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Syria is Dirt Poor
By Micah Halpern

Sunday June 28, 2009

I've Been Thinking:

The Syrian newspaper Al Watan reports that 20% of Syrian families have no income.
That 3.5 million people in Syria are starving.
That 160 villages have been abandoned and the villagers have come to the cities to seek help.
That the abandoned villages are farming villages and nothing grows in Syria because of a drought.

Syria is suffering from horrific economic conditions, even without the consequences of the drought.
The cost of energy and food is hurting Syrians terribly.
The average monthly salary per Syrian household is $250, that's $3000 per year.

Syria is an autocratic dictatorship ruled by an Alowite minority that controls its citizens through a ruthless security police. President Assad stays in power by virtue of the power of his army.

It is very difficult to predict the actions and behaviors of a country so severely, economically, stressed.
It is precisely because Syria is under such pressure that the Syrians are so carefully watching what happens in Iran and playing games of cat and mouse with the United States and Israel over peace talks.

Syria wants the benefits granted to more open societies and governments.
Syria does not want to give up the strong arm tactics and control that closed nations wield.

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4 June 2017 12:13 PM in Thoughts


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