Media Diversity Institute

By Natacha Danon, Programs Manager at Syria Direct 

DAMASCUS—In the Syrian capital, run down yellow taxis rumble around the city emitting plumes of black smoke. Most of the oil is processed by hand in informal refineries, then smuggled across control lines from the Kurdish-controlled northeast—or from neighbouring Lebanon. The absence of quality, affordable fuel has led to periodic shortages and driven up the prices of goods. 

Following the Assad regime’s fall in December, taxi drivers converged on Damascus in search of work. For these taxi drivers—like their fellow citizens—the economy is the first thing on their lips when they speak to any foreigner. The culprit, they say, is foreign sanctions, like the United States’ Caesar sanctions. Passed in 2019, the Caesar Act targets economic sectors and financial institutions, as well as individuals affiliated with the regime. 

They aren’t far from the truth. The Syrian economy has deteriorated under the weight of over a decade of sanctions—in addition to the predatory practices of the former government. The regime engaged in corruption on a massive scale, played with the forei...Read more