Despite dire living situation | Residents return to al-Raqqah, while nearly 750,000 people live now in the city and surrounding villages
With the first spark of the “Syrian Revolution” in 2011 and after regime forces lost the control of the entire province in 2013, al-Raqqah experienced large waves of displacement, as people fled to other areas under the control of the Syrian regime or sought asylum in other countries. During ISIS control of al-Raqqah city and countryside, the displacement of the residents escalated greatly. However, a large number of residents returned to their areas in the city and countryside in the past four years, after Syria Democratic Forces and the International Coalition had imposed their control over this region. The establishment of civil institutions and reconstruction during the past few years spurred many of the residents, especially the internally displaces people, to return to their areas, despite the harsh conditions in the city, including the unemployment, children labour and poor services.
According to SOHR statistics, nearly 134,000 families of 750,000 people live now in al-Raqqah city and countryside, while the population of al-Raqqah city alone approximates 65,000 families of nearly 380,000 people.
It is worth noting that opposition factions and Jabhat al-Nusra captured al-Raqqah city in early May 2013, and it was the first capital of a province the Syrian regime lost at that time. In early January 2014, fierce battles started between those factions and ISIS, which led to imposing ful control by ISIS on city in mid-January 2014. Finally, SDF managed to capture al-Raqqah city in October 2017, with support by the International Coalition Forces.
On October 30, SOHR reported that al-Raqqah city, the former capital of the “Islamic State”, suffered from destruction, unemployment and child labour for over four years after it came under the control of the International Coalition and Syria Democratic Forces, although there were nearly 125 international licensed organizations and the Civil Council operating in the city.
It is worth noting that the Civil Council and the international organizations managed to rehabilitate bridges, irrigation canals and a bridge on Euphrates river, as well as rebuilding hospitals and schools in the city and countryside. However, the residents’ extreme poverty, unemployment, child labour, begging and searching for plastic and metal objects in houses’ rubble became prevalent considerably.
On the other hand, power crisis plagued most of the city, as the residents in two thirds of al-Raqqah city are struggling with lack of electricity in light of the high prices of electrically-generated amperes which reach 3,500 SYL each. Accordingly, the projects and tasks of the organizations operating in al-Raqqah city have been confined to relieving solutions and programs of psychological support, while securing job opportunities and fighting the phenomenon of child labour remain the tasks of the officials in charge of the city’s administration.