Deir Ezzor – Obadah al-Sheikh

As the school year begins, residents of the region face renewed suffering in securing their children’s school supplies, due to high prices and costs that exceed their purchasing power.

This problem is not new, as it recurs at the end of September every year, always confronting the reality of low monthly salary rates for employees in areas controlled by the regime.

After the recent increase last February, the minimum wage reached 278,910 Syrian pounds per month, which is equivalent to about 19 US dollars, according to the specialized exchange rate site “S-P Today.”

In areas of Deir Ezzor under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the monthly salary rate for employees is 65 US dollars, while families have to buy school supplies that sometimes exceed the entire salary.

A million pounds to equip a student

Khalil al-Okla, a father of four children in Deir Ezzor, believes that one must be corrupt in some position to live normally in Syria, as he put it.

Al-Okla, an employee in a local council for one of the villages in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor under the control of the Autonomous Administration, told Enab Baladi that there is a significant gap between his salary, which reaches one million Syrian pounds (about 68 US dollars), and the market prices.

He said that his salary is not enough to buy bags, pens, and notebooks for his four children in primary and secondary school.

Exchange rates play a role

According to al-Okla, each student needs about a million pounds distributed over the price of a school bag at 100,000 pounds, clothes exceeding 250,000 pounds, shoes at a similar price, and stationery and school supplies exceeding 400,000 pounds.

The price of a four-section notebook has reached 75,000 pounds, and a medium-quality pen costs 15,000 Syrian pounds.

Meanwhile, Fayez al-Hamadi, the owner of a bookstore in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor, told Enab Baladi that the price increases this year are related to the depreciation of the pound against the US dollar.

He added to Enab Baladi that bookstore owners cannot control the prices in light of the daily fluctuation of the exchange rate.

The trader pointed out that the prices of school bags increased by more than 100% compared to last year, and the prices of some supplies like notebooks and pens rose by more than 150%.

According to the trader, the market is experiencing a stagnation like never before, with a notably weak demand, especially for buying bags, highlighting that prices play a significant role in this.

Poverty denies students education

Madelin al-Hussein was forced by economic conditions to keep her three children out of school due to the high cost of living and her father’s physical disability caused by a shell that fell near him during battles in the al-Rushdia neighborhood of Deir Ezzor years ago, and her inability to meet her children’s school needs.

Al-Hussein told Enab Baladi that she works in a scrap collection center, earning 35,000 Syrian pounds daily, barely enough to meet her family’s daily needs.

Her children try to help secure necessities instead of being in school seats, as one of them works in a clothing repair shop, earning 25,000 pounds daily.

Al-Hussein believes that it is wrong for her eldest son to leave school, but he has learned a profession that will help him earn money when he grows up.

Extremely deteriorating conditions

In an exclusive interview with Al-Arabiya channel, UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen conducted a quick survey of the most prominent unresolved issues in the Syrian file, passing through the economic and humanitarian crisis inside Syria.

He said the situation in Syria is “extremely bleak,” with about 16.9 million people in need of humanitarian aid and nine out of ten people suffering from poverty.

In Syria, 16.7 million people need humanitarian aid, an increase of 9% over 2023, according to estimates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Eighty percent of the Syrian population needs some form of humanitarian aid in 2024, according to a statistic released on February 12 by the World Food Programme (WFP) regarding the number of people suffering from food insecurity in Syria.

About 55% of Syria’s population, or 12.9 million people, suffer from food insecurity, of which 3.1 million suffer severe food insecurity.