Turkish currency crisis spills over into Syria's HTS-controlled northern region

ByNews Desk- The Cradle

Citizens in the city of Idlib say wages are no longer enough to cover their needs ahead of the winter months

People shop in the city of Idlib in northern Syria. (Photo credit: AP)

Citizens in Syria’s Idlib governorate say that Turkey’s currency woes have created a negative impact
on their economy in a region with an extreme poverty rate of 97 percent, according to UN estimates.

The value of the Turkish lira to the US dollar crashed to a record low on 24 November, triggered by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s defense of interest rate cuts despite widespread criticism of his policy direction. Over the past year, the Turkish lira has lost about 40 percent of its value, and inflation is approaching 20 percent.

Last year, Turkey began to circulate its own currency in rebel-controlled areas in northern Syria, as the value of the Syrian currency plunged due to severe western sanctions.

This was followed by an order issued by the so-called Syrian salvation government to stop the use of the Syrian pound in the city of Idlib and the surrounding countryside.

The salvation government, which controls border crossings with Turkey, is affiliated to the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and was formed in 2017 during the western-backed war against the Assad government.

However, due to Turkey’s worsening financial crisis, citizens in the city of Idlib say that their living conditions are only getting worse as a result of higher prices, weakened purchasing power, the manipulation of prices by merchants, and a devaluation in salaries and wages.

“Produce prices change every day, and customers are in disbelief,” Jamil Barakat, a street vendor in the city of Idlib told Al Jazeera. “And of course you have to take into consideration rent and transportation costs.”

The crisis is also hitting residents just as the winter season takes hold. Barakat says many in the city have been unable to buy fuel for heating this winter.

“We sold my wife’s engagement ring to pay for [our needs] this month,” he told Al Jazeera, before adding “we haven’t been able to buy anything for the winter because fuel is too expensive.”

Idlib residents say they place the blame for the high prices on the HTS-affiliated salvation government, saying that their policies have aggravated the crisis.

“HTS and its salvation government are mainly responsible for this because they monopolize the trade of all goods through merchants affiliated with them, and these merchants raise prices without taking into account the conditions of the people. It is a failed government that must leave,” Saleh Abbas, a displaced man residing in Idlib told Al-Monitor earlier this week.

On 17 November, the so-called salvation government reduced the weight of a standard bundle of bread to 450 grams, down from 500 grams. The bundle is sold at 2.5 Turkish lira, or around $0.20, which many people in Idlib find difficult to afford.

“At this rate, it will cost three lira ($0.24) to produce a bundle of bread, but we have no choice but to keep selling it at 2.5,” Mohammad al-Ahmad,  a local baker, told reporters. “We’ll have to work at a loss but how else will people afford it?”