According to the new tariff announced by the Ministry of Energy at the end of October, electricity bills have increased by at least sixty times. People living in Damascus and its surroundings, who are already struggling with low incomes and long power cuts, are reacting to this decision.
We thought it would get better
Hasan Aama, a blacksmith working in the suburbs of Damascus, said he was deeply shocked when he heard about the price hike. Hasan Aama spoke to the French news agency AFP and said: “Our income is limited. If the bills increase this much, we will not be able to make it to the end of the month. We survived the war, our homes were destroyed, we lost everything. We thought things would get better now, not worse.”
Because power cuts in the city often last up to twenty hours a day, many people are forced to pay extra money for private generators in order to use electricity.
Subsidies are being removed
According to economist Cihad Yazici, the new administration is taking steps to reduce state support and fully liberalise the market while trying to pull the country out of international isolation and find resources for reconstruction. The removal of subsidies on bread prices is also part of these policies.
However, these steps have led to the exact opposite of what people expected. Many Syrians, who believed that life would rapidly improve in the post-Assad period, are experiencing disappointment in the face of increasing financial burdens.
Real estate consultant Muhy al-Din Selam said: “If rent is 200 dollars and the electricity bill is 200–400 dollars, who can pay it? What will people do?”
No one has the ability to pay
Alaa Musa, who sells biscuits and coffee from a small stall on the streets of Damascus, spoke even more harshly and said: “No one will pay. No one has money. It would be better if they cut the electricity completely. There is no work, the factories are closed. We thought money would flow when Assad was gone.”
No one has the ability to pay
Umm Zayn, who sells biscuits and coffee from a small stall on the streets of Damascus, spoke even more harshly and said: “No one will pay. No one has money. It would be better if they cut the electricity completely. There is no work, the factories are closed. We thought money would flow when Assad was gone.”