بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | فبراير 19, 2020 | Syria in a Week
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
Restricting Sales
16 February 2020
A decision by the Syrian government has come into effect obligating citizens wishing to buy real estate or cars to pay for them in total or in part through banks; a move seen by experts to be aimed at stimulating the bank sector and reducing tax evasion.
Decision number 5 issued by Prime Minister Imad Khamis stipulates that “public entities legally commissioned with holding various real estate and car ownership records will not certify sales contracts (…) unless they are accompanied by proof of payment (total or partial) through a bank account of the owner.”
This new law coincides with increased government legal procedures against all who carry out transactions not using the Syrian pound, which witnessed record lows in recent weeks. The exchange rate in the black market exceeded one thousand Syrian pounds for one dollar, whereas the official exchange is rate is four hundred and thirty-four to the dollar.
The decision obligates citizens to open bank accounts in a country where banknotes are prevalent in commercial transactions and bank exchanges are practically absent.
The central bank has also approved a proposal to raise the bar for residential mortgages by three folds i.e. from five million to fifteen million Syrian pounds, and two folds for house renovations i.e. from two million for four million Syrian pounds.
The United Nations estimated the cost of reconstruction in Syria to be around four hundred billion dollars in 2018.
Analysts attribute the recent rapid “collapse” of the pound to the economic crisis in neighboring Lebanon, where Syrian businessmen deposited millions of dollars in banks that have recently imposed severe restrictions on withdrawal transactions amid an acute liquidity crisis.
Inevitable Victory
15 February 2020
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s victory in Idlib governorate, the last opposition stronghold in Syria, is “inevitable”.
For months, the Syrian government has been engaged in a military operation, with Russian air support, in the governorate of Idlib, northwest of Syria, where Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra) holds control, alongside other opposition and jihadist factions.
Turkey established twelve observation posts in Idlib under a ceasefire and de-escalation agreement reached in 2018 between Ankara, which supports opposition factions, and Moscow.
Bloody battles between Turkish and Syrian forces have left fourteen Turkish soldiers dead in recent days and sparked an exchange of accusations between Moscow and Ankara.
“War of Words”
15 February 2020
Turkey responded on Saturday to Russian accusations of failing to abide by the 2018 agreement, insisting that it has carried out its responsibilities in Idlib, the last major stronghold for militant rebels in Syria.
“Observation posts were established and the (Syrian) government should have stayed outside this area. Russia and Iran should have guaranteed that it stayed outside. Turkey also had responsibilities which it has fulfilled,” Tukey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay told the NTV news station.
Turkey and Russia have engaged in a war of words regarding Idlib, as the Syrian government -with support from Moscow- has intensified its offensive in the northwest, which has killed hundreds of civilians.
The Russian defense ministry said earlier this month that Turkey does not distinguish between “moderate opposition rebels and terrorists.”
The death of fourteen Turkish soldiers in Idlib by Syrian government bombardment led to increased tensions.
Downing of Two Helicopters
14 February 2020
A helicopter for the Syrian army was downed on Friday northwest of Syria and its crew were killed, in the second instance of its kind this week, amid escalating tensions between Ankara and Damascus, which has continued its advance against jihadists and opposition factions.
Syrian government forces, with support from their Russian ally, have carried out an offensive in northwest Syria since December of 2019 against the last stronghold for jihadists and opposition factions, despite warnings by Ankara.
The National Front for Liberation adopted the downing of the helicopter on Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of the pilots and that their bodies were found.
Turkish authorities did not immediately comment, whereas the Anatolia news agency mentioned the incident without giving any details.
Soleimani’s “Shadows”
14 February 2020
Israeli airstrikes against “Iranian positions” in Damascus and its surrounding have left seven people dead including four from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in a step that was considered as a chase after the “shadows” of the leader of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by Washington in early January.
Tel Aviv is “now more convinced that Russia is not capable of controlling Iran’s influence in Syria, so, it decided to intensify the bombardment despite Moscow’s reservations,” a Western official told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
Armenian Genocide
13 February 2020
The Syrian parliament unanimously declared that the killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 by the Ottomans is a genocide, as the tensions between Damascus and Ankara intensify after confrontations in northwest Syria.
In a statement, the parliament announced that it “condemns and acknowledges the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman state in the early twentieth century.”
Current Syrian territories are considered one of the most prominent arenas for Armenian massacres. Historians say that Ottoman authorities forced them to walk vast distances through the desert and then put whoever survived in detention camps.
There was a memorial in Deir Azzor (east of Syria) for the genocide of Armenians, but ISIS militants destroyed it.
Bitter Displacement
13 February 2020
The offensive by the Syrian government, with support from Russia, against the last major stronghold of opposition factions has led to the displacement of more than eight hundred thousand people since December, the United Nations said on Thursday.
“Of the more than eight hundred thousand displaced people in northwest Syria since 1 December 2019 and up to 12 February 2020, it is estimated that sixty percent are children,” said the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Idlib and parts of the adjacent Aleppo governorate are home to around three million people, half of whom have been already displaced from other parts of the country. In recent years, this region has turned into a sanctuary for people fleeing or those who were evacuated from other parts of Syria that were previously under the control of the opposition. With the offensive in Idlib, these people have nowhere to flee to.
The UNHCR office estimates that around eighty-two thousand people are sleeping in the open.
Opening Arteries
12 February 2020
Government forces are expanding their deployment along the Aleppo-Damascus international road in northwest Syria in order to guarantee its security after taking full control over it for the first time since 2012, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday.
Government forces launched a wide offensive in December with Russian support in Idlib and neighboring areas controlled by Tahrir al-Sham (previously Nusra) and other less influential opposition factions.
The offensive is focused on the southern countryside of Idlib and the adjacent western countryside of Aleppo, where the M5 international road passes, which connects Aleppo with the capital Damascus and passes through major cities such as Hama and Homs all the way to the southern border with Jordan.
After weeks of bombardment and battles, government forces have completely taken over the international road for the first time since 2012, the year in which opposition factions started to expand in Syria.
“Neutralizing” Syrians
10 February 2020
Turkey said that it “neutralized” one hundred and one Syrian soldiers in retaliation to Syrian bombardment that killed five Turkish soldiers in northwest Syria.
This information has not been independently confirmed.
The ministry added that Ankara continued the bombardment of Syrian positions on Monday.
Five Turkish soldiers were killed and five others injured at a previous time when Syrian forces targeted Turkish positions in Idlib governorate northwest of Syria.
Eight other Turkish soldiers were killed in the previous week as a result of Syrian bombardment.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | ديسمبر 25, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
A New Chapter in the Idlib War
Reuters
22 December 2019
Russian-backed Syrian forces have gained ground after a week-long renewed assault against Idlib, the biggest such push in more than three months that has prompted a large civilian exodus, witnesses and residents said on Sunday. The wide-scale offensive led by intense aerial strikes on civilian areas in rural southeastern Idlib governorate broke months of stalemate on the frontlines, where rebels had been holding back the army from major advances, they said.
Russian and Syrian jets have stepped up strikes on villages and towns around Maarat al-Numan, from which thousands of people have fled to the relative safety of the Turkish border. The Syrian army said it had gained more than twenty villages and hilltops and was coming close to one of twelve Turkish observation posts in the northwest, part of a deal with Moscow and Tehran in 2017 to avert large-scale fighting in Idlib
Residents in the area said many villages were now deserted in a campaign that, since it first started in April, has displaced more than five hundred thousand people, according to the United Nations and international relief groups.
In the past week alone, at least eighty thousand civilians fled and face harsh conditions during the start of winter, said the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), a US-based medical NGO. Medical facilities, already crippled by a year of attacks, are struggling to deal with the influx of wounded, it said. At least sixty-eight medical facilities have been attacked since April, the NGO and other UN agencies have documented.
Western military sources said the latest bombardment was a prelude to a wide scale ground offensive to take over rebel-held Idlib governorate.
Enforcement of Caesar
Asharq al-Awsat
21 December 2019
US President Donald Trump signed the defense bill which contains the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act of 2019 after it gained the approval of the Congress.
The act is named after a former Syrian military photographer who risked his life to smuggle tens of thousands of pictures that document torture and killing of prisoners inside prisons. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the act was “an important step in promoting accountability for the large-scale atrocities” carried out by the Syrian government and “provides a tool for the United States to put an end to the ongoing horrible conflict in Syria.” The law authorizes sanctions on all individuals and institutions that finance the war machine; this includes the Syrian Central Bank, oil companies, construction companies, and militias. It also imposes sanctions on people in the army, government, and the Scientific Research and Studies Center who are accused of committing “war crimes.” It also allows for presenting military and non-military solutions to Congress to protect civilians.
It restricts financial support to Damascus from neighboring countries. According to the provisions in the act, the sanctions can be lifted by the US president if Damascus takes tangible steps and serious actions to respect human rights while prioritizing the safety and security of civilians, freeing prisoners, and voluntary and safe return for refugees.
Veto on Cross-border Aid
Reuters
21 December 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said Russia and China had blood on their hands after the two countries used their veto power against a UN Security Council resolution, blocking cross-border aid deliveries from Turkey and Iraq to millions of Syrian civilians.
Russia, backed by China, on Friday cast its fourteenth UN Security Council veto since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
The resolution, drafted by Belgium, Kuwait and Germany, would have allowed cross-border humanitarian deliveries for a further twelve months from two points in Turkey and one in Iraq. But Russia only wanted to approve the two Turkish crossings for six months.
Russia and China vetoed the text while the remaining thirteen members of the Security Council voted in favor. A resolution needs a minimum nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass.
Since 2014 the United Nations and aid groups have crossed into Syria from Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan at four places annually authorized by the Security Council. In a bid to compromise with Russia, the Jordan crossing was dropped by Belgium, Kuwait, and Germany from their draft.
The current authorization for the four border crossings in Turkey, Iraq and Jordan ends on 10 January, so the Security Council could still attempt to reach an agreement, though some diplomats acknowledged this could now be difficult.
Deputy UN aid chief Ursula Mueller had warned the council on Thursday that without the cross border operations “we would see an immediate end of aid supporting millions of civilians.”
“That would cause a rapid increase in hunger and disease, resulting in death, suffering and further displacement – including across borders – for a vulnerable population who have already suffered unspeakable tragedy as a result of almost nine years of conflict,” Mueller said.
Erdogan and the Refuge Card
Reuters
17, 23 December 2019
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged world powers on Tuesday to help his country to resettle one million Syrian refugees, accusing governments of moving more quickly to guard Syria’s oil fields than its children. Erdogan, whose country hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population worldwide, said more than six hundred thousand refugees should voluntarily join around three hundred and seventy-one thousand people already in a “peace zone” in northern Syria from which Turkey drove Kurdish militia. “I think the resettlement can easily reach one million in a very short period of time,” Erdogan told the Global Forum on Refugees in Geneva.
The plan met with skepticism from Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who said that while Turkey was far ahead in terms of hosting refugees, resettling Arab refugees in areas previously populated by Kurds was wrong. “I hope this will not happen, really. It shouldn’t happen,” Egeland told Reuters.
Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said returns must be voluntary, refugees should be given support and property and other legal issues must be addressed. “We are also urging the Syrian authorities to allow us a presence in the areas where people return because this could be a confidence-building measure,” Grandi told a news conference.
Once Again… An Israeli Aggression
Reuters
22 December 2019
The Syrian army’s air defense system intercepted missiles coming from the direction of Israel that were aimed at targets on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, state media said on Sunday. Four cruise missiles were believed to have been launched across the coast through Lebanese airspace toward Syria, according to a source in the regional alliance supporting the Syrian government. Later the Syrian army said it had brought down one of the missiles in an area near the capital. It gave no further details.
Strike Against Homs Refinery
Reuters
21 December 2019
Rockets were fired overnight at Syria’s main Homs refinery and two gas units causing minor damage and disrupting production, oil officials said on Saturday. Fires were extinguished after several hours and maintenance engineers had begun repair work, the refinery head was quoted as saying on state media.
The refinery, located west of Homs, is one of two main refineries covering most domestic demand for diesel, heating fuel, gasoline and other products, industry experts say.
بواسطة Syria in a Week Editors | سبتمبر 18, 2019 | Syria in a Week, غير مصنف
The following is a selection by our editors of significant weekly developments in Syria. Depending on events, each issue will include anywhere from four to eight briefs. This series is produced in both Arabic and English in partnership between Salon Syria and Jadaliyya. Suggestions and blurbs may be sent to info@salonsyria.com.
War Crimes!
Reuters
11 September 2019
United Nations investigators said on Wednesday that air strikes by US-led coalition forces in Syria have killed or wounded many civilians, indicating that required precautions were ignored and war crimes may have been committed.
Syrian government and allied Russian warplanes are also conducting a deadly campaign that appears to target medical facilities, schools, markets and farmland and which may also amount to war crimes, the report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said.
The investigators also accused Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist alliance formerly known as Nusra Front that is the dominant armed group in Idlib, of firing rockets indiscriminately and killing civilians.
The coalition’s al-Jazeera Storm operation resulted in a high number of civilian casualties, including in a series of strikes on 3 January in Sha’fah, south of Hajin, that killed sixteen civilians including twelve children, the UN report said.
Syrian government forces carried out repeated air strikes in Saraqib, in northwest Idlib province on 9 March, damaging al-Hayat women’s and children’s hospital, despite pro-government forces being aware of its coordinates, the report said.
The Syrian government army denies that its strikes target civilians and says its forces only bomb militants associated with hardline fundamentalist groups linked to al Qaeda. The report covers the year to July and is based on nearly three hundred interviews and analysis of satellite imagery, photographs and videos.
Idlib’s Troika
Reuters
16 September 2019
The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran will meet in an attempt to secure a lasting truce in northwest Syria following the recent escalation in which government forces controlled Khan Sheikoun. The summit will debate potential threats from the ongoing tensions in Idlib, including a new wave of migrants toward Turkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani have backed the Syrian government against the opposition. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, along with the United States, European and Arab allies, has supported different opposition factions in the conflict. Government forces, aided by Russian air power, have regained control of most lands lost in the war. In recent months, government forces have attacked Idlib government.
Under a deal with Moscow and Tehran two years ago, Turkey set up twelve military observation posts in northwest Syria aimed at reducing fighting between the Syrian army and opposition forces. The Turkish military posts have recently been caught in the crossfire due to the Syrian offensive in the region.
On Monday, Erdogan, Putin, and Rouhani are expected to hold bilateral talks with each other before holding trilateral talks on the developments in Idlib. The three leaders will then hold a joint news conference.
Reducing Punishment!
Reuters
15 September 2019
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued an amnesty on Sunday that reduces sentences for crime and pardons draft dodgers if they report for duty within three to six months.
The decree applies to crimes committed before 14 September, the presidency said. It reduces the death penalty to a life sentence of hard labor, and life sentences to twenty years, among other punishments. Fugitives must turn themselves in within three months to benefit from the amnesty. The amnesty includes drug crimes and arms smuggling. The government has issued similar amnesties before to pardon those evading mandatory military service, who can face years in prison.
Aid agencies often cite the fear of conscription, and punishment for ducking it, as one of the main reasons refugees give for not wanting to return home.
Bombardment in Idlib
Reuters
15 September 2019
Rescuers and residents said on Sunday that Syrian troops shelled the south of Idlib where a ceasefire had halted a fierce army offensive two weeks ago. Artillery fire battered Maarat al-Numan town and nearby villages in the south Idlib countryside over the past two days, after warplanes struck there on Thursday. An opposition official said fighters were on high alert and had reinforced the frontlines. “We are responding directly by targeting the positions from where the shells are fired,” said Naji Mustafa of the National Liberation Front.
The ceasefire Damascus declared on 31 August brought a lull in air strikes in Idlib, after a five-month offensive which the United Nations says killed hundreds of people.
The Civil Defense, rescue workers operating in opposition territory, said artillery shelling on Idlib villages has killed seven people since Friday.
Will Fighting Resume in Idlib
Reuters
11 September 2019
Syrian opposition fighters on Wednesday said Russian-backed forces were amassing troops in preparation for resuming a five-month offensive in northwest Syria after a second day of raids by jets believed to be Russian threatened to end a fragile ceasefire.
The jets that flew overnight at high altitudes struck a village near Kafr Takhareem and an area near the town of Darkoush, both in rural areas in western Idlib governorate, two opposition sources and a resident in the area said. The overnight bombing raid came hours after air strikes hit a part of the northwest for the first time since the truce was declared eleven days ago, according to activists and a monitor. Moscow denied conducting the first strikes.
Russia said the Syrian government unilaterally agreed to a truce on 31 August in opposition-controlled Idlib. Since then, there has been an end to the intense air strikes by Russian and Syrian warplanes that since late April had accompanied the Russian-backed ground offensive to retake the last opposition bastion.
The Phantom of Refuge
Reuters
16 September 2019
Fighting in northwest Syria stirred the risk of a new influx of refugees towards Turkey which already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees. The United Nations said that more than half a million people have been displaced from their homes since late April and that most of them went deep in the opposition stronghold near the border.
Erdogan said that his country cannot deal with such an influx of displaced people. He threatened to “open the gates” for refugees to head to Europe unless Ankara receives more international support. Erdogan reiterated this threat on Friday and said that the Monday summits aims to stop the influx of displaced people from Idlib and solidify the ceasefire to prevent more civilian casualties.
Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party suffered some stunning local election losses this year in part due to impatience among Turks over the Syrian refugees. Erdogan has said one million refugees could return to a “safe zone” in northeast Syria, which Turkey is trying to establish with the United States.
No Increase in US Forces
Reuters
13 September 2019
General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command, said on Friday that the US military will not increase troop levels in Syria to carry out joint patrols with Turkish forces, adding that his goal was to eventually reduce the number of US forces in the country.
US troop levels in Syria, which number around one thousand, have been under intense scrutiny since President Donald Trump last year ordered their complete withdrawal – only to later be convinced to leave some forces behind to ensure that ISIS militants cannot stage a comeback.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that the Pentagon was preparing to send about one hundred and fifty troops to conduct ground patrols with Turkish forces. But McKenzie said the new mission would not require additional forces in the country.
But, at least so far, the joint patrols appear to have failed to satisfy demands from Ankara, which wants the operations to expand rapidly as far as thirty-two kilometers from its border to create a safe zone controlled by Turkish troops.
Explosion in al-Rai
Reuters
15 September 2019
The local council and a medical worker said a rigged car exploded near a hospital in the Syrian town of al-Rai at the border with Turkey on Sunday, killing ten people and wounding fifteen. The blast also caused damage in the hospital, said a statement from the council of the town, which lies in a part of northwest Syria under the control of Turkey-backed opposition factions. The Turkish Anadolu news agency said twelve civilians were killed after a “terror bomb attack” near the frontier.
Israeli Strike
Reuters
9 September 2019
The media unit run by Lebanon’s Hezbollah said Israeli planes hit a Syrian army camp under construction in eastern Syria early on Monday without casualties.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported that strikes by unidentified planes had killed pro-Iran fighters and attacked positions and arms depots belonging to them in Albu Kamal, a town near the Iraqi border.
Censorship over Books
Reuters
11 September 2019
The Syrian Culture Minister Mohammed al-Ahmad said that any book that “touches” on the state or community would be withdrawn from the Assad Library International Book Fair and the responsible publishing house would be held accountable.
“The Culture Ministry used to supervise the fair in full at previous cycles. This year, however, a higher committee for the fair was formed because educational work involves numerous branches. There are religious books that people of religion are more capable of evaluating. And so is the case for political books and other books that contain various contents. This committee bears the responsibility of choosing adequate content for the reader,” al-Ahmad said in a press conference in Damascus on Tuesday.
“No committee in the world can read all the books that will be showcased in a book fair, which can reach thousands of books. Therefore, if any breach that touches on our state or community is detected, then we will withdraw the book and hold the house that published it responsible by excluding it from participating in the fair in its upcoming cycle,” al-Ahmad went on to say.
Two hundred and thirty-seven publishing houses are presenting more than fifty thousand titles during the fair that is held between 12 – 22 September under the slogan: “Books Construct the Mind”. Some of the participating countries include Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran.
بواسطة Hiam Karm | أغسطس 22, 2019 | Cost of War, Culture, غير مصنف
I recently visited the Roofed Souk (al-Souk al-Maqbi–in colloquial dialect “the domed souk”) in Homs for the first time in years. I entered through surroundings of destruction and ruins, driven by nostalgia for days when we had to walk one behind the other because of the crowds. We were now one week before Eid al-Fitr, and there were no more than two hundred people at the peak hour, in addition to a few open shops waiting for customers who may or may not come!
Before the war, this market, like others in Syrian cities large and small, was a hub for commercial activities in the city, where people exchanged various goods and commodities, and craftsmen, stall holders, and customers from the villages and countryside of Homs gathered. The market buzzed with stall holders calling out about their merchandise, quality, and prices, which suited various social classes. Here you could find various clothes and textiles, sewing supplies, old rugs, furs, various threads and ropes, shoes, clogs, socks, bags, stationery, decorative materials, make-up, gold, silver, oriental and copper goods, groceries, sweets, candy, fish, and meat. In al-A’tareen Souk (perfumers’ souk), a single shop contained more than five thousand types of herbs, plants, spices, oils, and perfumes. There were also workshops for jewelry, blacksmithing, whitening copper, dyeing fabrics, upholstery, and Arab sewing.
Many of the crafts that once filled these markets, such as squeezing molasses and tanning leather, have become extinct, and new ones have replaced them. According to the Directorate of Ruins and Museums in Homs, the number of shops before 2011 was 890 oriental, local, and heritage shops located in thirteen souks: al-Nouri, al-Hisbeh, al-Bazabashi[i], al-Mansoojat, al-Sagha, al-Qaisarieh near al-Qaisarieh Inn[ii], al-Ibi, al-Ma’sarah[iii], al-Ma’radh (al-A’tareen), al-Arab–the mediator between the nomads and the urbans, al-Faru, al-Nahhaseen, al-Khayyateen, and al-Najjareen. These souks, which go back to the Ayyubid and Mamluk eras, still preserve their heritage and architectural characteristics. Other parts go back to the Ottoman occupation period.
The architecture of these souks, just like their counterparts in Damascus and Aleppo, is Islamic, as they are mostly covered with cylindrical roofs, huge rock domes: the shops are built of rocks with semi-circled rock frontages and crowned columns, decorated in the old style with geometric shapes. Huge windows sit on the top with arches for ventilation and lighting. A big dome emerges where two souks meet to crown the road junction, while basalt stones cover the floor.
Basalt stones, which characterize old buildings in Homs, were used because of their abundance in the area of al-Wa’ir, west of Homs, but you can find some souks with roofs made of limestone and hemp, some shaped as domes with air vents. An ironclad wooden shutter with a small door that goes back to 1300 AD characterizes the entrance of al-Qaisarieh souk. Then comes a roofed vestibule that leads to a stone staircase, which in turn leads up to the top floor of twenty-seven shops. Twenty columns made of white stones supporting wooden roofs surround the shops. You can see the ruins of a stone mill inside one of the shops.
The war overran these ancient markets in 2012, subjecting them to destruction and fires. Restoration and rehabilitation work over an area of forty-two thousand square kilometers began three years ago with coordination between Homs Governorate and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), under the supervision of the General Directorate of Ruins and Museums. The restoration project will replace the damaged metal coverings with similar new ones in the style of the thirties’ period. The restoration includes fixing structural damage, replacing missing stones, and rebuilding some destroyed shops according to specifications set by the Directorate of Ruins and Museums and schemes for this project. The reconstruction will use the same old stones, after they have been sorted out and the rubble removed. There will be new roller shutters, uniform signs, and metal nets for windows and shops. The project will also restore the infrastructure and repair the stone floors.
Restoration will take place in four stages: the first and second ended in 2017 and the third began in 2018. The number of shops restored as part of the third stage reached 750 shops as of March, according to UNDP Representative in Homs Tareq Safar’s statement to the official Teshreennewspaper. However, Safar complained that the “lack of return on the part of shop owners after the restoration of their shops is causing embarrassment for us in front of visiting delegations and some donors,” calling on shop owners to remove the remaining rubble in their shops, so it can be moved away from the sight of the organization’s delegations, who are asking why the shops have not opened yet. This may cause donor countries to reconsider future assistance.
Financial Constraints and Burdens:
The restoration project is over ninety percent complete, according to official statements, but the revival in the market has not reached twenty percent in comparison to what it was prior to 2011. This is due to the sectarian division in Homs’s neighborhoods because of the checkpoints, the battles that erupted, the retreat of inhabitants to their neighborhoods, and the creation of micro markets that thrived separately in each neighborhood and later expanded after the war ended. However, these markets still lack crafts like whitening copper, oriental work, ropes, cloaks, and traditional clothing, which the old souk provided.
Merchants in the Roofed Souk suffer from high rents. The shop owners have to re-raise the columns and the roof so that they can be included in the restoration works, as the program is restricted to the shop fronts. In addition, the program has imposed a uniform interior cladding on them. All of this, along with accumulated taxes from previous years, costs the shop owners great sums of money.
Restoration works were supposed to include nearby markets in Abi al-Alaa al-Ma’ari Street, al-Na’ora Souk, Abo al-Ouf Street, Bab Hood, Vegetable Souk, and al-Jindi Souk in parallel with the old souk, so that they can be all connected[iv]. Because most of Homs’s neighborhoods are empty, the souk area has become more isolated. Although government institutions have started working, the neighborhoods of Bayyadha, Khaldieh, Wadi al-Sayeh, Bab Hood, al-Qosoor, al-Qarabis, and Joret al-Shayyah (the northern part of the city) are still semi-empty. One third of the displaced people have returned to the neighborhoods of al-Warsheh, Bab Hood, al-Hamidieh, and Bostan al-Diwan.
Many of the shop owners believe that returning to their homes and shops would be exhausting and very expensive. In addition, there is a lack of security inside the souk at night and delays in installing electricity meters. Some people prefer to open a “cart” in front of their shop until the souk starts to pick up again, so they can prove their presence.
Antoine al-Akhras, a jeweler, suggested closing infringing shops in residential areas, so that merchants will be compelled to go back. Abo Abdo, a soap and olive oil wholesale merchant who worked in the family shop he inherited from his father for more than forty years, has now switched to selling olive oil on the sidewalks after his shop burned down and he lost his goods because it is less expensive and more profitable, as he does not have the money for the restoration, cladding, and buying new products.
Abd al-Baqi al-Tarsheh, the owner of a clothing shop, believes that al-Na’ora Souk should be restored because it links al-Dablan market and the Roofed Souk. “We need financial and moral support so we can return,” he said. Morhaf Slaibi, the owner of a jewelry shop, cannot buy new equipment. Talhat al-Salqini says, “We did not get any financial support. We restored the shops at our own expense.”
A fifty-year-old lady, who frequently visits the souks, thinks that all the shops need to come back, including those selling textiles, jewelry, and tailors’ supplies, because “those who go to the souk want to find everything in one place. We need diversity,” she says. Another lady, who works as a tailor, has to go back and forth between the distant souks in the neighborhoods looking for her supplies, which she used to find all in one street in the Roofed Souk.
All attempts by the government to show that normal life has indeed returned to Homs are for media purposes only. The return of government institutions in the city center is not enough, as it is surrounded by destruction. It also seems that corrupt bureaucracy is not the only reason for not providing true incentives for the return of inhabitants and souks. Apparently, the government has no intentions in this regard, and it shows little or no concern for this matter.
The Roofed Souk still reserves its own corner in the collective memory of the inhabitants of Homs and its countryside. It has always been, and will remain, capable of encompassing all sectors of society. Its return is an indicator for the return of normal civil life. So, will the dream come true?
*This article was published in Arabic at Salon Syria here.
[i]Known as the ladies’ souk or the souk for second-hand clothing
[ii]Residents of Homs pronounce it as “Qaisawieh”
[iii]Named after the craft of squeezing molasses in old times
[iv]The infrastructure and sidewalks are currently being restored in al-Na’oua Souk, Abo al-Ouf street, and Bab Hood.
بواسطة عامر فياض | ديسمبر 10, 2018 | Roundtables, غير مصنف
حرمت الحرب نحو ثلاثة ملايين طفل سوري من التعليم، من بينهم ٨٠٠ ألف لاجئ في دول الجوار، وفقاً لليونسيف، فيما قُدرت أضرار قطاع التربية بأكثر من ٢٥٠ مليار ليرة سورية، من ضمنها ٧٤٠٠ مدرسة دُمرت أو خرجت عن الخدمة، وخلال سنوات الحرب استخدمت نحو ١٩٠٠ مدرسة كمراكز لإيواء الأسر النازحة، فيما تحول بعضها إلى مقرات عسكرية للاستخدامات الحربية.
وأدى نزوح مئات الآلاف من الطلاب إلى بعض المحافظات لتحميل مدارسها أعداداً تفوق طاقتها الاستيعابية، فباتت بعض الصفوف المجهزة لاستيعاب ٢٥ طالباً تستقبل نحو أربعين أو خمسين.
كما أجبرت ظروف النزوح وتدهور الوضع الاقتصادي، آلاف الطلاب على العمل والتسول خلال مراحل الدراسة، ليتمكنوا من متابعة تعليمهم وإعالة عوائلهم المعدمة، مما أدى إلى تراجع مستواهم العلمي والمعرفي، ليصبحوا عرضة للرسوب المتكرر.
معاناة أخرى طالت أطفال المناطق التي سيطرت عليها بعض الفصائل المسلحة المتشددة، حيث تلقوا في مدارسها مناهج تعليمية غير رسمية، ذات صبغة دينية في الغالب، مما جعلهم يخسرون عدة سنوات دراسية عندما عادوا إلى المدارس الحكومية، فالأخيرة لم تعترف بالتعليم الذي تلقوه خارجها، وأعادت أغلبهم إلى صفوف سابقة وأحياناً إلى الصف الأول.
وعن طريقة التعامل مع الطلاب المنقطعين عن المناهج الحكومية يقول موجه تربوي من مدرسة ابتدائية في ريف دمشق، فضل عدم ذكر اسمه، “أُخضع الطلاب النازحين من المناطق الساخنة إلى امتحان تحديد المستوى، عبر سبر معلوماتهم، ووضعوا على إثره في الصفوف المناسبة، وينطبق الأمر على طلاب المناطق التي عاد إليها التعليم الحكومي بعد رحيله عنها لسنوات، كالغوطة الشرقية وجنوب دمشق”. ويضيف الموجه التربوي “في مدرستنا أكثر من خمسين طالباً نازحاً في عمر الدراسة الإعدادية، يجلسون في مقاعد الصف الخامس والسادس، بينما اكتظت شعب الصف الأول خلال السنوات السابقة بالمئات ممن تراوحت أعمارهم بين الثامنة والعاشرة وأكبر من ذلك، وقد تأخر دخول بعضهم إلى المدرسة نتيجة ضياع وتلف أوراقهم الثبوتية جراء ظروف الحرب”.
خسائر في الكوادر التعليمية
خسر قطاع التعليم الحكومي خلال السنوات الماضية عشرات آلاف المعلمين، وأقرت نقابة المعلمين باستقالة نحو سبعين ألف معلم نتيجة ظروف الحرب المختلفة، فيما سافر الآلاف بطرقٍ غير نظامية تجنباً للموت والملاحقة الأمنية أو بحثاً عن مستقبلٍ أفضل. وبدأت الحكومة مع نهاية العام ٢٠١١ مسلسل فَصل المعلمين من وظائفهم لأسباب سياسية أو لرفضهم الالتحاق بالخدمة الاحتياطية، وقد امتنع أغلب المطلوبين للخدمة عن الذهاب لمدارسهم خوفاً من الإيقاع بهم.
وحتى اليوم تتوالى قرارت الفصل بحقهم، و آخرها صدر في آب/أغسطس ٢٠١٨، وقد شمل الفصل أكثر من مئتي معلم ومعلمة، منهم ٧١ من محافظة السويداء. وكانت السويداء خسرت سابقاً نحو١٥٠ معلماً نتيجة قرارت مماثلة، وفق تقديرات مدرس اللغة العربية حسام الذي كان واحداً منهم.
يقول حسام عن تلك القرارات: “استبدل الكادر التدريسي القديم الذي يمتاز بخبراتٍ مشهود بها و بقدرات علمية وتعليمية بارزة، ليعيَّن بدلاً عنهم مدرسون هواة يفتقرون إلى أدنى الخبرات ويعاني معظمهم من صعوبة فهم المناهج الجديدة، فبعضهم لم يتلق تعليماً عالياَ أو لايزال طالباً جامعياً، دفع هذا بعض الطلاب إلى اللحاق بمدرسيهم المفصولين إلى بيوتهم لتلقي دروس خاصة، كحال طلابي”.
يُذكر أن طلاباً من مدارس السويداء نفذوا اعتصاماً أمام مديرية التربية، قبل نحو عامين، احتجاجاً على قرارات الفصل، حاملين لافتات تطالب بحقهم في التعليم وبإعادة المدرسين المفصولين إلى عملهم.
الواقع الاقتصادي للمعلمين يضّر بطلابهم
يضطر العديد من المدرسين العاملين في المدارس الحكومية لإيجاد عمل ثان ليؤمنوا فيه تكاليف الحياة الباهظة، فدخلهم لا يتجاوز الأربعين ألف ليرة سورية لا يكاد يكفي لدفع إيجاد منزل أو مصروف عائلة صغيرة.
مدرس الرياضيات سعيد، اضطر لفتح دكانٍ صغير ليعينه على تأمين لقمة العيش، يقول سعيد “نسيت أنني معلم، فأنا أمكث في دكاني، وسط الحسابات ودفاتر الديون ومجادلة الزبائن، أكثر مما أمكث في المدرسة أو حتى في البيت. كان راتبي كمدرس قبل الحرب ١٣ ألفا (٢٥٠ دولاراً)، بينما أتقاضى اليوم أقل من ٨٠ دولاراً”. وعن تأثير عمله كسمان على عمله كمدرس يضيف سعيد “بالتأكيد أثَّر على عملي كمدرس، وألحق ضرراً بالطلاب، فخلال تقديمي للدروس تطل صور الخضار والمعلبات والأسعار إلى ذهني، فتشوِّش على المعلومات التي أقدمها وأشعر بأن طاقتي معدمة وتفكيري وتركيزي مشتتان”.
وحال سعيد أفضل من زميله رأفت، مدرس علم الأحياء، الذي يعمل سائقاً لسيارة أجرة في دمشق طيلة فترة المساء، وعن ذلك يقول “دخلي كمعلم لا يكفيني لدفع إيجار منزلي، وبالمقابل تقدم لي التاكسي أكثر من ضعفي ذلك الدخل، فالتعليم بات أسوء مهنة يمكن مزاولتها”. ويضيف رأفت “طوال الحصص الدراسية أشعر بالنعاس والتعب، أعترف بأنني لا أنصف طلابي، ولكن كيف أنصفهم ولا أحد ينصفني؟ كيف لسائقٍ يعاني طوال النهار من التلوث السمعي والبصري والنفسي أن يكون مربياً للأجيال؟ هل أحضِّر دروسي وأنا أقود السيارة وأجادل الركاب على تعرفة النقل؟”
مناهج تقليدية وطرق تدريس عقيمة
استمر التعليم الحكومي على نهجه التقليدي من حيث المعلومات وطريقة نقلها للطالب بالرغم من التحديثات التي دخلت مناهجه في السنوات الأخيرة، ، كما لم يخضع كثير من المعلمين إلى أية دورات تأهيلية لتطوير أدواتهم ومهاراتهم التعليمية.
عن تلك المناهج تتحدث السيدة روعة، نائبة مدير مدرسة في دمشق: “تغير الشكل الخارجي للمناهج وطريقة إخراجها، لكن محتوى معظمها لم يأت بجديدٍ يواكب العصر الحديث بعلومه وثقافاته المتطورة، فهي تكتظ بمعلوماتٍ كثيفةٍ وجافة لا تفيد ولا تغني، تعتمد على الكم لا النوع، لتجعل الطالب يعيش حالة تناقضٍ وفصام، فهل يعقل في عصرنا هذا أن يدرس مادة التربية الوطنية القومية، والتربية الإسلامية ومواد أخرى مشابهة؟”
وعن الطرائق التدريسية المتبعة تضيف روعة “حتى اليوم تعتمد بمعظمها على الحفظ والتلقين، فلكي ينجح الطالب في الامتحان على دماغه أن يكون آلة تسجيل ليس إلا، يخزّن فيه جميع المعلومات الواردة في منهاجه الدراسي، بغض النظر عن فهمها واستيعابها، وبمجرد خروجه من الامتحان سينساها على الفور، فهو ضحية المنظومة التعليمية التي تخرج منها معلمه”. وترى روعة أن هذه الطرق “لا تحفز عقل الطالب ولا تطور قدراته العلمية والفكرية والإبداعية، كونها لا تطبق الأساليب التفاعلية التي تنمي مهاراته، وتشركه في المناقشة والتحليل واكتشاف المعلومة أو البحث عنها “.
و نتيجة لواقع العملية التعليمية نجد اليوم طلاباً تجاوزوا المرحلة الابتدائية لا يجيدون القراءة أو الكتابة بشكل جيد، ويعجزون عن حل مسائل حسابية بسيطة، فيما نجد تدنياً كبيراً في مستوى اللغات الأجنبية عند أغلبهم، ما يضطرهم فيما بعد لتعلمها من جديد عبر المعاهد الخاصة.
بالنظر إلى الظروف السابقة بات من الصعب على معظم الطلاب النجاح دون الاستعانة بالمدرسين الخصوصيين أو بالمدارس والمعاهد الخاصة، التي انتشرت بكثرة في السنوات الماضية، خاصة المعاهد التي تقدم دورات متابعة وتقوية لجميع المواد، وهو واقع جعل معايير النجاح والتفوق حكراً على الأثرياء فقط.
