over Syria: “More than 20 organisations say Security Council has failed to implement resolutions seeking to boost humanitarian aid.”

Satellite Photos Show Most of Syria Without Lights: “Scientists analyzed nighttime satellite images and found that 83% of lights had gone out.”

Syria’s housing crisis widens social gap: “Rental rates have risen as a result of the growing demand, and they continue to rise amid a general inflation in prices and a decline in value of the Syrian pound. Rental rates increased by between 30% and 50% during the month of January 2015 alone.”

A dozen stories on economic and social issues in Syria selected from the world press.

Anatomy of a Crisis, A Map of Attacks on Health Care in Syria: “A map of attacks on health care infrastructure in Syria”

Cigars For the Warlords, Fodder For the People Of Ghouta: “With the people of Ghouta suffering at the hands of an unremitting siege, Syria’s General Corporation of Tobacco announces preparations for the production of new cigars, to be distributed to businessmen and warlords.”

Syrians Facing Mental Health Epidemic: “Most alarming among these statistics was an increase in mental disorders ratio reaching 25 percent, with 40 percent of Syrians in need of social and psychosocial support.”

A New Face for the Exploitation of Syrian Workers in Lebanon?: “The minister of labor listened to the contractors’ complaints and summarized their main demand as a desire “to benefit from Syrian workers with the least amount of administrative procedures, the lowest costs, and the least time.”

Syria’s Economy in the Grip of the Black Market: “After monitoring the demand for [foreign] currencies in the market, the demand for currencies for non-commercial purposes is estimated to be between $3-10 million a day. As for [the demand for foreign currencies] for commercial purposes, it has surpassed the permitted official threshold to about $25 million a day.”

Syria says must be part of fight against antiquities theft:“The world will have to cooperate with Syria to halt the trade in looted antiquities that helps fund jihadist groups, Syria’s culture minister said, putting the onus on Turkey to stop the smuggling across their shared frontier.”

Cholera Outbreak Feared in Syria’s Future: “Water has been used for political dividends and has been turned off to certain areas, and that leads people to drink water from unsafe areas.”

Death: The Only Reliable News in Aleppo: “A sense of despair is strong in the city, but it is coated with cynical indifference, sometimes sincere and sometimes made-up. Only hope is absent from Aleppo, the city that appears to have vowed to continuously live in the shadow of war.”

US looks to aid Syrian refugees amid security concerns: “The Obama administration’s commitment to take in potentially thousands of Syrian refugees is raising national security concerns among law enforcement officials and some congressional Republicans who fear clandestine radicals could slip into the country among the displaced.”

All It Takes To Cross From Turkey To ISIS-Held Syria Is $25: “Some smugglers “buy” a particular section of the border for a half an hour at a time from an Islamic State “emir,” or prince, who controls the border guards, he says.”

Islamic State is selling looted Syrian art in London to fund its fight: “We went into one gallery and were chatting about a piece and the person quite openly said, ‘We just got this out of Syria,’ and we sort of looked at each other and said that’s really quite interesting, and he said, ‘Oh, well, this piece is more interesting. It has just come from Iraq,’ ” the archaeologist told Radio 4. “So it’s quite open in that sense.”

Articles this week include a report on the bread subsidy problem in Syria, corruption in opposition ranks, a decline in ISIS’ income and many others.

Interim Govt. Faces Bankruptcy Amid Mass Corruption: “Opposition government on verge of bankruptcy after revelations of fake jobs and corruption.”

Assad’s Bread Problem: “The policy change, a shock to many Syrians, may prove to be a key chapter in a conflict where the government has used starvation and hunger as effectively as it has barrel bombs and chemical weapons.”

Regime Closes Bakeries in Liberated Areas: “Decision comes amid speculation the regime will abandon state institutions in opposition-held areas.”

People’s Assembly Calls for Monitoring of Markets and Fuel Prices: “He said that the state’s retail outlets have been asked to sell at prices lower than market prices by 5 percent, adding that the ministry will give a 10 percent discount to purchases of over SYP 2,000 in its affiliated outlets during the first seven days of each month.”

Syrian Refugees and Regional Security: “But as funds are increasingly directed to battle IS, efforts to tackle the Syrian regional refugee crisis—another potentially pervasive and far-reaching trend—continue to be understaffed and underfunded.”

It will be a long haul: “The coalition is also having some success in hitting IS in its wallet. By destroying oil installations, the air strikes have denied IS its main source of cash. Oil receipts may have dropped by two-thirds to $750,000-$1.3m a day from $2-3m in June.”

Local Council to Make Canal Flow Again: “This canal flows into the Euphrates in the town of Ayyache,” he said. “At first sight, a visitor might think that it is one of the Euphrates’s tributaries. This will eventually turn the area into a tourist destination after our revolution succeeds.”

Our weekly selection of articles on Syria’s economy and society.

Special Report: For Islamic State, wheat season sows seeds of discontent: “Syrian farmers in Islamic State-held territory say production was hit by the conflict, poor rainfall and fuel shortages. Several told Reuters that Islamic State did not help farmers plant, and did not purchase their harvest as the Syrian government used to.”

UN report: 5.5 million displaced by war in first half of 2014, setting record: “Among the report’s main findings are that Syrians, for the first time, have become the largest refugee population under UNHCR’s mandate, overtaking Afghans, who had held that position for more than three decades.”

Pharmacists Take an ISIS ‘Re-Education Course’: “They told us that we are at war with the infidels and the deserters … and so we should grab weapons and fight by their side.”

‘Unprecedented Devastation’ Continues in Southern Damascus: “Residents of southern Damascus continue to suffer at the hands of an ongoing siege and an unforgiving winter, forcing the closure of the area’s only crossing point.”

How ISIS Rules: “As a resident of al-Tabqa, a town near Raqqa with an air base that was captured by ISIS in August, put it: “The irony is we were famous for not praying!”