October 06, 2014 – Selection of Articles and Reports on Syrian Economic, Business and Social Issues

The following is a selection of articles and reports written in the last week on Syria related to economic, business and social issues:

Emergency Economies: The Impact of Cash Assistance in Lebanon (PDF file): “This report describes the impacts of the winter cash transfer program run by UNHCR and partners from November 2013 to April 2014. The program gave $575 USD via ATM cards to 87,700 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon with the objective of keeping people warm and dry during cold winter months.”

The Struggle to Produce Food in Syria: “Open warfare means whole swaths of farmland are off limits, crops long since unharvestable. Landholders in a position to successfully harvest often find themselves turned away at security checkpoints before they can get their produce to market in city and town centers.”

Arts + Culture: The Ancient Art of Making Mosaics, Kept Alive in a Refugee Camp: “Before the conflict, Kafranbel, a famously revolutionary northwestern city, was a hub for modern mosaic makers. Before the war, 700 people in the town practiced the profession full time, in 25 workshops. Today, only two of the shops are in business, staffing 37 workers.”

Towns empty, half of Syria no longer in their homes, says UNHCR on refugee crisis: “Nine million Syrians – more than half the country’s population – are now refugees, displaced from their homes. The United Nations says it’s the worst humanitarian disaster since the Rwandan genocide.”

Banker who financed 9/11 mastermind now funding terrorists in Syria and Iraq: “The case highlights growing concern over the apparent failure of Qatar, one of the richest nations in the world, to crack down on financial terrorist networks in the country.”