August 24, 2015 – Our Weekly Selection
A roundup of articles on Syria’s economy and society with around 15 articles this week.
Teens in Syria: “A SURVEY released this month tries to find out what life is like for Syrian teenagers.”
Education without borders: teaching Syria’s lost generation: “Companies like Pearson are stepping in to fund solutions for the Syrian refugee education crisis. Should we be suspicious of their motives?”
Aleppo’s businessmen blame Turks for damaged factories, looted equipment: “It may not be a bright idea to introduce yourself as from Turkey to people you meet in the areas controlled by the Syrian army. Alevi, Sunni or Christian, it doesn’t make a difference. They are all enraged.”
Shielded by the State: Assad’s Monopoly Over Syria’s Public Institutions: “International actors have invested years of resources and diplomacy in the quest for a negotiated solution in Syria, but they have failed and will continue to fail unless they are able to break the monopoly that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime holds over state institutions.”
Turkey constructing 45km wall along border with Syria: “Turkey has been struggling to cope with violence at its increasingly unstable border area.”
Isis ‘blows up temple dating back to 17AD’ in Palmyra: “Official says group destroyed Baal Shamin in city described as being of outstanding universal value and first appearing in 19th century BC.”
Regime Loyalists Amass Fortunes From Misery of Syrian War: “These new financial empires were not restricted to businessmen with dubious practices for earning money, instead, these fortunes also extended to military figures whose official salary is barely enough to survive for a month.”
Assad Dismisses Ministers After Social Media Backlash: “Regime appoints Rima al-Qaderi as Minister of Social Affairs after photos emerge showing former minister embracing army officer.”
Stale Bread Trade Witnesses Drop in Syria: “Decreased bread consumption and a drop in quantity of stale bread in private bakeries responsible for slowing trade.”
Promotion of Turkish Lira in Syria Should be Likened to Providing Arms to Terrorists: Government Official: “The anonymous economic official explained that trading with the illegal currency is akin to trading with illegal weapons.”
Syria: Bread prices by province: “Bread prices in Syria vary widely from province to province: In Damascus, a standard 1kg bag of bread costs between SP35-75 ($.20-.40). To the south, in Daraa province, the price doubles.”
Crude living on oil in Syria: “Watch Rozh Ahmad’s ‘Crude Living on Oil’, a short documentary filmed and produced in 2014 about Syrians working on homemade oil refineries.”
Kobani’s oil dries up: “The Kurdish areas in Syria are key to the production of petroleum, especially the Rmelan fields in northeast Syria, which are responsible for nearly 36% of Syria’s national production of gasoline.”
Syria: Idlib Farms Turn to Wastelands: “Olive-growers try to sustain production in conflict zone.”
Security Council: Syria ‘largest humanitarian crisis in the world’: “The UN Security Council announced on Aug. 17 that Syria “has become the largest humanitarian emergency crisis in the world today, threatening peace and security in the region.”
Svalbard Global Seed Vault drafts plans for first ‘return-to-sender’ mission for crop varieties at risk in war-torn Syria: “Less than eight years after a global seed vault was built to secure copies of the world’s plant varieties, war in Syria has sparked tentative plans to stage the first “return-to-sender” mission in the Middle East.”