Syria is witnessing unprecedented levels of poverty, UN official
February 14, 2022, 10:57 am

Syria is witnessing unprecedented levels of poverty, UN official

Al-Thawra street-Local market in Damascus

Imran Riza, U.N. Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, told Reuters: "What you have is a cascade of crises," adding that "We are seeing levels of poverty that we haven't seen before, levels of need that we haven't seen before."

Riza said: "You see a lot of people moving towards very negative coping mechanisms - more child labour, more child marriage, very high levels of debt right now. People selling key household assets."

Anna Cervi, director of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Syria, said that across the country people are forced to make tough choices, such as choosing between paying for a parent's medical treatment, "or save that money to put a meal on the table for their kids."

Issam Habbal, the head of Sa'ed, an NGO, said that "Every house is in need of help, even state employees and middle-income people."

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Reuters interviewed Fouad Chahine, a state employee, who spends his salary of 120,000 pounds within three days. He rarely buys clothes for his three children. He tops up his income by selling nuts.

He said: "In 2013, life was more comfortable than now. Now you sleep, wake up and see that prices have gone up."

The report noted that across Syria, the human cost of the war has been huge, including more than 350,000 people killed and over half the population uprooted.

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But while the frontlines have been largely frozen for years, an economic crisis is exacting an increasingly heavy toll across the fractured nation.

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.