Enab Baladi –Amir Hakouk
The sight of people begging or sleeping on sidewalks and in public squares is no longer exceptional in several Syrian governorates. In recent months, it has become increasingly common in streets, markets, and at traffic intersections, as residents complain that begging is spreading and homelessness is appearing in places where it was not previously seen.
In Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Latakia (western Syria), Tartous (western Syria), and other cities, groups of beggars, including women, children, and older people, now gather outside mosques, shops, restaurants, and at traffic lights. Residents also point to a growing number of people spending the night in public parks or on sidewalks, reflecting worsening social and economic conditions.
Rami Haddad, a resident of Old Damascus, told Enab Baladi that the phenomenon is no longer limited to asking for money. In some areas, he said, it has become more organized, with the same people repeatedly appearing at fixed locations every day, raising questions about possible networks exploiting people in need, alongside those driven to the street by living conditions.
Haddad added that residents are frustrated by the phenomenon’s continued spread. Daily scenes, he said, indicate that the numbers of beggars and homeless people are increasing rather than declining, despite repeated government statements about addressing the issue and launching plans.
The situation is similar in Tartous. Alaa al-Mohammad, a city resident, said government measures have had limited results, as the phenomenon persists in both the city and its surrounding countryside. He called for practical steps beyond temporary campaigns, targeting the causes that push people into begging or homelessness, chiefly poverty, unemployment, and the absence of social protection networks.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor recently announced the formation of a national committee to address begging and homelessness. It also presented a plan that includes rehabilitating shelter centers and coordinating efforts among several ministries and relevant bodies, based on the view that the issue requires social, security, and health measures at the same time.
Stories from the Street
On a sidewalk near al-Baramkeh in central Damascus, an elderly woman has occupied the same corner for months, sitting on an old blanket and surrounded by bags containing what remains of her belongings.
At night, the same spot becomes the shelter where she sleeps, far from any shelter or care center.
A local resident told Enab Baladi that the woman often refuses to leave. Residents have become accustomed to seeing her move between sidewalks and public parks, a scene that reflects the lack of sustainable solutions for people who have lost housing or family ties.
In Latakia, the scene is slightly different, but the outcome is the same. On one city street, a girl no older than 10 stands among cars stopped at a traffic light, moving quickly from one window to another, sometimes holding out her hand and at other times offering small packs of tissues in an attempt to attract drivers’ attention.
What draws passersby’s attention is not only the girl’s presence, but also the reasons that led her family to push her into work and begging during time she should be spending with schoolbooks. The scene raises questions about the fate of children who find themselves out of school and facing the street from an early age.
According to observations by Enab Baladi correspondents, the number of beggars and homeless people has recently increased. Their presence has become more visible in popular markets, around mosques, in public parks, at traffic intersections, and near the entrances of hospitals and government institutions.
The number of children and women begging has also increased, alongside people sleeping on sidewalks or in public parks at night. Such scenes are recurring more frequently than in previous months, reflecting the phenomenon’s geographical expansion and raising residents’ fears that it could become a permanent social reality amid continued economic pressures and the slow implementation of announced government plans.
Three Centers Rehabilitated for Children
Khuzama Najad head of the Anti-Begging and Homelessness Office at the Damascus Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor, said that a comprehensive national committee had been formed by a Council of Ministers decision. Chaired by the minister of social affairs and labor, the committee includes the ministries and agencies concerned with the issue and has developed a comprehensive response plan.
Najad told Enab Baladi that the plan’s most notable results include launching a field campaign and rehabilitating three centers designated to receive children found on the street, allowing them to receive care within an organized framework.
She said the campaign is being implemented in coordination with several bodies, including the Civil Defense, social affairs directorates, the Damascus and Rural Damascus governorates, the Anti-Begging and Homelessness Office, and several volunteers. The Anti-Trafficking Branch also recently joined the joint effort.
“The work plan is prepared at the beginning of every month through a meeting involving the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Anti-Trafficking Branch, where a plan is drawn up to conduct two campaigns each week, targeting different areas based on a prior assessment,” Najad said.
She added that areas are not selected randomly. Instead, they are chosen after studying the nature of begging cases in each location, while also taking the campaign’s timing into consideration.
The office’s latest count for Damascus and Rural Damascus stood at 550 cases as of June 30, recorded since the campaign began, excluding the campaign carried out the previous Sunday. Najad explained that the figures are updated at the beginning of each month by adding the results of new campaigns to the previous total, with another campaign scheduled for the following Sunday.
She said establishing the new centers was among the ministry’s most significant measures. Previously, only two centers existed, both with limited capacity, meaning that handling four or five cases, or even 10 cases a month, was considered a major achievement.
Campaigns now record at least 15 to 20 cases each.
Najad added that the number of cases has declined compared with the beginning of the campaign. About 100 cases were recorded on its first day, while current campaigns record between 10 and 15 cases.
What About Other Governorates?
The ministry is currently working to expand the experience to the rest of Syria’s governorates, with each governorate addressing the phenomenon within its jurisdiction and drawing on the experience implemented in Damascus, according to Najad.
She also disclosed a plan to amend the law on begging, explaining that authorities are still working under the old law and that the ministry is coordinating with relevant bodies to prepare amendments. The ministry is also addressing the responsibility of those who put children to work, whether relatives or others, in a way that would allow families to be held accountable, as most children on the street are there at their families’ direction, according to Najad.
She concluded by saying that begging is not a new phenomenon, but has worsened because of the war, displacement, and economic crises. Efforts to address it began on June 30, she said, and the campaigns are continuing on a permanent basis while the experience is being expanded to other governorates.