Al-Suwaidaa | Lifting governmental subsidy for large number of Syrians ignites protests

Al-Suwaidaa province: While the Syrian people in the regime-held areas have been struggling poverty, hiking prices, worsening living conditions, security vacuum and regime security iron grip with 90 percent of the Syrians are living under the line of poverty, the regime government had lifted the “government subsidy” for nearly 600,000 Syrian families which equal nearly 15 percent of those holding the smart ration cards.

The recent decision has caused popular uproar in the areas under the regime control where hundreds of civilians have flocked into the streets in the morning in Al-Suwaidaa towns, including Al-Namerah town in east Al-Suwaidaa countryside to protest the decision.

The protesters blocked the road leading to Shahbaa and Al-Suwaidaa cities with burning cars tires. The protests expanded to Al-Qariya town in south Al-Suwaidaa where the demonstrators have closed the town’s bakeries demanding selling the bread for all with the subsidised prices.

Meanwhile, some young men from Om Dabyeeb village have cut the roads in solidarity with the protested residents who have been excluded of the subsidised goods list.

Also, members of a local faction and some civilians have cut Damascus-Al-Suwaidaa highway near Mardaq bridge with burning tire to protest the government decision of partial lifting of subsidy.

On February 1, Observatory sources reported that the Syrian government passed a new resolution that excluded more than half a million families from receiving government rations and subsidised goods and foodstuffs via a “smart ration card.” More than 15 percent of eligible families and 47 percent of private car owners were affected by this decision.

The standard for lifting subsidies from private car owners depended on the family owning a single car “with an engine capacity exceeding 1500 CC and the year of manufacture being after 2008.”

Furthermore, the government was exploring lifting subsidies for people who own multiple properties and buildings in the same province.

The last decision was met with widespread public discontent in the light of the chronic crises in areas controlled by the Syrian regime, particularly the limited income per capita of workers and employees whose monthly salaries do not exceed 100,000 Syrian pounds to 200,000 Syrian pounds, equivalent to 28 USD and 55 US dollars, while the price of gas cylinder reached about 30,000 Syrian pounds, equivalent to 8 USD.

Ironically, scenes of hundreds of Syrians queuing outside the “passports and immigration” headquarters became normal. Since early 2022, the number of Syrians seeking to obtain visas grew to unprecedented level in an attempt to register their names on a special platform to book a time to obtain visas and leave Syria under slogan of “hope is in travel,” which is contrary to the head of Syrian regime Bashar Al-Assad’s own words “hope is in work.”

Growing number of the Syrians aspiring to leave the country contradict with the state-run Syrian media and officials who promulgate restoring safety and security in the regime-held areas and repeated statements about the regime’s readiness to welcome the refugees’ return to Syria.

Unprecedented crowds in front of the passport and immigration buildings took ascending curve. Since early mornings and even before the employees arrive in, thousands of people queue in different provinces to book a place and submit their personal documents in order to obtain a passport.