I simply want to ask a question that has truly perplexed me: Who is the entity, or the shadowy force, working to tarnish the image of the “new era” in Syria in the eyes of the people (the downtrodden), in such a calculated manner, through ill-conceived decisions?!
What sick and distorted economic or political mind can believe that the exhausted Syrian citizen, already living and struggling below the poverty line, can still endure further pressure and suffocation?
Yesterday, electricity prices skyrocketed, leaving people groaning under the weight of bills and fearing what’s to come, amidst widespread criticism of the exorbitant price hike (and no one is responding).
Today, the issue of wheat pricing has been raised, following the decision regarding the purchase price of the crop. This has ignited the anger of farmers, who believe the price doesn’t reflect their labor or the cost of cultivation and production, especially given the economic collapse and the soaring prices of agricultural inputs and fuel.
The real question here, which I direct through you to the only remaining lifeline (President Ahmed al-Sharaa), is: Have the poor, marginalized, and weary classes become the only coffers to be opened whenever the state needs money? It’s as if economic solutions can only begin at the expense of the poor!
It’s as if the farmer, the employee, the low-income earner, and the exhausted head of the household are always the ones who must pay the price.
The most dangerous thing that could happen today is not just the economic missteps, but the growing feeling among the people that no one is listening to their cries.
The streets don’t erupt in anger for no reason! People aren’t angry about extravagance, but about a sense of injustice, a lack of fairness, and the absence of any empathy from their government and officials for their real suffering.
The new era cannot succeed (even if it brings in the dinosaurs of Gulf money) if its image in the minds of the people becomes associated with exorbitant bills, shocking decisions, and the strangulation of the most vulnerable groups.
And we address the Syrian President during this time of a paralyzed parliament: A strong state is not built by burdening the exhausted, but by protecting them!
