Syria's post-Assad recovery remains elusive as cost-of-living crisis grows

Last month, protests erupted across the country after the government raised fuel prices again, prompting the largest show of discontent since Sharaa came to power. People burned tyres, blocked roads and chanted slogans. Days later, amid calls for further demonstrations, the increase was revoked.

Sharaa came to power after rebels ousted Assad, ending five decades of his family's rule and more than 13 years of civil war. Since then, he has led Syria's transition and efforts to revive a broken economy. But the cost of virtually everything has gone up.

The government has slashed long-held subsidies as part of an austerity drive. The price of bread has increased tenfold. Fuel prices are now in line with the international average, putting pressure on farmers and making transportation more expensive. Electricity costs have risen several hundred per cent for some. Public sector wages, including pensions, have been adjusted, but the effect has been lost as prices keep rising.

In a suburb of Damascus, Fatima Saleh Eid, a 50-year-old cleaner, described the family's struggle. "We eat more sparingly now. We can't afford chicken anymore nor meat. We only eat vegetables but even [that is] expensive," she said. "Inshallah [God willing] things will get cheaper."

Marwan Bashour, a 68-year-old pensioner in Damascus, said his monthly pay of around $90 is not enough. He said he borrows money and sells items from his home to get by. Like many Syrians, he used to rely on aid agencies, but that help has stopped for him as organisations have been forced to cut back services because of funding cuts.

Nabil al-Remhein, 63, a pensioner whose four adult children cannot find work, said the family now has only one meal a day. “It's tragic,” he said. “We're all hungry. We're suffocating under rising costs.” He said they had cut back on lighting in the house and turned off the fridge for about five hours a day. He has not paid the latest electricity bill.

Dr Haid Haid, a Syrian columnist and consulting fellow at Chatham House, said a “significant portion of the population” is worse off than before Assad's fall. The economic crisis is “one of the most dangerous issues” for the government, he said. He said part of it was due to the legacy of the former regime, but also to the direct impact of new policies moving towards a liberal free-market economy that do not take into account the impact on people.

Samir Aita, a Syrian economist, said the crisis is a “combination of policies with the [government] not managing expectations and creating unrealistic hopes”. He said the situation is unsustainable and he fears chaos if they do not change.

The government said pressure on energy markets from the US-Iran war was in part behind the fuel increase.

International sanctions imposed in the Assad era have been lifted and the US removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. The country feels more stable, and Sharaa earlier this year retook the resource-rich north-east from a Kurdish-led militia. But large parts of the country remain in ruins. The World Bank estimates reconstruction costs at $216bn, and without foreign help and investment, rebuilding is impossible.

Abu Mahmoud, a cab driver, said: “They inherited the country bankrupt, so people need to be patient. Things don't happen overnight.”