The Fall of Assad Regime hit hard against Syria’s economy and citizens with the fall of the regime when the opposition stormed into the capital, Damascus, on December 8. And that marks an end to the oppressive coffins eliminating another layer of a new economy for the Syrians. Now, under the new administration, the lifting of draconian punishments like up to seven years imprisonment for currency trading has occurred. Import and export regulations have eased, while public sector salaries have been hiked by up to 300 percent, according to the government.
Reopened banks and long queues are mostly seen in front of ATMs scattered all over the capital. Prices have commenced freefalling as far as commodities like flour, sugar, and fuel are concerned. Under such conditions, a soldier making $35 a month would act as a Mafia enforcer to squeeze money from citizens and businesses. It was only the top officials of his regime who hoarded essential goods and priced them high through bribes and black-market rackets.
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Bakdash Ice Cream’s third-generation manager, Wisam Bakdash, confirmed the drastic change witnessed as: “From Dec. 8, everything changed 180 degrees. People shop when they are happy, but fear kept them from buying. Now, the economy, people’s safety, and even their faces have changed. Once, they were somber; now they smile.”
Once more rounding during the Ottoman Empire, the Al-Hamidiyah Souq is coming alive. Signs of shops where to change dollars into euros and Turkish lira have appeared, while street vendors now compete with the best of them in their loud voices calling prospective buyers. Carrying foreign currency, once a crime punishable by imprisonment, is now common practice.
Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled Syria for almost 25 years, fled to Russia when anti-regime elements took over Damascus on 8 December, officially ending a one-year rule of the Baath Party. The suppressor takeover followed a rapid assault by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that saw key cities under HTS control in less than two weeks.