Jan 05, 2015 – Our Weekly Selection

Syrian refugee flows to Europe, ISIS governance and…the price of olive oil make up the headlines in this week’s selection of articles on Syria’s economy and society.

U.N.’s Fear of Angering Assad Leaves Gap in Syria Aid Effort: “U.N. effort to supply hundreds of thousands of Syrians in rebel-held areas with food, water, and medicine falling dangerously short.”

Turkey Strengthens Rights of Syrian Refugees

Syria to reopen its embassy in Kuwait: “Khaled al-Jarallah, an undersecretary at Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry, was quoted … as saying that the Syrian diplomats left Kuwait City voluntarily in March and are returning voluntarily to resume consular services for Syrian residents there.”

Price of olive oil soaring after worst harvest in over a decade: “Morocco and Tunisia have also suffered bad weather, while Syria, which claims to be the birthplace of the olive tree and which has 74 million trees, has been affected by the civil war.”

UNESCO calls to protect cultural sites in Iraq and Syria: “We cannot dissociate the humanitarian disaster from the destruction of culture heritage in countries that I consider to be the citadel of the human civilization.”

Arab spring prompts biggest migrant wave since second world war: “But after Cairo’s sudden regime change in summer 2013, the atmosphere turned drastically, leading to rampant xenophobia against Syrians and increased arrests and detentions of those who, for understandable reasons, did not carry the correct residency paperwork.”

Europe’s fear of Syria’s ghost boats: “The fact is that the smugglers who are purchasing ships for between $100,000 – $150,000 and then filling them up with hundreds of desperate refugees paying $6,000 per person for passage are making serious illicit money.”

The Islamic State is failing at being a state: “The Islamic State’s vaunted exercise in state-building appears to be crumbling as living conditions deteriorate across the territories under its control, exposing the shortcomings of a group that devotes most of its energies to fighting battles and enforcing strict rules.”

Ensuring quality education for young refugees from Syria (12–25 years) – A mapping exercise